I want to preserve your family's legacy
Hi, I'm melissa
am so thrilled you're here! I'm Melissa and if you could boil me down to one sentence, it would be this:
I
I am a glasses-wearing, coffee-fueled woman who is just trying to make it through each day with a little kindness, some love, and a few minutes of laughter along the way.
I think that hard work and determination have been key in my life. I believe very strongly that words have power and you should always be careful to speak kindly and gently to others. You have the power to change someone's entire day with a kind word and a smile, so why not? I've always felt that if everyone in the world worried less about getting what they want and more about giving someone else what they need, the world would be a much happier, more functional place.
My mom and her brother and sister grew up in Brooklyn during the 60's and 70's - I'm sure they have some wild stories to tell but that's for another time! My mom was close with her mom and dad but unfortunately they both passed away when she was in her 20's and I was just a toddler. Due to various health, financial and mental issues, not many photos of them exist today unfortunately. Today, my mom is a huge part of my life, as well as the lives of my two boys.
My dad grew up with his two brothers and one sister, also in Brooklyn, but with a lot less adult supervision than my mom. His father disappeared when he was young and his mom wasn't home much, which means I've heard countless stories of how the four of them used to roam the city streets late at night, getting into trouble and making mischief. There are more photos of my dad's side of the family, thankfully, but still not many.
My dad and his two brothers have all since passed away and I'm not in touch with his sister. For this reason, photos of my family - and in general - are super important to me. The reason I became a photographer is because preserving memories, especially of loved ones, is so close to my heart.
Below you'll find several photographs of my parents and grandparents - and even a couple of my great grandparents too! I wish I had books and books of photos to look through, but this is the entirety of my family's visual history - and I am lucky to have even these. My goal is to help provide a visual history of your family that you can pass on over the years, to help keep your legacy alive.
Growing up in the beautiful hudson valley ny
My background story
T
he story of my childhood is actually pretty interesting, but the story of where I come from - and where my love of photography comes from - is what I'd like to share with you.
A Look into my
history
I love my two boys more than anything in this world. After them, in no particular order, I love reading, playing piano, my boyfriend, avocados, COFFEE, making lists and crossing things off of them, shopping at Target, air conditioning, and my pet fish, Fish.
Finnegan (7) & Thomas (10)
My Favorite Things
"Melissa is absolutely phenomenal. She has done several sessions for us from maternity to newborn, family to cake smash, princess to holiday, and even fitness/branding sessions in between. Her studio is lovely and her outdoor sessions are always fast and fun. She is amazing with children and has always been a pleasure to work with."
"Melissa is hands down the best photographer I have ever met! We crossed paths with Melissa in 2021 after every mom on Facebook recommended her to me when I asked about a newborn photographer. From our first interaction I understood why. Melissa is a master at what she does. No detail gets by her and her passion for her craft shows up in the way she’s able to capture each baby’s unique personality. I also appreciate how effortless Melissa makes the experience on me! She has every detail pre-planned from the backdrops to the props to the outfits. All we do is show up!
Melissa makes sure all our photos come out flawless while still capturing the uniqueness of our daughter!
Melissa has now done photos for our daughter at newborn, 3mo, 6mo and 9mo and family photos for us.
We already have more sessions scheduled and I will never work with anyone besides her!"
"I can't even explain the feeling that I got when I saw my baby's 1 year cake smash photos that Melissa did. They are AMAZING. I think something just as awesome was the experience we had while doing them. My little boy took right to Melissa and my husband and I laughed the whole time at how cute it was. He had an absolute blast with his cake (that was delicious and we got to take home) and the fun poses that he got to do. the backdrop in Melissa's studio was phenomenal. I just can't say enough great stuff about this photographer, especially because she put so much work into the set. I ended up buying all the photos...they were all so perfect!"
"Melissa did my daughters 1st birthday photos and they came out AMAZING. Melissa was easy to communicate with and made our birthday theme come to life! Everything was better than we could have imagined. I would highly recommend Melissa for your next photo shoot!"
"I cannot say enough about the luxury experience I received for my maternity session. Melissa provided a variety of gowns that met my specific criteria, and then helped me select the perfect one. She made sure I felt beautiful from head to toe - even going so far as to create a hand made hair piece that matched my dress! The session was fun and enjoyable, and the final images are true perfection! She held my hand through the whole process, from start to finish - all I had to do was show up! Highly, highly recommend this photographer!"
"I absolutely recommend Melissa to anyone and everyone! She is extremely talented and can truly turn any idea into a reality. The images she captures are amazing! Melissa answered all my questions and any messages I sent quickly and no matter how many I sent it never felt like I was bothering her! Her kindness, patience, and friendliness made me feel at ease as I waddled around for my maternity shoot, and then when I brought my newborn to her studio. My son absolutely adores her! Cannot wait to book more sessions!"
"Melissa is absolutely incredible! Her work is truly unmatched! She did my maternity photos and made me feel so beautiful, which all other mamas out there know can be very rare in the third trimester! She has also done my daughters newborn, 3 and 6 month milestone photos, and a mommy and me shoot for my daughter and I. Melissa makes you feel so comfortable, and it’s as if you’ve known her and been friends for some time! I could not recommend her more!!"
Words
Kind
You Deserve the best
Your memories are as unique and special as you are, and you deserve to have them captured by someone who has a body of work that you LOVE; someone who sees your family the same way you do; someone who will treasure the process of getting to know you and your family, and translate that into a gorgeous gallery of memories you can look back on for years. Check out my work, and if you think I'm the photographer you've been looking for, reach out and let's start planning your session!
