telling stories from

behind the camera

since 2017

Hi, I’m Melissa.

Hi - I’m Melissa and I would love to photograph moments of love, warmth, and gentleness between you and your loved ones.

I’m based out of Saint Louis, Missouri, but am always thrilled to travel!

I was born in China and adopted into a loving family from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I grew up for the next seventeen years of my life. I got my hands on a camera in high school and used my friends as my models until they were tired of posing for me. In college, I pursued a degree in film, attempting to blend my love of beauty with a career. I quickly realized the film industry wasn’t for me but still clung on to my creative, storytelling side. In 2022, I married my wonderful husband, Evan! He is truly my best friend and biggest supporter. Soon after, we moved from Orange County, California to Saint Louis, Missouri for him to pursue a seminary degree.

We currently live in Saint Charles, Missouri - a suburb just west of Saint Louis in a small, quaint, yellow house in downtown Frenchtown. In my free time, I enjoy snuggling with my cats (Gus & Noodle), an early morning pilates class, baking sourdough, hosting dinner parties for my friends, anything to do with a horse, reading melancholy poetry, serving in my church’s youth group, and traveling to new places.

My Vision

I’ve always been drawn to beautiful images - something I believe is innate to me and every human. We love to see beauty and be a part of something beautiful.

Beauty has a powerful effect on us. We lose ourselves in beautiful melodies, movie scenes, stories, and people. We fall in love because we see another person as beautiful.

We don’t just want to see beauty, we want to be beautiful ourselves.

We were created for this! We were made to be wrapped up and entangled in the beauty! It’s in our human relationships where we often see beauty most present. We emanate beauty when we show love and affection to our friends and family.

My vision and purpose behind my photography is to simply capture the beauty that’s already in your home. Witnessing love’s tenderness in your life fuels my love for this art. I would be honored to be a part of making beauty with you. 

My Work

I value authentic moments between you and your loved ones, over forced or overly-posed moments. I gravitate towards storytelling-based photography, rather than ‘stand and smile’ photography. We’ll still get some of those good, smiley photos, but I prioritize tender and gentle moments. I try and create spaces where children can be playful and have fun - sometimes this means having them play a game or activity. I would describe my editing style as cozy, moody, and romantic with an emphasis on warm, earthy tones and natural skin tones.

Take some time to tell me about yourself and the vision you have for your photoshoot.

Ready to Book?

“We recently had a newborn/family session captured by Melissa. She was flexible on our meeting place and time. She was a joy when it came to working with our two toddlers and newborn, who were due for naps and lunch. She got our photos back to us promptly and did a fantastic job with editing. The photos are beautiful and will be treasured by our family throughout the years!”

- Elise D.