a little sample of what we do
Featured Galleries
Evan
Jack
Ellie
warwick ny
Charlotte & Margaret
Twin sessions are always so much fun to plan! These two sweet baby girls alternated waking up throughout the session, but they were no match for our white noise, low lights, and patented sleepy baby techniques!
hudson valley ny
Anthony
Anthony's newborn session was an absolute dream! His family selected one of our larger packages and Anthony slept so well for us that we were able to do several extra sets and even a bucket pose! What a sweet little guy, and his siblings loved him so much!
orange county ny
kinsley
I had previously met Kinsley's mom and dad at their maternity session and we quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm. When you find your people, you just feel it! This time, they wanted the session to focus all on Kinsley and chose not to step in front of the camera. I was sad not to photograph them, but always happy to focus on baby!
Warwick ny
Ellie
This sweet baby girl was the first child for this equally sweet couple and they were absolutely in love with her - as they should be! We did a pix of soft pinks, purples, creams and whites for her session. Scroll through and see their beautiful family portraits at the end!
Hudson valley ny
Jack
Handsome little Jack and his family came into the studio for their second newborn session, as we had previously done Jack's big sister's session when she was born! It was super sweet to see big sister with little brother and they just radiate happiness in their family portraits!
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warwick ny
Evan
Little Evan was just the sweetest baby and the best little sleeper! Mom and dad were just so in love with him, and it was obvious in their family portraits at the end of their gallery.
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warwick ny
Grayson
Grayson was such a great sleeper and his little face was just adorable in all of his sets. What a gorgeous baby!
orange county ny
Rowan
Rowan was the prettiest little flower in the garden! Her session pulled rose and lavender shades as well as cream for the perfect color scheme.
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warwick ny
kaylee
Baby girl Kaylee was such a good sleeper and her little pouty lip was the cutest little thing! She was seriously such a good, sweet baby girl!
Your Hudson Valley Newborn PHotographer
The
melissa marino Experience
"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!"
"Talented... amazing...patience and friendliness..."
Our best advice when it comes to booking your newborn 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 newborn sessions when baby is around 2-3 weeks old. This age is perfect for capturing your brand new, squishy little baby while he or she sleeps soundly in a little wrapped up bundle!
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!
1. Say Hello
2. scheduling & planning
Once you've booked a date on the schedule, there's nothing left to do until baby arrives! We ask that you contact us 24-48 hours after baby is born. Since you've booked in advance, you've already been placed on our due date schedule and you're guaranteed a session! If you choose not to book in advance, we still may be able to squeeze you in, but often we are already booked out with pre-booked newborn sessions.
After you let us know baby has arrived, we will schedule you into a specific day and time, and send along your prep info packet and your session questionnaire so you can pick your session colors.
3. let's make it special
At some point after we schedule your session, but before you walk into our cozy Warwick NY studio, we ask that you let us know which 3-4 colors you'd like us to focus on and also if there's anything special about your family that we can feature in your newborn session. Some of our families like to include something to do with their occupation - Are you a nurse or in law enforcement? Are you a firefighter or a teacher? No matter what, let us know and we will do our best to include it in a creative way. We can also include hobbies like video games, gardening, reading, etc - you name it, we can work with it!
4. the session
Finally, the day has arrived - it's time for your session! We always ask that you try to arrive with a hungry baby - we've found it's easiest for our sessions if baby is fed right before we begin to work with him or her. A sleepy baby is a posable, calm baby and that's exactly what we need for our sessions! During your session, we will move baby from set to set, changing wraps, hats, headbands and props along the way. At the end of your session, if family images are something you've elected to include, this is when we bring parents and/or siblings into the newborn area and capture parent/baby and sibling/baby poses, as well as the whole family.
5. your photographs
After your session, we begin the editing process to bring that final perfect touch to your images. Editing typically takes 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 newborn images - but we suggest printing one or two to hang in your home. 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!!"
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Interested in a session but have more questions? Of course you do - that's normal! Drop me a line below and let's chat!
inquire
