Family photography as warm and stylish as the rest of the art on your walls.
Award-winning maternity, newborn and family photographer in North London
You know that feeling you get when you find something for your home and immediately love everything about it? How it looks, how it makes you feel, how you know exactly where it’s going to go. That’s how I want you to feel about your family photos.
But I think they can be stylish without looking styled. I want you to look at the photos and see the family you love, as the people they are. I want you to look…what’s the word? Normal. Like you, just on a really, really good day!
So instead of costumes from a client wardrobe, we’ll choose clothes together that’ll harmonise beautifully with the styling of your home. I’ll guide you towards the best light and framing, but I want the moments themselves to be real. Moments of closeness and affection, small gestures of kindness, a running family joke, kisses, cuddles. Small, simple moments that will mean the world to you in years to come.
I want you to love the way your photos look on your walls. But above all, I want you to resonate with the connection that fills them.
Hi, I’m Melissa. Travel-addicted mum of two, and an award-winning maternity and family photographer in North London
Back in my younger, more glamorous (i.e. more caffeinated) days, I worked as a film producer. It was a world where hours could be spent setting up a single frame. Where lighting and composition were sacred, and “that’ll do” would never do. And as a family photographer, they’re the kind of photos I want to give you. Photos where the whole frame is intentionally, perfectly balanced; the lines, the light, the negative space. Deeply satisfying shots where everything in the frame just works.
But as a mother, I see a different kind of beauty beneath the light and the lines. A giggling cuddle from beneath the sofa cushions. A deep, contented breath as your baby sleeps on your chest. The way your partner looks at you when they think no one’s looking. A beauty that can’t be crafted, or composed, that has to be cradled in a moment.
And for all my thoughtful composition, this is where the real beauty lies. Everything else is just the frame.
Maternity, newborn and family photoshoots in North London
newborn
North London newborn photography
My newborn photography sessions are all about your bond with your child and your connection as a family, framed beautifully together in your home. My sessions are completely baby-led. There’ll be no rush, no pressure, no client wardrobe or unnatural poses. Think of it as a relaxed morning at home, just with an extra friend there making you tea and taking photos.
Whether this is your first home, your forever home, or just one of many footnotes in a long and colourful story, let’s capture you together in the first place you called home as a family.
Families in-home
North London in-home family photoshoot
Where better to capture your family life than in your own little corner of the world? It’s the sofa where you cuddle up together at night, the kitchen table piled high with homework and sippy cups. It’s where you feel at peace, where your children feel safe, and where your family feels whole. I’ve lived in a lot of places (and a few different countries!) in my life. And it’s true what they say: there really is no place like home.
My in-home family photoshoots are all about capturing moments of love and connection as a family, intentionally framed in the place you’ve worked so hard to make a beautiful home. I want you to look at the photos and say, “aww! Look how happy the kids are!”, whilst secretly thinking, “aww, doesn’t our house look lovely?!”
families outdoors
Outdoor family photoshoot in North London
Outdoor family photoshoots are so much more than just family photos with a leafy backdrop. They’re a chance for you to switch off parent mode for a while and take your family on an adventure.
The smell of freshly cut grass, a soft summer breeze playing in your hair. Your children breathless with laughter chasing through the trees, or bundled on top of you in piles of autumn leaves. If the kids had their way, every family photoshoot would be outdoors. And the best part? I’ll never once have to ask you to smile.
maternity
Maternity photography in North London
Pregnancy is an incredibly personal, emotional, often vulnerable time. And I think your maternity photography should be true to your own pregnancy journey, and capture how you’re feeling in the moment.
Yes, you’re a miraculous, life-giving goddess, but you’re still you. I want to capture the woman you are in this incredible chapter in your life in a natural, organic way. I want to give you maternity photos as beautiful and unique as the little person growing inside you.
(Pssst! It’s also the perfect excuse to pamper yourself!)
'WE WILL TREASURE THESE PHOTOS ALWAYS'
I am sat sobbing at the beautiful photos Melissa took of our little family... she has captured our chaos and love perfectly. We will treasure these photos always Melissa. Thank you so much for your patience and calmness during our shoot, for making us all feel so at ease and for all the wonderful images you have shared with us. We can't wait to get some printed and put up on the walls so we can enjoy them everyday.
- Haynes Family