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Every moment tells a story

My photography has always revolved around people and their stories. I have a desire to capture the true essence of who you are and the relationships with those who matter most in your life. Whatever stage of life you are in; newly engaged, becoming a parent for the first time, an entrepreneur starting your own business, I want to document the magic, beauty and chaos of your everyday life and important milestones.

 

kind words

ReviewsBlog

Melissa has a way of putting her clients at ease and capturing them in lovely moments. She has been taking my photos for over 10 years. I love how she explores the beauty in the world around her with color and movement. I would recommend Melissa to anyone looking for amazing photography!

-Megan

Melissa has been our photographer for engagement, maternity, newborn and 1 year photos. She is super fun and engages us in a light-hearted manner (we tend to take ourselves a little seriously and feel awkward in front of a camera.) She does a great job capturing our family relationships and gets some great shots, even with a grumpy kid. Melissa is also very timely with getting photos back to us. I highly recommend her to others!

- Lorene

We have used Melissa for 4 photo sessions including maternity, newborn and and family portraits with our twins. She is super laid back and friendly. She's very accommodating and I have gotten a ton of great compliments on our pictures. She's timely, reasonably priced, and truly loves her work! We love working with her and highly recommend her!

-Kristi

meet melissa

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I’m Melissa, a portrait, family and lifestyle photographer based in Lancaster, PA. Folks who know me well would describe me as a child at heart who is known for her killer party planning skills and obsession with unicorns and mermaids. I’m a lover of vibrant colors, impromptu dance parties and anything that involves bacon and avocado. Read more >

let's hang out on instagram

Can’t choose a favorite from this newborn lifestyle session so I’m sharing several. Those first 6 weeks as a new parent can be such a blur. With my first I had challenges with breastfeeding that left me in tears the first few weeks until we got the hang of things. I would hide in my room and let my husband talk to visitors when they came because I was such a mess of hormones and emotions. I remember the night we came home from the hospital just staring down at my daughter thinking how amazing and perfect she was and realizing how scared and unprepared I felt to be a mom. There is such a deep sense of responsibility and worry that I have carried with me ever since she was born and I doubt it will ever leave. I don’t want to call it a burden but it is something that weighs on your soul when you become a mom, I just don’t have the right words to describe it. It’s the dying to self, knowing you would give everything up in an instant for that tiny person. All I know is that the journey into motherhood has forever changed me and I’ve still got a lot of learning and growing to do. #honestmotherhood #lancasterpaphotographer #lancasterfamilyphotographer #lancasternewbornphotographer #momswithcameras #clickinmoms #newparents #melissaenglephotography
Babes in the ferns. This fascinating woman right here is one-of-kind and one of the very first friends I made when I moved to Lancaster fourteen short years ago. We have made some pretty magical memories over the years including many costume parties, Moroccan adventures and our jewelry making endeavors. I’m so friggin excited that she has found this dark and handsome muchacho who has woven his way into her heart ❤️.
Keeping it lighthearted and heartfelt ❤️ #childrenseemagic #clickinmoms #melissaenglephotography #lancasterpaphotographer #lancasterfamilyphotographer #beyondthewanderlust #boldemotionalcolorful #heartfeltphotography #livecolorfully #documentyourdays
A good ‘ol family frolic. This was at the very end of our session and I suggested it half jokingly but they were willing and I love how it came out. Fun fact: Mark Beach, the dad in this photo, is my former boss and I owe a lot of my early photography career to him. He took a chance and hired me just out of college for a staff photographer position at a nonprofit (@mccpeace) where I got to travel the world telling stories with photos. That experience changed my life and has certainly impacted the way I see life through my camera lens. #lancasterpaphotographer #lancasterfamilyphotographer #melissaenglephotography #familyfrolic #cameramama #documentyourdays
It's one of my favorite times of year. Fresh, local strawberries! It has become a tradition to pick strawberries with friends at Shenk's Berry Farm and today was the perfect day to go picking. Afterwards while Nolan was napping, Cora and I made freezer jam for the first time and got a little creative with this "strawberry hair" double exposure. #colorswithcora #strawberryseason #doubleexposure #magicofchildhood #childrenseemagic #theeverydayportrait #melissaenglephotography #momswithcameras #lancasterpaphotographer #makeportraits
I love the peonies so much! This flower always reminds me of when we were married at the end of May, seven years ago. We did our own bouquets with flowers we ordered in advance from @centralmarketlancaster and grabbed some fresh peonies from a stand at the last minute to add in. This weekend I was able to trade photo sessions with another talented photographer mom @larsgandy just as the peonies were peaking at the Garden of the Five Senses in Lancaster County Park. Can't wait to share more!