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!

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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! 🙂

We’re Nominated! | Raleigh Durham Child Photographer

What an honor it is to be nominated for Favorite Family Photographer by the local organization Triangle Moms on Main! Two years in a row, how exciting!

I’d love your vote in that category, and be sure to vote for your other favorite local businesses! Just follow the link below — it takes just a moment to complete. Thanks so much! 🙂

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012MomsChoice

Baby Natalie and A New Look | RALEIGH DURHAM NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

These past few weeks I’ve been working with a very talented designer (Megan of Kaylee Bug Designs) to transform my “look” here. And we’ve really succeeded! I’m so excited about the new logo she created for me and the way she’s re-vamped my branding. I think this new look is more “me” and I couldn’t be happier! Hope you all like it as much as I do!

And you know I can’t post without photos. This is the sweet Miss Natalie at 13 days old. Very girly and cute!! She was one of the babies I met back in the fall at the Keri Meyers workshop – I’m clearly very behind in posting the images! 🙂

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In Action! | Raleigh Durham Newborn Photographer

I have to share this image that my friend Kathy snapped of me last weekend. I had a twin newborn session and she was gracious enough to come along and be my extra set of hands — I didn’t want to be outnumbered by the babies! Here I am soothing the babies into a pose. And in case you’re wondering, my iPhone has a white noise app and was helping me get them to sleep!

Thanks Kathy! 🙂

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Holiday Mini Session Information | Raleigh Durham Family Photographer

Once a year I hold holiday mini-sessions that are just perfect for getting an updated family photo or for getting your holiday card photos done. This year I’m holding these sessions on two dates – Saturday, October 29th in Raleigh, and Saturday, November 12th in Wake Forest. Both locations are favorites among my clients.

This year two package options are available. Both offer high resolution digital files at a SIGNIFICANT savings. The higher package provides you with custom designed holiday cards. I have a huge selection of adorable cards – all are high end, 5×7 double sided cards. You won’t be disappointed!

Mini Sessions are filling up quickly, but I do have a few slots still available. E-mail me today to get on the list (melissadevoephotography@gmail.com)!

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Nicole & Justin | Raleigh Durham Wedding Photographer

Nicole and Justin were married in downtown Durham on a beautiful sunny day. They had a fabulous church ceremony and their reception was held at the American Tobacco Campus. We had a blast roaming the streets of downtown Durham after the ceremony and got a TON of great shots with the most unique backdrops. It was a fun wedding and I was so honored to be there!!

Many congrats to Nicole and Justin!