Welcome!

Hello, I’m Melissa and I’m a color obsessed plant-loving bohemian soul who is a child at heart and a real life mermaid.

I photograph people who are looking for someone to capture the joy and chaos of their everyday lives and important milestones with a unique eye for detail, color and genuine emotion. With a background in studio art and photojournalism, I strive to tell stories with my photography using an approach that is relaxed, natural and fun.

Most of my days are spent adventuring with my 3 children while sipping a cup of chai, puttering around in our garden or dreaming up our next house project. I also enjoy watching sci-fi detective shows or comedy with my computer programmer husband.

I am an avid thrift shopper who believes that life is about building relationships and finding ways to give back. I’m also addicted to ice cream and during the summer we eat lots of Penny’s Ice Cream (their black raspberry oreo is THE BEST!)

Since giving back is a core part of who I am, the heart of my business is about giving back too. Each year I hold mini sessions by donation with a portion of the proceeds being donated to non-profit organizations. Want to know more about my photography journey and where it all began? Click here.

more about me

  1. I was born in New Orleans where my mom grew up and my parents met.

  2. I can wiggle my ears.

  3. I have traveled to 40 countries on 5 continents, most of them while on assignment as a photographer for Mennonite Central Committee.

  4. I am fluent in Spanish and spent a year living with a host family in Nicaragua where I volunteered at a cultural center and ate LOTS of chocobananos.

  5. I love hearing and sharing birth stories (becoming a mom changed my life!) You can read about my second baby’s natural hospital birth story here and view the birth story film of my third baby’s home water birth here.

  6. I got my start in photography with film as a young teen after experiencing Glamour Shots and my first camera was my mom’s Canon-AE1.

This is us!

Thanks to Vanessa Joy Films for capturing a day in the life of our family.

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Favorites from a recent couple session in downtown Lancaster city. These two were just so much fun and completely themselves in front of the camera. It was such a joy to photograph them laughing, dancing and joking with one another and the fall color
October flew by and there are so many sessions to share and still so many to edit!!! I have been loving every bit of this beautiful weather and all the families I’ve had the opportunity to photograph this fall including this fine bunch at one o
Announcement! For all you last minute folks, and in honor of this beautiful fall weather, I am going to hold mini sessions for a cause next Saturday, November 2! A link to sign ups will be posted in my stories tonight and in my profile as well as on
This mama came to her maternity session with a vision; she wanted to achieve a studio look on a simple black backdrop, but also wanted outdoors. I don’t have my own studio space so I improvised by setting up a backdrop on the edge of a field wh
Epic senior session that involved wading in the water amongst huge boulders and driving a jeep through the stream. #lancasterseniorphotographer #melissaenglephotography #seniorportraits #seniorportraitphotographer #holtwood #lock13 #drumorepark #71
Seems like not so long ago that I photographed this couple in this exact same spot (plants! 😍) in their home when they were expecting their baby boy and now here he is! Swipe for a whopping 11 frames of newborn goodness! #melissaenglephotography #