A small sample of each gallery is included below
Featured Galleries
Melanie
Theresa
Fallyn
Pine Island NY
Christina
This gorgeous tulle and lace gown was just the right choice for a whimsical and romantic session with nature and this amazing walkway as a backdrop. Walking in the gown wasn't always easy, but Christina made it look like a breeze - in fact we were laughing and chatting the whole time! Sessions like this make me so happy to be a Hudson Valley Maternity Photographer.
Warwick NY
Jaycie
Jaycie said her husband's uniform was the most important part of the wardrobe, so we centered all of the outfits and the entire color scheme around it! Her gown was custom made to compliment his uniform and all the little ones were in carefully selected pieces from our studio wardrobe. All in all, a gorgeous family and session and a great example of how beautiful maternity photography in the Hudson Valley can be!
orange county ny
Nicole
After reading through her gown planning questionnaire, this gown immediately stood out at the perfect choice to select from our studio wardrobe. Nicole was simply radiant in it, and the way her husband looked at her throughout the evening made this maternity session a dream to photograph. This location was perfect and is one of my favorite places to schedule maternity photography in Warwick NY.
hudson valley ny
Fallyn
When you book a maternity session in the winter, we can never perfectly predict whether there will be snow on the ground. We were in luck for this session, when Mother Nature gifted us with a few snowy areas leftover from a storm a few days prior. It was the perfect touch!
Warwick ny
Theresa
This session was in a new location at an earlier time than normal, to help us beat the oncoming rain. It ended up working out beautifully, with a unique, sparkly golden light that was just the right touch in their photos! And how stunning is she in our simple black gown?!
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goshen ny
melanie
This session was COLD but fun! We bundled mom up in a thick lace gown (it's warmer than it looks!) and took blanket breaks in between poses. Some snow drifts in the background, the beautiful golden glow from the sunset, and her daughter's adorable outfit were the icing on the cake for her session.
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hudson valley ny
Maddie
Maddie picked the PERFECT dress from our studio wardrobe, as you can clearly see from the photos! It couldn't have fit her better, and the color was gorgeous against the fall backdrop! The location we used boasted several beautiful areas to photograph against for a well-rounded final gallery of images.
warwick ny
mackenzie
We were lucky enough to get two different types of light for Mackenzie's session - first a soft, gentle spring light and then later in the evening, a deep orange sunset glow. The best of both worlds! Both mom and daughter wore dresses from our studio wardrobe, in the exact same shade of pink. Absolute perfection!
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hudson valley ny
Sarah
There was some light hiking involved to reach this stunning Hudson Valley location, but it was worth the extra work! And the unique gown she selected from our studio wardrobe was perfect. This location is beautiful because there are so many different areas to explore and different types of greenery to use as a frame. The Hudson Valley is so beautiful!
Your Hudson Valley Maternity PHotographer
The
melissa marino Experience
"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!"
"Luxury experience...
beautiful...
perfection"
Our best advice when it comes to booking your maternity session is this: Reach out as early as possible! Most of our clients book their sessions in the first or second trimester. We tend to book out several months in advance, so it's imperative to reach out early to get your preferred date on our calendar!
We typically book maternity sessions around 30-32 weeks, so your belly is nice and full but you haven't yet hit the discomfort and fatigue that can come later in your pregnancy.
Hair and makeup is an added service that can also be included in your session, and clients say it's a perfect touch to make sure they feel their best during their session!
Say Hello
gown Planning
Once you've booked a date on the schedule, we begin wardrobe planning. We suggest beginning with selecting your gown from our studio wardrobe, and then coordinating the rest of your family around your desired look. You'll be send a gown planning questionnaire which will help us narrow our collection down a bit, so we can send you photos of 8-10 gowns that meet your criteria. From there, you'll simply select your favorite!
location planning
The next step in the planning process is to select a location. We have several locations around the Hudson Valley - many of which are localized to Orange County NY - that we have prescreened so that we already know that the light is beautiful and the location will work for a maternity session. Depending on the season, some of our locations look incredibly different from month to month. As your session gets closer, we send photos of various locations and help you select the location that works best with your vision. We are open to new locations, as well - depending upon the area, a travel fee may be required.
Your session
Finally, the day has arrived - it's time for your session! We will meet you on location at an agreed upon time. Typically, our outdoor maternity sessions begin about an hour before sunset, but this can vary by location and season. You'll get changed into your gown and the session begins! If you have a spouse and/or children that are to be included in your session, we will do various poses with you by yourself and then different combinations of you with your family members. If the session is just you solo, then we get to focus all of the attention on you and your baby bump! Either way, we promise a spectacular session.
your final gallery
After your session, we begin the editing process to bring that final perfect touch to your images. Editing typically takes 2-3 weeks and is completely worth the wait!
Depending upon the package you selected, you will either be sent a selection gallery from which to select your favorite images, or you will be sent your entire gallery!
From there, it's up to you to decide how you treasure your maternity images - but we suggest printing one or two to hang in your nursery. Albums are also a great way to keep your memories alive.
"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
Interested in a session but have more questions? Of course you do - that's normal! Drop me a line below and let's chat!
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