08/17/2026
Hey, I’m Melissa. I’m a Marine turned photographer, and my photography journey has always been about documenting my kids growing and the life we are creating together.
The photography world is this amazing place because there are so many different ways to exist in it. There are photographers who are trendy and cool and absolutely made for the social media/influencer world.
And then there are those of us who are hugely uncomfortable on social media and are really only here because apparently people have to know your business exists in order to keep having a business.
I fall pretty firmly into that second category.
For me, photography has never been about likes. Every session feels personal to me because I’m not creating it for an audience — I’m creating it for that client. Their family, their memories, their season of life.
Of course I share my work because I have to put it out into the world if I want to keep doing this. But somewhere along the way, I also realized I didn’t have to fit my photography into one specific mold.
I could photograph the real moments, the emotion and connection that actually make a family them. I could build a greenhouse and fill it with flowers, grow a garden to frolic in, and create magical little worlds for kids to explore.
As my family grew, we stopped waiting for the perfect time for things to happen and started growing where we were planted. Before we knew it, we had a little farm (zoo?) and while it’s a lot of work, it brings us a lot of joy too.
So Fox & Fern has slowly become a combination of both of those worlds — photography, the little farm we’re building, the animals we love, and all the things we learn along the way. And if you’ve ever met me, you know I’m full of random animal facts and more than happy to share them.
I think connecting with the world around us is incredibly important. I think creating things is important. I think letting kids get dirty, experience the joy of being around animals, explore life, and make memories is important.
And I think documenting it all is important too.
So that’s what I’m doing here.
Taking pictures. Raising kids. Collecting animals. Building ridiculous things in my yard. Learning as I go.
And sharing a little bit of it with you.
Website and Booking Info https://book.usesession.com/i/93qxNtxll
Client Closet and payment plans available
