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
I loved her work, so when we found out we were pregnant, I knew Melanie would be our maternity and newborn photographer. The booking process was a breeze; Melanie worked with us to nail down the location, outfits, and sent us her recommendations to prepare us for the photoshoot. She is very sweet and personable and it was so much fun to work with her! The photos turned out amazing and we're so glad we chose Melanie to capture our new journey. I cannot wait to work with Melanie again for our newborn photoshoot and future family photoshoots. We love love love our photos and can't recommend melliemadephotography enough!
Maternity session
Vanseka & Alan
Melanie was very professional and personable as well. She always responded to any of my questions when I needed help and tips. I worried my kids would not cooperate, but she know how to create a fun atmosphere for them and the photoshoot turned out to be so much fun for them. They started out shy and ended up getting a little bit too excited. The photos turned out beautifully. Thank you Melanie!
Family Session
Kira
We saw what a beautiful job Melanie did for our cousin’s newborn photos that we decided to reach out to her when our son was born. She was quick to respond and has a great attention to detail. During these unprecedented times with Covid-19, she provided professional and flexible terms for the photo shoot that worked with our schedule. 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
I worked with Mel last year for our first annual family photoshoot. Melanie was so easy to work with from start to finish (booking appt to getting our photos back in record time). She was very responsive when I had any questions about our outfits and needed suggestion for a makeup artist when mine wasn’t available. She was very patient with the kids which made it easier on me. I already booked an appt for our shoot this year and can’t wait to see the new location and photos.
Maternity Session
An
My husband and I just got our photos back from a maternity shoot with Melanie and we couldn't be happier! She was very professional (wore a mask the entire time) and she was able to give me and hubby instructions during the shoot like where he should put his hand and where we should look. The photos turned out beautifully and very representative of the airy esthetic I saw on her Instagram. Highly recommend her!
maternity Session
Joyce
I highly recommend booking with Melanie! I had such a great experience working with her. I was very impressed with how professional but personable she was from beginning to end.
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! We love our photos and I look forward to working with her again in the future!
Family Session
Tuyen
By far one of my favorite photographers!
Melanie was so sweet, thorough and professional. It was such a pleasure working with her to take my newborn’s photos during a chaotic time. I loved so many of the photos that she took!! I would recommend her to anyone!
Newborn Session
Jenny
We had such a great experience with Melanie from start to finish. She was patient, kind, and sooo sweet with my kiddos. I had no idea how the photos would turn out but the outcome was better than expected! The hardest part was choosing our favorite photos.
Thank you, Melanie! Looking forward to doing our annual photos with your next year!
Family Session
Hannah
I highly recommend Melliemade Photography! My wife and I met her at a cute quaint place in Irvine for our maternity photo shoot. Melanie was very professional, prompt and well mannered. She instructed us on how to pose because we clearly did not know how to pose for photos. The park looked nice but our photos came out even nicer! Can’t believe how great they were! Would definitely do another photo shoot with Melliemade Photography!
Maternity Session
Dinh
Melanie is such a lovely person to work with! Her photos speak for themselves (just perfectly light and airy) but the BTS experience makes it 10/10. She is super prepared and gave us great info on how we could prepare ourselves. We did a mini session with our dog and it was better than we expected! We never met prior to our shoot but she’s so warm and friendly, it felt like we were friends. 100% recommend working with her!!
Family Session
Abby
My first photoshoot with someone else was a total disaster. After that experience, I was so horrified that I never wanted to do a baby photo shoot ever again! However, when I started to talk to Melanie, she listened to my concerns and worries, explained how she plans and manages the photoshoot, and encouraged me to try again. After talking to her, I decided to try and I am so grateful that I did. Melanie was very professional, personable, and had strong portrait skills. My baby loved Melanie, and she knew exactly how to handle unforeseen situations and manage babies. She also made me feel very comfortable so we got plenty of nice photos with natural laughs (both baby and me!). Thank you Melanie for such a precious and fun experience and memory!!!
Family Session
Insoon
Melanie was great. The pictures came out perfect. She had such great energy and made things easy with our little girl. Parents know how difficult it can be with the little ones but she is really great with how she guided her. I would definitely recommend Melanie.
Family Session
Roy
Melanie was wonderful to work with and made great recommendations to ensure our photos turned out exactly as we had hoped. She sent us a photography guide with suggested locations and poses. She also took the time to understand our vision prior to the shoot. Overall, she was very efficient and knowledgeable and we love the final product.
Maternity Session
Thomas
I found Mellie in my local mom Facebook group. I looked at her portfolio and loved what I saw. She was offering mini sessions which was exactly what I was looking for since my son was around 1 at the time and had no patience with standing still and posing for pictures. She made it fun for him and the pictures came out beautiful! I have one of them framed on top of the mantle and I highly doubt I’ll ever take it down.
Family Session
Sara
We had a terrific experience working with Melanie!!! Our newborn pics and family portraits turned out amazing! It was a miracle how she was able to put my two year old toddler at ease in front of the camera. Highly recommend!!!
Newborn Session
Ly
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Melanie twice for our maternity photo shoots. She’s super friendly and extremely easy to work with! We love her light and airy photography style for maternity photos. Melanie definitely tries to make it easy on you throughout the process and helps prepare you well in advance for the photo shoot. We would definitely recommend her if you’re looking for a photographer with a light and airy style!
Maternity Session
Andrew
It’s been years since my son and I had professional photos taken. He’s 26 now, and the challenge has been to have photos that won’t come out mushy, or that would come out couplish looking. One of my sisters has had her family photos and professional photos taken by Melanie, and I liked them. So I decided to contact her for a photo session.
First of all, I loved working with her on the day of our photo shoot! So easy to work with! And more importantly, I loved how our photos turned out! I have a few marked for printing and framing already! Surely a great investment, one that will last for years to come!
Family Session
Marou
Mel came to the rescue and delivered! Our original photographer canceled last minute two hours before our appointment and we were desperately thinking of other options. As Mel was leaving another shoot in Temecula a friend contacted her and she agreed to do our shoot! Thank goodness for great people like Mellie! She saved the day and I was able to do our family holiday photos. I am 100% pleased with the turn out. She was great with my crazy 2 year old and has a great eye! Thank you Mellie for making this happen. Don’t think twice. Book with her!
Family Session
Shawna
It was a pleasure working with Melanie for our maternity photoshoot!! I have been following Melliemade Photography for awhile now and have been waiting to work with her. In all of her pictures, she shows great attention to detail and has a very keen eye for anything esthetic. Melanie prepared us very well with her "photoshoot preparations and general advices" to get the most out of the photoshoot. She was very accommodating with my sunrise shoot desire even though it would mean she would have to wake up super early. Working with Melanie is a breeze because she is very professional, sweet and personable which makes everything fun and easy--perfect for husbands and children. Her work is amazing and the pictures turned out absolutely beautiful!! I cannot wait to work with her again for my future family photoshoots. I am already showing off my photos and recommending her to everyone!!
Maternity Session
Kim
Thank you Melanie for the pretty pictures! We had to reschedule our family photos to a later date and Mel was so accommodating despite her packed schedule. My one year old was sick on the day of the photo shoot. I was worried the picture wouldn't turn out well, but was so pleasantly surprised by how many smiling photos she got of our daughter. My husband is usually very camera shy, but he commented on how nice they were and comfortable he was around them. They were both so patient and took the time to get good photos of us! I highly recommend Melliemade Photography l to anyone looking for a photographer
Family Session
Hannah
Let's get to know each other
Now that you've gotten to know some things about me, it's only fair that you let me get to know a bit about you. Click the "inquire" button down below and let's get to know each other!
