own anymore and also with a less-than-cooperative child (you know, the kind that gets the wiggles and tries to slide out of your lap every time a camera is pointed at them) . I feel ya. I'VE BEEN THERE.
But that does NOT mean you can't get beautiful photos. If you need help, I am here to show you the way! Here are some top things you should know about me before we work together:
1) I am super approachable. If you have any questions, requests, or input for your photos, please don't hesitate to ask!
2) I love coming prepared. I love giving guidance and asking in advance what you are looking for to make the most of your photoshoot. I also help you with outfit selections and anything else you may need advice on!
3) I'm cheerful, I'm silly, I'm awkward. So feel free to be yourself during the shoot as well!
Scroll down to see some photos of my life and read some more things about me!
Very nice to meet you!
Hi I'm Melanie!
ike you, I am on my own motherhood journey. I understand what it is like trying to take photos with a pregnant body that doesn't quite feel like your
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A snapshot into my life
I'm a HUGE mama's girl. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be around my mother ALL the time, I wanted to grow up to be just like my mom, and even as an adult I visit her on a weekly basis.
Family is so important, and that mother- child bond is something that is especially precious to me.
Once I gave birth to my son, I knew I wanted to foster that same bond with him and instill the knowledge that he will always have mom in his corner no matter how old he grows.
Motherhood
It would be amiss to not mention the biggest supporter of my photography journey, my partner-in-crime, my admittedly funnier half.
He makes me laugh, he is my steady stream of memes provider, and I love him to pieces. We met in school a very long time ago, and after some long study sessions that ended up teetering more in the direction of hanging out vs actual studying, we decided to just do the dang thing and officially go out on a date.
The rest is history, and now we hang out on the daily.
my husband
Before life got crazy with the 2020 lockdown and the 2021 baby, my husband and I used to travel the world.
We loved going to new countries NOT to eat their food or learn more about their deep rooted culture, but to visit their animals. Isn't that the silliest?? We booked trips in hopes of landing in locations with the cutest creatures, and we hope to commence this hobby one day again with the little one in tow.
Traveling
Surprise! You probably should have guessed this by now, but one of my very favorite things to do is photography. I've loved documenting events and life ever since high school. It's like I was the unofficial historian for school events. I would select purses according to whether they could fit my small camera in them. As much as I love being in the moment, I also love being able to relive moments of the past (I have horrible short and long term memory). This is my hope for you also, to enjoy the moments, but also have something to remind you of the things in the past.
Photography
Aside from photography, a huge love of mine is finding places with beautiful flowers and lush foliage.
Even though Orange County doesn't have glacier water and lake-adjacent purple Lupines like in this photo, my continued mission is to seek out the local beauties that SoCal has to offer! I want my families to also be surrounded by luscious fields of green, flowers in the springtime, and the bodies of water we have nearby. Orange County is filled with beauty, let me show you where to find it!
Flowers & lush foliage
Is it ok if I spend a whole post just on how much I love boba teas as a drink?? Hahaha
I remember the first time I ever chewed one of those chewy little balls and thought "a chewy food inside of a drink? SIGN ME UP!"
Since then, I've really grown to love boba tea shops, with some of my favorites being Ding Tea's Wintermelon Milk Tea, 85 Degree's Milk Tea with Coffee Jelly, and 7 Leaves Vietnamese Coffee and Green Thai Tea (RIP sleep schedule). Feel free to try these out. Let me know how you like them!
boba
Every detail felt intentional and handled with care. We’re absolutely in love with the final images and will treasure them forever.
Newborn Session
Farnaz
The photos turned out absolutely beautiful — exactly what my husband and I had envisioned. She captured such a special time in our lives perfectly.
Maternity Session
Georgina
In addition to being new parents, we have demanding careers so having Melanie take the lead and be attentive to all the details was incredibly invaluable. We were only able to relinquish the details to Melanie because her talent, vision, and expertise is extraordinary! We are IN LOVE with all our photos! They turned out better than we could’ve imagined.
Family Session
KElly
We are from Arcadia CA and to drive down to Irvine just for her, I'd do it all over again. (Mind you it's two hours of traffic)
DONT WALK RUN NOW to book an appointment.
Family Session
vivian
Our session might have been a disaster if she didn’t come to the rescue. Both my 2 year old and 4 year old had meltdowns (at the same time!) but that didn’t bother her. Somehow she got them to cooperate, made it work and captured some amazing moments!
Family Session
Tuyen
Her photos speak for themselves (just perfectly light and airy) but the BTS experience makes it 10/10. We never met prior to our shoot but she’s so warm and friendly, it felt like we were friends.
Newborn Session
Abby
I loved her work, so when we found out we were pregnant, I knew Melanie would be our maternity and newborn photographer.
Maternity session
Vanseka & Alan
Newborn Session
Andrea
It definitely takes someone special to have the talent, the eye, and the ability to do what she does as well as she does.
She’s not the least expensive option out there but you get what you pay for and we’re really glad we went with Melanie.
We are grateful for her patience and unique eye to capture our newest addition to the family. Don’t hesitate to contact her, you won’t be disappointed!
NEwborn Session
Wendy
She is so thorough and very easy to communicate with.
Melanie walked us through every step of the way including helping us choose and coordinate our clothing, bringing some beautiful gowns of her own for me to wear, to sending us the most detailed list of locations along with pros/cons of each.
Maternity Session
Tiffany
Let's get to know each other
Now that you've gotten to know some things about me, I'd love to hear some things about you. Click the "inquire" button down below and let's get to know each other!
