A Summer Senior Portrait Session With a Horse in Lancaster, PA

I have always wanted the opportunity to do a photo session with a horse and this beautiful summer senior session was my moment! Sydney loves animals and she wanted to find a way to incorporate both her dog and her horse into photos. We found the perfect creek location at Drumore Park just a few minutes away from Silvertop Stables where the horse stables are located. We started with some photos at the park in the stream and then ended at the farm. I love this particular spot in the creek because it is easy for wading and has these huge giant boulder rocks on either side of the stream. There is also a native pollinator garden at this park where we took some photos in the flowers with her dog.

I was blown away by the beauty of the light on the farm as Sydney walked with her horse up in the open pasture on a hill. We lucked out with the most beautiful sunset too! As we drove away I had us pull over on the side of the road just so I could grab some photos of Sydney as the sun went down.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Creative Celestial Branding & Lifestyle Photo Shoot with She Was Blue Jewelry in Lancaster, PA

This past winter I had the opportunity to participate in a couple creative photo shoots with some local vendors and artists. This celestial themed shoot for She Was Blue Jewelry was by far one of my favorites. Allison, a local Lancaster creative, took her vision and brought it to life. She dyed the blue backdrop, created the moon, brought the wardrobe (and jewelry of course) along with the gold stars and moons streamers.

When Allison of She Was Blue Jewelry told me about her vision for the shoot, I immediately thought of fairy lights to add some extra dazzle and depth to the images. The combination of golds and blues along with a very talented artist and model Taylor Holmes made for some stunning images! And all the credit for hair and makeup goes to the ladies of Anthology Salon & Style Bar in Lancaster City. Feast your eyes on the stellar images below!

Location/Hair & Makeup: Anthology Salon & Style Bar

Jewelry: She Was Blue Jewelry

Creative Direction: Allison Rohland Art

Photography: Melissa Engle Photography

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Senior Photography: A Winter Downtown Lancaster City Portrait Session with Mekai

Most of my photo sessions these days revolve around growing families, but every now and then I get requests for senior portraits. My approach to senior portrait photography is a little different than documenting families because I get to focus on just one person instead of multiple people interacting together. I think the thing I like most about senior sessions is that I get to incorporate the senior’s personality and get to know them a bit since the session is one on one. They also allow for a little more creative experimentation whereas with families and young kids there is a lot more action and movement and fewer patience and attention spans.

Because Mekai’s senior portrait session happened in December, we chose Lancaster City as the location for the shoot. As you know, winter landscapes can be pretty sparse and the colors and textures of the city are fabulous year round. There is a lot of beauty to be found in the historic architecture, murals and roof tops around Lancaster City. And as a bonus, I’m just a 10 minute walk from the center of town. For this session we met at the Lancaster Central Market, a classic Lancaster City icon, and then headed up West King Street to one of my favorite roof top parking garages. I really wanted to sneak a mural in somewhere so we stopped at one of the newly painted murals sponsored by Music For Everyone, painted by local artist Keisha Finnie.

I think my favorite image of Mekai has to be him sitting on the concrete ledge of the rooftop parking garage with the stark sunlight and perfect blue sky with puffy clouds behind him. Which one is your favorite?

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Lifestyle Photography: Move It Studio Fitness

If you know me well, you know that I love to dance. I can’t say that I put my dancing skills into practice much these days other than dance parties in the living room with my kids but it is an art form that I have always loved. Dance and movement speak to my soul and any time I have an opportunity to photograph it, I’m all in.

Marie, owner of Move It Studio, asked if I would like to do some photography for the fitness studio’s rebrand launch this past summer where they offer barre, pilates and dance classes. Of course I said “yes!”

Years ago when her studio first launched and we were both pregnant with our first babies, we collaborated on a project together called Lancaster Moves. We captured various dancers in public places around Lancaster City and the images were displayed in her studio for an art gallery opening event.

For the rebrand, Marie wanted to capture both portraits and action shots of the studio teachers along with images in the studio and of clients in their everyday workout wear hanging with their gal pals. I had such a blast photographing these ladies and I am amazed by their skills and strength. I myself have been enjoying classes, both virtually and in person since they reopened this summer. If you are local to Lancaster and looking for a place to join a barre, pilates or dance class, I highly recommend Move It Studio. They have both a downtown Lancaster and a Lititz studio and even offer outdoor classes.

Enjoy the images of movement below. Because Move It Studio is located downtown next to the Lancaster Central Market we decided to take all the photos around that area. I loved seeing how creative the teachers got with movement in the alleyways, on the railings, bike racks, walls and window ledges. I would love to hear which one(s) is your favorite!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Portrait Photography: Spring Peeps Backyard Tea Party

Spring of 2020 is one that will go down in the history books because of the coronavirus/covid19. For most of the world, the virus has changed life as we know it and turned everything upside down. I will think of it as The Great Pause and looking back on this time, I will hopefully forget the hard days and remember the memories I made with my family. As I write this, we are slowly starting to emerge from a three month quarantine (March to May).

I had planned my first ever indoor studio spring mini sessions for the end of March; however, those plans all got cancelled due to the virus. I had borrowed this beautiful macrame backdrop for my mini sessions from my good friends who got married right at the start of the pandemic and wanted to use it in a photo shoot somehow before returning it. I figured why not just use it in our little city backyard somehow? Hence the idea for a peep tea party was born.

There have been a lot of new habits and trends that have emerged during this pandemic and one of them apparently is buying baby chicks (for laying eggs I presume). When a friend had the opportunity to hatch a couple dozen peeps, I asked if we could borrow a couple to babysit for a week or so. My kids named them Cheesy and Dandelion and these peeps provided so much delight and entertainment for us. They came at a time when I was feeling quarantine depression and was on crutches due to a sprained foot. Peep therapy was just what I needed at the time!

I photographed two different looks for the tea party. My dear friend let me borrow her tea sets and I used an old lace curtain for the table cloth in the first setting and the colorful vintage teal and green flower fabric for the table cloth in the second setting. The kids enjoyed sipping their tea while the peeps hopped around (don’t worry, they only pooped once!). We also tried putting them in the tea pot a couple of times.

I hope these images inspire more backyard tea parties!

P.S. if you like the macrame and want to support a local artisan, you should check out my neighbor’s Esty shop Fringe By J. She does beautiful work and last year I got to photograph her in action making some of her pieces, which you can view here.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Branding Photography: Fringe by J macrame art

Every now and then I get to do some branding and lifestyle photography for friends and clients. I especially love it when I can help budding small business owners by taking some quality photos of their work. Jette is a new friend and neighbor of mine here in Cabbage Hill on the South West side of Lancaster City. She recently started a business creating macrame art called Fringe by J. She can make most anything, from wall hangings to plant holders to purses and pillow covers. I loved photographing her in her element where she works in her beautiful bright attic studio space.

One of the things I learned about Jette is that she is a country girl at heart and she grew up on a farm in Virginia. She even incorporates pieces of home into her work by using wood that she has found around the farm and forest for her macrame pieces. She and her fiance will soon be getting married and she is planning to create a macrame backdrop for their wedding ceremony.

If you have a moment, I recommend checking out her Etsy shop to see more of her creations.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

Lancaster Portrait Photography: Spring Butterflies and Blooms Creative Portraits

This spring I got together with some creative photographer friends to do something magical and colorful. A little while back I came across these magnetic butterflies on Amazon and bought them thinking I could use them some day for a creative project. And thus we decided on a butterflies and blooms spring themed photoshoot. I created a hanging mobile of butterflies and shot down through it for a neat effect (although the wind made them tangle quite a bit).

Emily of Emily Grace Photography and Sirena of Monsters and Lace brought all the color and creative modeling expertise. It turned out to be a rainy day but we didn’t let that stop us. We each took turns being in front of and behind the lens (though let’s be honest, Sirena’s pink hair stole the show).

When I shared the image of Sirena lying in the yellow flowers with the butterflies on Instagram, someone said it reminded them of Taylor Swift’s new album about butterflies. I am totally out of the loop when it comes to pop culture so I had no idea, but hey, I guess I’m on trend for once?

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

Lancaster Portrait Photography: A Vintage Peacock Flapper Inspired Glamour Session in Lancaster City

This winter I was itching to do something creative just for myself and so I started tossing around some ideas. After much contemplating I ended up with this vintage peacock flapper inspired glamour session with my new friend and fellow creative Rachel as model. Rachel has this vintage vibe about her (she also collects vintage clothing) and I thought she would be perfect for this. I love jewel tones, especially peacock colors, and so naturally I was drawn to this room with a teal wall above Realm and Reason Shop in Lancaster City.

The idea for this vintage flapper inspired glamour session began when I decided I wanted to dress up fancy for a friend’s New Year’s Eve party. I had ordered this awesome flapper dress on Amazon only to end up with my first ever emergency room visit on NYE due to what I thought was a bone stuck in my throat (thankfully turned out to be nothing) which meant no NYE party for me. I also happened to have a ton of peacock feathers on hand from my wedding back in 2012. We made our own bouquets and used some of the feathers in them. They complemented the flapper look perfectly and I had fun holding them in front of the lens to create some additional depth and color.

We had a limited time window for this shoot since it happened during the 2 hours my daughter was in preschool. I managed to not only shoot digital but also shot a roll of 800 speed Kodak film that was more than 10 years old on my Canon AE-1, my very first camera which functions completely manually. If you scroll down to the bottom of this post you’ll probably be able to tell which images were shot on film.

I have so many favorites from this session that I found it hard to narrow these down. These are the colors of my soul! The light was gorgeous that morning, pouring in through the windows. Rachel was getting over a bad head cold but you can hardly even tell in these photos. She was a real trouper and even smoked a cigarette and sat on an old toilet for some of the shots. The room with the peeling floral wall paper was also a perfect setting for capturing Rachel’s vintage flapper essence and I enjoyed messing around with some freelensing there too.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

Lancaster Senior Photography: Lexi's Snowy Winter Narnia Senior Session at Tucquan Glen

When I think of the Chronicles of Narnia, I definitely imagine the snowy winter scenes in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. When I first spoke with Lexi over the phone about what she envisioned for her senior session, I knew it was going to be good. She is interested in film and she loves Lord of the Rings and Narnia so she had several ideas for how to incorporate her interests into this session. She wanted a wooded, forest setting with rocks and water and I knew right away that Tucquan Glen would be the perfect location for her senior session. I am pretty sure this was the first time I did a senior session in the snow and it could not have been more perfect for creating that Narnia vibe. She even brought a sword and her bow and arrow along!

Another unique addition to this session were some of Lexi’s closest friends. I loved having them along because they made her laugh and it made the cold a little more bearable. On my drive home I went by a sign that read, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face” and I thought it was the perfect sentiment for the day. I got to experiment with some double exposures and my new get fractals prisms as well on this shoot and I am happy with the results. Hope you enjoy the photos from this snowy, winter senior session at Tucquan Glen!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

Personal: A Mermaid Dreams Jewel Toned Fantasy Styled Shoot

And here she is, my favorite personal project of 2018, Mermaid Dreams. This creative jewel toned mermaid fantasy shoot has been brewing in my mind for quite a while. Seeing it all come together despite the odds is more than a dream come true for me. It is one thing to have an idea in your mind and it is a whole other thing to execute and bring to life, especially when it involves water and a handmade wooden strip canoe that has to be transported from point A to point B, a mermaid, candles and smoke bombs.

Those who know me well would say that I am a mermaid at heart. I have always loved the water and Disney’s The Little Mermaid was my top favorite movie as a second grader when it came out in theaters. I was on the swim team in high school, water played a role in both of my children’s birth stories, and for my 35th birthday this year I bought myself a swimmable mermaid tail from Fin Fun Mermaid which we used for this photo shoot.

The collaboration with our amazing florist Kate of Glory Flower Co. and my fellow photog boss lady partner in crime Emily Wilcox of Emily Grace Photography was so much fun. And this shoot of course would not have been possible without our incredible models and creative duo Sirena and Chris of Monsters and Lace.

I have never done a styled shoot like this before, and so it took quite a bit of organizing and Pinterest boards to bring it all together. I LOVE jewel tones and so I knew I wanted the colors to be rich and saturated in shades of turquoise, magenta, gold and cobalt blue. In hindsight we may have gone a little overboard with trying to do both a land scene and a water scene on the same day but it all worked out despite being a bit rushed at the end when it was getting dark (however it was perfect for our candles and lantern in the water). We originally planned to do the shoot on the Susquehanna River, but due to rains and flooding in the days before the shoot, the water was too high and fast for that. We ended up putting the boat in the tree line where it had flooded which worked perfectly to add a swampy, misty effect to the mermaid scene.

Speaking of the boat, I am forever grateful to Lakefield Weddings for allowing us to borrow their wooden strip canoe at the last minute. It took some effort to transport (especially since I could not lift anything due to throwing out my back the week prior) but with some help we were able to load it on top of Emily’s dad’s car and get it to the river.

And of course all of this would not have been possible without these amazing creatives and vendors who were willing to donate their time and let us borrow their stuff:

Other Photographer | Emily Wilcox of Emily Grace Photography
Models | Sirena Domino Hildebrand and Chris Juergen of Monsters and Lace
Florist | Kate Knapp of Glory Flower Co.
Jewelry | Realm and Reason
Canoe Rental | Lakefield Weddings
Geodes & Placemat Rentals | Keiser Rental Co.
Invites & Geode Calligraphy | Haldeman Haus
Mermaid Tail | Fin Fun Mermaid
Green Vintage Dress | The Scarlet Willow
Vintage Trunk | This is Dannis