Because your memories are worth investing in
I am a light and airy photographer based in Orange County. I've lived in OC most of my life, studied in Irvine and Los Angeles, did a short residency in the Inland Empire, and now I am back here in Lake Forest (Irvine adjacent) in my forever home.
I specialize in maternity, newborn, and family photography and have spent thousands of hours (and dollars!) on figuring out exactly how to find and edit the best soft and glowy light to make you look amazing. I have scoured Orange County to find locations that fit this ideal lighting profile, locations that I am sure you will fall in love with also.
I love working with kids and families, and being silly. You'll often see me jumping around and pulling funny items out of my pockets like Mary Poppins, anything to make the little ones crack a smile. Maternity and newborn sessions have a special place in my heart ever since I became a mom, and I simply adore making mothers look as beautiful in my camera as they make everyone around them feel.
Investment
Hey there!
Let's make some memories together that you can't stop looking at
Have you ever scrolled through your phone and looked at all the photos in it? I bet it is filled with photos of your children, your husband, your food from last week, and maybe even the occasional selfie of you with each of those previously mentioned people/things. Now I don't know about you, but I don't look good in any of my selfies on my phone unless there is some kind of dog nose filter on top of it (why do those always look so good?!). Anyway, I can't imagine filling my home with framed images of me doing selfies with my son and dog filters, and you shouldn't have to either (unless you really want to). This is where I come in. I specialize in creating images worthy of framing on your walls, and I can help you hand pick the type of artwork that you'd love to see in your home.
You believe photoshoots should be fun and natural
01
YOU'RE INTO THAT LIGHT, BRIGHT, AND GLOWY LOOK IN PHOTOS
02
YOU LOVE CANDID MOMENTS OF YOUR LOVED ONES IN PHOTOS
03
YOU LIKE GETTING INTO A PRETTY DRESS ONCE IN A WHILE
04
YOU LOVE SCROLLING THROUGH YOUR PHONE TO LOOK AT OLD PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF YOUR LOVED ONES
05
YOU APPRECIATE GOOD HELP AND GUIDANCE FROM YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER, BECAUSE GOODNESS KNOWS YOU ALREADY HAVE SO MUCH ON YOUR PLATE
06
YOU WOULD LIKE TO adorn YOUR HOME WITH PHOTOS OF YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES
07
YOUR FAMILY IS WARM, KIND, AND FUN-LOVING
AND WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER WHO has a similar vibe
08
Your experience all starts with you filling out the contact form down below to get started!
You will get an email from me usually within 48 hrs to get the process started or for me to answer any questions you may have!
I usually will book a quick (totally optional) 15 minute phone call for me to learn more about you and your family to see if we are a good fit for each other and for me to figure out what package would suit your needs best. Or if you'd rather just email or chat or book on the spot, that is ok too! Whatever works with your busy schedule!
1. Say Hello
Once you sign a contract and pay a non-refundable retainer/session fee, you are officially in the books!
I will contact you soon after to help you pick a great location for your photoshoot. Once we have the location chosen, I will recommend a custom start time for your photoshoot.
2. Officially book!
During the weeks leading up to the photoshoot I will help look over any outfit choices you may be considering and giving guidance on what items to bring to your photoshoot. I also will send over a questionnaire to help me better get to know you and your needs.
Let's find out what makes your family members giggle and laugh. Got a not-so-smiley child? Let's tap into his/her instincts to be curious and allow him/her to explore nature instead. Have a part of your body you are self-conscious about ever since you got pregnant? Let me keep an eye out for you. Feel like an awkward turtle in front of the camera? No problem, I'm here to help!
3. Planning it
This is the fun part! I'll meet you at the location sent to your email. There, I will give you a quick run down on what to expect when it comes to posing, and pointers on how we will best get genuine expressions from you and your loved ones.
4. Your photoshoot
About 1-2 months later, your photos will be ready for you to download from a link. If you need some photos or all of them sooner, that's fine, just let me know so we can customize the turnaround time to your needs.
People laugh, some have cried (HAPPY TEARS, not sad ones thank goodness! haha), but most grin ear to ear to see the end result!
It is during this time that you will also have the opportunity to create artwork for your home in the form of prints, canvases, or heirloom albums. We will discuss those options in greater detail once you have seen all the beautiful images we have created together!
5. Your Photographs
FAQ
You've got questions, I've got answers!
An artwork credit is a COMPLIMENTARY amount that you can use as credit towards your artwork purchases with ordering prints, canvases, and albums with me. I love the process of printing and creating custom archival prints for your home, and this print credit is my gift to you! However, it does not hold any monetary value and CANNOT be used as a discount towards your session or portrait fee. It is purely meant for ordering artwork. If you do not use it within the ordering period, the credit will be void. Credits cannot be combined from other clients or used from separate photoshoots.
A session fee is basically the same things as a non-refundable retainer.
It is what is paid in advance in order to officially book a session with me and reserves your shooting time & date. It includes all of the help you get with choosing outfits, a beautiful location, and tips and correspondence before your photoshoot even begins. So make sure you take advantage of all the help and guidance I have to give leading up to your photoshoot!
Before the photoshoot even begins, part of my objective is figuring out what it is exactly that you are envisioning for your final product. I want to know whether you are taking these photos to just post on social media, if you have an empty wall that you are trying to fill with memories in your home, or if you want some photos to print out for cards to send to family and friends (or all of the above!) Whatever the case may be, before the photoshoot even begins, I should already have an idea or a list in mind of what images we will be creating that day. From that list, I will curate top photos for your gallery for you to view. It usually consists of about 50+ images, and from those, you are free to choose which you would like to keep according to your package.
Unfortunately, this is not going to be possible. Raw/unedited images are not a proper representation of my work and are not available for purchase. I take A LOT of photos each session, and there is not enough time for you to go through the entire reel of photos taken the day of, so please trust my expertise! If you are looking for an image in particular or hoping that I captured a moment that was not available in your final gallery, please contact me so I can help figure out why it did not make the final gallery.
The turnaround time for a gallery is listed as 1-2 months. Often my families will get them much sooner than that, but especially during times of holidays, it can take the actual 1-2 months to receive your photos. As listed above under the Investment Guide (page 3 | ADD ONS), You can pay a rush fee to make ALL the images available to you within 7 days, or you can get some sneak peek images of my choosing within a week for free (however, those sneak peeks will become part of your final gallery).
In my past 5+ years of photographing families this has never happened before, but if you are very particular about how you look in photos, have a very fussy family member, or aren't sure if my esthetic fits your needs, please let me know in advance!
I do ask all my families if they are self-conscious about any body parts, so I can keep an eye out for them during the photoshoot, If you have less cooperative members in your family, we can try to lengthen the session to your needs (longer or shorter) and/or recalibrate your expectations of what may be realistic in terms of final results. As for esthetics, please look through my website for an accurate representation of my work to make sure that bright and candid images are what you are looking for.
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 chat! Please fill out this info below.
Note: Portrait packages start at $790
(Average Investment is $1100-2000+)