Engagement session---Panama City Beach

It was great to reconnect with Darcy and meet David earlier this week.  Their love story is a sweet one. They went to high school together...didn't date...went on to marry other people...and reconnected a few years ago.

They became engaged on Valentine's Day this year, and I look forward to photographing their wedding in Port St. Joe in early May.

Newlyweds on the beach on 30a--photography

Cindy and David are their own version of "Dancing with the Stars."  I met them a few weeks ago for pictures to celebrate their recent low-key wedding.  They met in a dance class Cindy was taking. David was her tall, dark and handsome leader.  David has been teaching all steps of dancing for over 20 years.
He decided Cindy should be his partner in life, as well. They took their nuptials to the courthouse where they live in Louisiana, with no guests around. So they decided to document the after-the-show show on the beach in the Destin/South Walton area, one of their favorite places.
Good luck to you two in your future. I hope you keep right on dancing!

<3 Melanie

Nicole & Bobby are getting married -- wedding photography

I recently posted Nicole and Bobby's slideshow from our recent engagement session. The two met when she went to work for him in his surf shop in downtown Fort Walton Beach--Liquid Surf and Sale.
It wasn't long before Bobby got up the nerve to ask her out on a date, and now four years later, they've decided to make it official next month.

You two make me laugh when I am around you, and I can only imagine how much fun we are going to have at your wedding next month!

:-) Melanie

Wedding film making

A few weeks ago I traveled to California for a school that teaches filmmaking, cinema, for weddings and other events; formerly known as "videography."
This is something I have wanted to grow my photography business into, since my days out of college were spent as a television reporter, telling stories through video segments. I know the ins and outs of shooting and interviewing and piecing the story together. I just needed some hands-on insight into other tools of the trade, as well as the latest editing techniques.
The guys who have the school recently posted on their site the end results of the projects of the various groups. We followed a UC Riverside student who is a competitive rock climber. I conducted most of the interview, and the final product was a collaboration of six of us who were in one of the groups. Check out group 3 on this link:

http://www.shadetreefilms.net/skooledbyfools/2012/03/home-sweet-home/

Engagement Session

Nicole and Bobby have been dating 4 years, after having met when she went to work for him at Liquid Surf and Sail in Fort Walton Beach...She is a mathematics whiz and has since moved on to an accounting firm.  I had the opportunity to spend time with them last week for their engagement session and they were so much fun to spend time with!  Their nuptials are planned for May, and I so look forward to that day, capturing their memories.
Thanks guys!

:-) Melanie

Panama City beach photography, Santa Rosa Beach photography

Jessica emailed me a couple of weeks ago and wanted to have her family's pictures made on the beach. They are from near Birmingham, AL, and were going to be in town for about a week.  She told me that her dad has terminal cancer and that this was to be a special time for them.
I have had several families over the years, whose family members have cancer. It's a horrible subject, I know, but at least by them telling me, I can try to make the session extra special.
Some of these images have the subjects' eyes closed...but that is just what I asked for...I told them to hug each other as though they loved each other sooooo much... and this is the result.
God bless you Jessica, and your family.

:-) Melanie

Child Photography in Destin, FL and Santa Rosa Beach, FL

I just LOVE little kids!  They are just so darn funny being themselves!
In the midst of all the office work/editing/creating a new wedding website/answering emails and phone calls/watching the weather-because-it-looks-like-rain-tomorrow-and-I-have-a-family-session-and-engagement-session, I was reviewing some sessions with families from years past as I was editing some pictures to use in marketing.
Of course, I also love the families these little people are members of, and appreciate the new friendships I make every year, and the repeat clients I have from year to year! But the little kids....well, there's nothing like 'em!!
When someone calls me to ask some questions about a session, or to book one, they always tell me that they love my website...I tell them thanks bunches! And I explain that I always shoot the family poses they want...but then, I let the children just do what they do best....Be Kids!
You can never guess what they are going to do when you let them do their own thing...and that is why my photography style is so sought after, and why I limit the number of sessions I book each year--so that I can give my utmost attention to your family and what I can capture for you to have memories for a lifetime of your time at these beautiful beaches!  And it is especially important to me--when there are children with special needs and family members with terminal illnesses--to engrave in photographs the feelings and love that a family expresses.
Enjoy these funny faces!
:-)
Melanie