WAKE FOREST NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | Baby Dorothy

I’m excited to show a few outdoor shots we got with cute baby Dorothy (back when it was warmer!). I get asked a lot to do outdoor newborn photos, and I really adore doing them, however we’re very limited in the months we can do them. Baby Dorothy had her session back in September, and it was *just* barely warm enough outside. Usually May through September is when we can attempt outdoor shots here in North Carolina.

I have a great space outside of my Wake Forest, NC studio where I shoot these photos. It’s really easy to pop outdoors during a session and get a few great shots. If you’re wanting to do some outdoor photos as part of your newborn session, please don’t hesitate to ask! It’s no extra cost, and super easy. And of course the results are just beautiful!

Now onto sweet baby Dorothy’s photos! Her family hired me for their older daughter’s newborn portraits a few years ago as well, so I was happy to have them back this time around as their family has grown. Dorothy was just adorable, with an ample amount of chub! 🙂 Her parents requested purple and green to be used throughout the session, which were colors they used at their wedding. And they also wanted some blue to be used, because it was Dorothy’s Grandmother’s favorite color (I love mixing in some blue with baby girls!). Here are some favorites of mine from little Dorothy’s newborn session!

We can create beautiful newborn art together! If you would like to schedule your new baby for a photo session, please let me know. I can be reached through e-mail, or through the contact form on my website (link below) to book your photo session. Thank you so much!

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Honored | RALEIGH DURHAM NC NEWBORN BABY PHOTOGRAPHER

It’s always a nice honor and surprise when I receive a mention or award somewhere! 🙂 Photography Magazine selected me as one of the top newborn baby photographers in North Carolina for 2016. And a photo of mine was selected for the cover slot. What a treat for me!

To see more, follow this link: http://photographymagazine.com/photography-magazines-top-north-carolina-newborn-photographers-of-2016/

And what’s a post without a photo? Here’s sweet baby Matthew — a proper, full blog post will be coming for him soon. 🙂

International Contest in Newborn Photography

Wow, I am so very thrilled and honored to share some great news!! A photo of one of my teeny tiny clients, baby Max, was selected in the 2014 Annual International Contest in Newborn Photography as an Honorable Mention! There were so many amazing newborn photos from all around the world entered into this contest held by Child Photo Competition, so it’s very exciting that my photo of sweet baby Max grabbed their attention. This is such an honor for me, and I’m so thankful to the judges!

Here is that photo of precious little Max with his wink and a smile! 🙂

And to view all of the other winners of the International Contest in Newborn Photography, please visit the Child Photo Competition site! There are some beautiful photos there!

Merry Christmas 2014 | RALEIGH NC NEWBORN BABY PHOTOGRAPHER

Merry Christmas everyone! I had to hop on the blog today to share my family’s annual Christmas tree photo. So many of you ask me about it each year, so I wanted to make sure I got it posted for you all. This is year number four that I’ve done this portrait, and this year is oh so special, as you can imagine! With the addition of baby Clarkson to our family, we have a new person in the photo. 🙂 He has just begun to sit up unassisted for a few seconds here and there. My husband was slightly out of the frame stabilizing Clarkson every time he started to wobble. I love how it turned out. Just perfect – our family of THREE little boys.

And of course I wanted to share each of the past year’s photos. It’s fun to see how much each of my “big” boys have grown over the years!

I hope you all have enjoyed your Christmas, and I wish you each a fabulous 2015!

xoxo,

Melissa

Merry Christmas 2013 | RALEIGH DURHAM NC NEWBORN BABY PHOTOGRAPHER

Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to write a quick post to share a few things with all of my lovely clients. First is my annual Christmas tree photo with my two kids. I’ve been taking this photo each Christmas for the past three years and I love seeing how much they change each year. Here is this year’s photo:

And here is the past three years photos together as a comparison:

The second bit of news I wanted to share is that I’m pregnant!!! If you have REALLY good eyes you may have noticed the ultrasound picture nestled into this year’s tree. So this means next year I’ll have another pajama’d kiddo in the photo. I’ll really have my work cut out for me then! 🙂 Baby #3 is expected this summer. We’re ecstatic!!

I hope you all have a very happy holiday and spend it with those you love! Hope to see you all in 2014! 🙂

Baby Mia | RALEIGH DURHAM NC NEWBORN BABY PHOTOGRAPHER

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We had a big house full of company, and it was a blast! Now it’s back to catching up on work! 🙂

I met baby Mia back in October (still behind on blogging!). She was six days old for her first photo session. She has the most gorgeous dark hair!! So beautiful! Here are a couple of photos from our time together.

Melissa is currently booking for Raleigh Durham maternity photography sessions and Raleigh newborn photography sessions in the Raleigh Durham Cary Wake Forest, North Carolina area. Be sure to contact her early to reserve your space!

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Melissa DeVoe Photography On HGTV’s House Hunters!! | RALEIGH NC HOUSE HUNTERS NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

Last summer my family and I embarked on a move from our home in Raleigh, NC to a larger home in Wake Forest, NC. We were thrilled to be given the opportunity to experience reality TV firsthand! We filmed an episode of House Hunters with HGTV!!! Never in a million years would I have thought that *we* would be on a reality TV show! What an amazing time we had, too!! The whole family got to participate – so there was a lot of footage of my boys being silly (surprise, surprise), footage of us living in our little furnished apartment while we waited to move into our new home, and they captured us walking through three different homes with our realtor Tina Caul, and giving ALL of our opinions.

Well, of course, high on our priority list in our new home, was a functional space for my photography studio! And thank goodness we found that! When HGTV came back to Raleigh the second time to film, and to show us all settled into our new home, it was just TWO WEEKS after we moved in. Talk about an incentive to get unpacked!!! I’d managed to get my studio mostly set up, but it’s come a long way since the first two weeks. I featured photos of my newborn studio on the blog recently, so be sure to click over and see what it looks like today!

The entire experience was once in a lifetime. We were blessed with an amazing crew from HGTV who made us feel comfortable, who were patient with my children (and the dog!), and who liked to have some fun! What a neat thing for us to be blessed with. We have HUNDREDS of family/friends/kid’s classmates/acquaintances who have told us they’ll be tuning in to see us. We’re so excited!!

The air date is Monday, March 4th at 10 p.m. Eastern time, but check your local listings! Here’s the summary of our episode from the House Hunter’s website: http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters/growing-family-is-running-out-of-room-in-raleigh/index.html

Here’s a few photos from behind the scenes of our filming, all taken on my trusty iPhone (and therefore awful in the technical department)! 🙂

Melissa is currently booking for Raleigh maternity photography, Raleigh newborn photography and Raleigh child photo sessions in the Raleigh Durham Wake Forest, North Carolina area. Be sure to contact her early to reserve your space!

Contact Melissa for a Session | View Melissa’s Portfolio | Follow Melissa on Facebook

Melissa DeVoe Photography Studio | RALEIGH WAKE FOREST NC NEWBORN BABY MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER

In August of 2012 my family and I bought a new home in Wake Forest. During our house hunt, waaaaaaay up high on the list of necessities was a private home studio space for my photography business. Fortunately, what we found far exceeded my expectations. My studio is GIGANTIC and I have a space for everything I need. And then some. I had fun for the first month or two after we moved in, setting everything up, getting pictures on the walls, organizing my props, buying furniture. And I’ve dragged my feet long enough in regards to taking and posting photos of my studio.

I really want my clients to know that when they come here for their newborn or baby session, it’s their home away from home. I’ve got comfortable couches and chairs. A mini-fridge stocked with water and sodas and juice, as well as plenty of snacks. I have a separate room with comfortable seating for Mom to nurse in privacy. A private bathroom. Cable TV. Wi-fi. Everything you’d need to keep yourself busy while I capture portraits of your little one.

So without further adieu, here’s a glimpse at my space!

The last thing on my list to purchase is some storage for these props. As you can see, right now it’s just a big pile! I haven’t found anything I’ve liked yet, though!

I’ve managed some good organization to my headbands, hats, blankets and rugs. I love having it all out where I can see it. And one of the most commonly asked questions I receive from new clients is, “do you have props?” Well, I do! I have a wide assortment. No need to ever purchase anything for a baby session with me!

Here you’ll see my client seating area. Lots of space to hang out and relax!

You can also see through that far doorway the private nursing room for Moms. And through a doorway to the right is the restroom.

I always keep lots of albums, frames and birth announcement samples on hand for clients to browse through too.

Here you’ll see, behind the seating area, is the fridge and snacks. You’ll find these come in handy while you’re hanging out waiting for baby to finish. And nursing Mommies need their fuel! 🙂

Here’s a little peek at the nursing room for Mommies!

And a spacious restroom. Ya know, in case you were dying to see what the restroom looked like! 🙂

This next area is my desk where I have frames and color samples stored. It’s also my packaging station. I loooove this area!

And lastly, my little nook for storing all of my backdrops!

Thanks for taking a peek at my space! Hope to have you in here soon! 🙂

Printing Your Portraits | RALEIGH WAKE FOREST NEWBORN AND BABY PHOTOGRAPHER

I wanted to share some information on the importance of printing your portraits from a recommended photo lab. Below is a side by side comparison of different print labs. You can easily see that the professional printing lab most closely matches the original (top) image and can therefore be hung in your home and viewed as it was intended by the photographer. The “cheap” labs don’t even come close. In fact, the Kodak Easyshare photo on the bottom right sorta makes me shudder. It’s awful. The colors are bad in all of them, the shadows are bad. Just all around BAD.

For my clients who have purchased digital files from me – I highly, highly recommend printing those files through a site called mpix.com. Their lab is extremely close to professional quality. Otherwise, you’re not doing your portraits any justice! Thanks for listening! 🙂

*images provided by photographybycarlise – a big thank you!

Melissa is currently booking into 2013 for maternity, newborn and child photo sessions in the Raleigh Durham Wake Forest, NC area. Be sure to contact her early to reserve your space!

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2012 Holiday Mini Sessions

Book SOON for your holiday mini session — there are a limited number available this year. These are short versions of my normal sessions — designed primarily for those who want a few photos for their holiday cards. And a perfect and affordable way to get an updated photo of your family or your kids. Please contact me if you have any questions! 🙂

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