by mphotoadmin | Jul 10, 2018
I try to get to know my seniors before their senior session. First I have a initial consultation with them and then we will chat off and on on the phone about what they want for their session. It is important to me to understand their vibe. I also will fiercely stalk their Instagram feed in order to get to know them better and know their style. When I searched through Negeen’s feed I could tell she was a free spirit. Someone who could hangout on a hammock listening to old rock music or go sit on the beach and meditate for hours. She also is a jack of all trades. She is amazing at yoga, rides horses, plays the ukulele and loves music plus much more. I loved getting a chance to feature many of these talents in her session.
We started our session out in Dimple Records, which brought me back to when I was a kid in the 90’s! The 90’s were the best! I am so glad I grew up in that decade.
This girl, doing this yoga pose on a rock in the middle of the water- thank god she didn’t fall in!!!
Negeen your eyebrows are so on point I cant even handle this. I seriously have to draw in my eyebrows and still you can barely see them.
How cute are Ukuleles? They are tiny little guitars and i just love them! I want to learn to play.
Girl I want to be when you grow up! Can you teach me how to be this talented!!
by mphotoadmin | Jul 2, 2018
Growing up I always loved sunflowers. So much so that when I grew out of my Minnie mouse stage and the pink walls and decals came down I opted for a border of sunflower wallpaper. My grandmother made me a sunflower quilt and I always chomped on sunflower seeds during softball games. I LOVED SUNFLOWERS and still do to this day. With it being sunflower season in California I decided I needed to do a passion shoot. A shoot just for me and my creativity. Something to feed my soul and to spend sometime with some awesome seniors.
We piled in the car and started driving down highway 50 until we saw sunflowers on the side of the road. Which brought us to Davis by the soccer fields. We pulled up and of course we weren’t the only ones their. Every photographer within a 50 mile radius is eager to photograph these beautiful flowers, they are only at their best for a few weeks out of the year! We waited our turn and then shot a way. By this point the delta breeze was hitting and the sun was starting to dip. Perfect setting for what I wanted to convey in these portraits. The girls were such good sports with the wind and the temperature dropping pretty fast. When I was photographing one girl the other would be holding my big oval reflector and that thing could catch some air. At one point I thought it was going to take us out!
These fields made these girls radiate happiness!
At the end of the shoot we pulled out the American flag and got a little patriotic. What isn’t more American than an American flag, sunflowers and some colorful bandannas. We were all freezing at this point but we got some beautiful shots.
After I treated these girls to some yummy Pizza. Thank you ladies for being the perfect models!
DISCLAIMER: WE made sure to stay on the outside of the fields and were cautious not to damage any flowers. we all need to remember that this is someones property and their livelihood and to be very respectful of it! Asking permission is always good also!
by mphotoadmin | Jun 7, 2018
One of the best feelings in life is seeing the people closest to you happy and in love. Seeing is one thing but getting to be part of these intimate moments I get to selfishly feel just a little bit of their bliss. I have said it before but telling a story for someone through my lens is like tapping into that person’s soul for just a little while. These moments inevitably change me as person. I learn something new about myself after every session. Spending a few hours with a person getting to know them and capturing the most raw parts of them… that is my CHURCH.
This beautiful afternoon in Redwood City I was able to capture my thoughtful and beautiful friend Laurel, her attentive and goofy husband, Bob and their sweet, precious baby girl Avery Jane. They welcomed Avery on April 9th and they have been swooning over her ever since. Avery already loves going on adventures with mom and dad to the redwoods and even wine tasting. She especially loves watching her favorite sports teams, Sixers and Phillies with daddy. I think she loves cuddling with mom and dad the most out of all these things.
It was such a gift getting to photographing my friends and their new adventure.
Cannot wait to come visit again and get all the cuddles!
Love auntie,
Mel
by mphotoadmin | Jun 1, 2018
Boy Oh Boy what a crazy and amazing year it has been. This wraps up my first year focusing on High School Seniors. A decision I came to after finding myself spending way to much time on the teenage girls during family photoshoots. I just love everything about their vibe. I am so eager to tell their story and be a mentor to these wonderful young women.
I have learned a great deal about myself and my business through them. It has really helped me to define my brand and remind myself why I started photographing in the first place. I hope that I can show these young adults what it is like to be a powerful young women that has created a business and is thriving. I want them to know that they can create their own destiny and find what they are passionate about and make their dreams come true!
To my sweet, courageous and beautiful Reps. Thank you for taking a risk on me and being my first ever MGP Reps! I have loved getting to know each one of you and cannot wait to see what you do with this beautiful life!
This group of seniors are so unique, so kind and so focused on all the right things in life. I am so proud of each one of them and I WANT UPDATES ON ALL YOUR LIVES!! Do not forget about me because I will never forget you. I am always here to give advice, chat and live vicariously through you! THANK YOU FOR LOVE AND ENERGY!!
HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE PARENTS OF THIS GROUP! THEY TRUSTED MY VISION EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AND ALWAYS LET ME DO MY THING AND EMBRACED MY CREATIVITY. THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING ME AND TURNING YOUR CHILDREN INTO THE WORKS OF ART!
I also really enjoy photographing boys! Once they warm up they are so fun to pose and get those smoldering looks!
Now go out there and be brave, fearless and just a little bit WILD!!! LIVE in every moment!
Your Friend and Photographer,
Mel
by mphotoadmin | Feb 10, 2018
I feel like these girls become my nieces after working with them all year, I care for them so much and want them to succeed! Grace just came to my office to pick up her beautiful senior portraits and her excitement about her portraits filled me up! I was also so proud of her when she told me she got into the school she had been hoping for! She is such a caring person and so encouraging of me and the people around her. She kept telling me how proud of me she was!
Grace really knew what she wanted her for senior portraits and I know we captured that feel during our day together.
I love these pics at a nursery in downtown it was the perfect setting for Miss Grace who loves the clean white elements in her portraits.
This was moms favorite setting with the light coming through the plant!
I just love how playful she could get in these shots!
Captured her vision in this shot on a street in downtown.
Grace that smile and sweet voice is what I will remember for always! You were part of my first rep team and am so grateful for your creativity and openness! You are going to kill it in College!
