Katie M | College Graduation 2021

college grad session, graduation session

We were contacted by Katie who own our voucher in a raffle. She chose to celebrate her accomplishment of graduating from Messiah College! In our time together, we shared memories of attending the same High School (Northeastern Senior High School in Manchester, Pa), and of staff who meant a lot to us. She’s working towards becoming a school counselor, and in the short time we talked, it is clear  she will do an excellent job in that career! 

Katie wanted a more downtown feel so York City was perfect!
Congratulations Katie on your accomplishments, and many more to come! 

These are just some favorites from the gallery.

Revolution Beauty Bar | Mayfield, Pa

Working with Shelley, the owner of Revolution Beauty Bar, and her ladies was a BLAST!!! I also never thought I’d be so obsessed with doing a shoot at a roller rink that we had all to ourselves! Shelley and I connected over Facebook about wanting to collaborate with photographers. It’s an amazing tribute on how social media can bring great new connections, and opportunities! Anyways, Shelley sent some inspiration for both shoots, and honestly we all rocked it! The tans, the hair, the girls…PERFECTION!
Please enjoy the work we all created, and I absolutely recommend contacting these ladies for their services.

Tans and Makeup: Revolution Beauty Bar
Hair: Nichole of Salon Joy
Models:
Jessie Mierzejewski
Bry Gresh
Valerie Weston

Courtnie | 30th Birthday Shoot

When you get an inquiry for a “Funeral for my youth” themed session, you say Yes! I got approval from a cemetery that was the most perfect background for Courtnie. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect fall day too. It was fun getting to do something different, and all for her 30th birthday. It’s far too often that people don’t get pictures taken of just themselves and their own milestones. Kudos to Courtnie for wanting to celebrate herself! Happy 30th Birthday!

Importance of Giving

We feel that it is our duty as a small business to give back whenever possible. It’s important because we understand how great it feels to be supported, and having that sense of community. Yes, we’re a sucker for Hallmark like movies where you see everyone pitch in together to help the one another! It’s so true that we NEED each other.

This blog will serve as an explanation of different things that we offer, and do to support this cause.
We’re thankful the art of photography allows us to do this!

Baby "C"
$100 off session rate

Adoption + Surrogacy Sessions

We are so happy to help families celebrate their adoption or surrogacy story! To use this promotion for an adoption, please contact us within 2 months finalized adoption date. We recommend to those who are adopting a baby, to schedule as soon as possible to document their itty-bitty features!

For surrogacies, each situation is unique. This offer can be used to photograph the couple with the surrogate, and another session later to celebrate the new family! Please contact us so we can provide you more information.

NICU Session

We know the NICU can be hard no matter how long your baby(ies) has to stay, or what complications there are. None of it is easy.  This session can be taken place at your home, outside, studio, or at the NICU if the hospital allows it.

Only valid to families with a baby(ies) currently in the NICU, or are a recent NICU graduate. Session must take place no later than 2 months after being discharged.

Adoption, Surrogacy, and NICU sessions can’t be combined with additional offers.

Local non-profits

We started making charitable donations through our business in January 2019 after going through some very difficult times. We went through a lot of losses between 2018 into 2019 that had us really depressed. Being able to give back to the community has brought back a lot of excitement 

How does it work?
Throughout the year we will raise funds for different local organizations, or open it up to allow our Clients to pick where we should send the funds! A charitable donation is always made with weddings and events.

Below is a list of local non-profits that we love to support, but we’re always open to learning about others.

LeAnn’s Make-A-Wish
Dover, Pa
Website | Facebook

Perry County Animal Rescue
Millerstown, Pa
Website | Facebook

Sweet Pea Project
Lancaster, Pa 
Website | Facebook

Young Professionals of Color
Harrisburg, Pa
Website | Facebook

Join Hands Ministry
New Bloomfield, Pa
Website | Facebook

Harvest of Blessings
York, Pa
Website | Facebook

NAACP
Website | Facebook

BARk
York, Pa
Website | Facebook

Local Fire Department, EMS, VFW, or Police Station

Small businesses

We love to work alongside fellow business owners. Tim Ort of Restorations and More llc is a fantastic craftsman who makes some of what we offer! He even gets most of his wood from local mills. Every piece is unique and varies slightly which is the beauty of working with local artists.

We’re also a giver, and just love giving our Clients gifts that we feel they will love. We created a questionnaire that helps us get to know our Clients so we can find something we believe they’ll love!

Some of our favorite local businesses:

Hazel & Harriet – Earrings
No Common Scents – Soaps, Bath, Self Care
Bronya Schmoyer Ceramics – Mugs, and more
Penney Holler – Art and Cards
Kammi’s Kreations – Crochet
Bearly Paper Florals and Events – Sola flower arrangements and more
Hello Gorgeous Boutique – Clothing and gifts
Asheunoia- Artisian Jewlery
Forever Etched- Custom glass engraving

Baby “L” | Newborn Session

This little boy…he slept through the ENTIRE SESSION! We couldn’t get over how super chill he was! Little Miss “M” was hilarious too. The word that got her to smile the most was COOKIE! Working with kids is the best. Never a dull moment!

Maria Naylor | Primerica

It was my pleasure doing these headshots for Maria Naylor! Can you believe we took these on her property?!
She requested something that felt more natural/earthy, and I feel like we accomplished just that!

A little background:
I met Maria through the networking chapter that I joined in February 2020 called, Master Networks. Her story of originally being a healthcare worker, then switching to help people get an incredible life insurance policy (and more) really stuck with me.

When you plan your headshots, I encourage you to go beyond the professional black backdrop (don’t get me wrong, those still looks great).
Business photography has evolved a lot, and it feels like more than ever Clients want to CONNECT. I absolutely love this because
it’s amazing when you and your Client vibe perfectly together!

So, when you see these headshots…what do you think they say about her?

Tom and Amy | Maternity Session

maternity session

There is always so much beauty watching a mom to-be embracing her baby while in the womb. What was even more exciting was Amy, and Tom didn’t know their baby’s gender! On July 13th, they welcomed a sweet little baby girl! Congratulations you guys! Parenthood looks good on you both!

This gown is available for expecting, and non-expecting ladies to use for your session with me.

Valle Wedding | Wisehaven

It was a beautiful September day at Wisehaven in York where Jose, and Ashley got married! Really, the weather was absolutely perfect! Knowing this family for a very long time, I also knew there was a lot of emotions going on because Ashley’s Mom, Kelly, was no longer with us. We all miss her so much.

The day continued with the wedding preparations and it was magical watching Ashley become such a beautiful bride! And the guys were full of laughter while getting ready! Ashley had a sweet gift for her soon to-be husband too. Then it was time for the ceremony begin, and Jose was emotional as he waited to see his Bride. I think many of us were tearing up watching him. I can’t say enough again how perfect the day was, and we got some incredible pictures out at close by park. When it was time to celebrate, their guests and wedding party knew how to show up! It was a blast!

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Valle!

Venue: Wisehaven Event Center Photo booth: Hanover Photo Booth Cake: Amy’s Custom Cakery DJ: Sound Waves Entertainment

The Dentlers | Family Session

I always say how each family has a unique story, and I love hearing about them all…But this one in particular is hard to put into words because of all the ups and downs this family endured. We went to the York Fair to take their family pictures, and some pictures of Miss “H” because she was turning 3 years old. It was her mom’s request to have 3 butterflies added to one of Miss “H”‘s pictures, which represents three angel babies. Miss “H” is a rainbow baby, and for those who don’t know, a rainbow baby is a baby born after a loss.

Miss “H” is full of sass, laughter, and very much your typical 3 year old! It was so much fun celebrating you!

Boudoir Experience | Testimonial

“I’m too fat, maybe once I lose weight.”
“I’m not comfortable enough to do that.”
“It’s so expensive! Totally not in the budget”
“I don’t want people to see me like that.”

I hear those same reasons to NOT book a boudoir session, but let me tell you what you WILL gain from a boudoir experience.

First off…YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! YOU ARE UNIQUE! YOU DESERVE THIS!
Boudoir is for EVERYONE, and EVERY SHAPE! I will help guide, and show you how beautiful your curves are. I have seen women come into their session feeling unsure, but after a few shots, then showing them the back of my camera…here is what I start to hear:

“Damn!”
“Oh my gosh I can really do this!”
“Wow!”

Ladies, I want this for you! To show your fierce side, grow your confidence, and leave feeling empowered!

Before your session I will help you to prepare by discussing your vision, go over the little details, and outfits so you don’t have to stress at all! Your session includes my complimentary hair and makeup services for some amazing pampering before we begin your session. I love that time to get to know my Client’s even more! If finances are ever the problem, please don’t worry. I offer payment plans that fit everyone’s needs.

ALSO, I provide different options as to who is allowed to view your photos.
1. I want ALL the world to see
2. I only want certain ones to be visible for the world
3. These are for my eyes only

If you’re interested in booking a boudoir session with me, please contact me!

Also, these sessions aren’t just for ladies! I welcome couples, friends, and men too!

———-

Now, let me tell you about this gorgeous lady right here…She is a huge advocate on body positivity no matter what stage in life you are at. Deb contacted me about my boudoir model call and she mentioned about her own journey, how much confidence she has gained, and that a boudoir session would be a great way to showcase that! What she wrote was so inspiring that I knew this session would do wonders for her! What I also enjoyed with her session is that we included different things she enjoyed like drinking coffee, and her ukulele! Your boudoir session can include anything that makes you happy too!

You can follow her on Instagram @deliberatelydeb

Some words from Deb on her Boudoir Experience:

“I’ve always wanted to do a boudoir session, but I kept telling myself I’d wait until I lost more weight. Until I was thinner. Until my belly wasn’t so big. But then I realized I was putting off celebrating how awesome my body already is. This body is my home; with legs that take me places and arms that hug my soon-to-be husband, a mouth that speaks truth (and sometimes gets me in trouble) and my favorite part about myself, my mind, that choose to see the good in the world and fight to make it better. I’ve been learning to love myself for a long time, and learning to love my body for what feels like an even longer time. I was nervous going into the boudoir shoot; I already knew Melissa because we chose her to do our wedding photos, but I’m now going let her see a lot more of me, including the side of me that is still learning to love my body. It helped having her do my hair and makeup; we got to talk a lot about what this session meant for me and why it was so important to me. The first few shots I felt SO awkward, but she kept saying how great they were. I was trying to believe her and I knew she could tell, so she showed me a few of the photos she’d taken and OH EM GEE she was right – I looked like a freaking goddess. My anxiety disappeared and I started enjoying the benefits of learning to love myself and I had a BLAST the rest of the shoot. I looked great and felt even greater – so empowered and so proud of the body I call home. And now you can see it too – look at these amazing photos. Thank you, Melissa – I couldn’t have hoped for a better experience!”