HI!

I’m Melissa! I’ve been shooting professionally for over 10 years, and I’ve lived in the Atlanta since graduating from UGA (Go Dawgs!) in 2005. I earned with a BFA degree in Printmaking, but art has always been in my blood. I worked at the Center for Puppetry Arts for almost a decade as an event coordinator and graphic design assistant. I can plan a mean birthday party, know more about puppetry than I ever dreamed of, and learned the importance of delivering exceptional customer service.

I consider myself a people person, and one of my favorite parts of this business is getting to know my clients and their families personally so that I can really capture their true personalities. Some fun facts about me::

::I am a wife to Craig and a girl mom to the core. We have three daughters — Leighton (8 yrs) and identical twin girls, Collins and Connor (almost 5 yrs). We also have a puppy, a Golden Retriever named Toby, who has brought a whole new level of chaos to our home. Being a mom is the single greatest gift I could have ever asked for, and while it definitely has its challenging moments (hello, twins!), I am so incredibly grateful that I get to spend so much of my days at home with my girls. Motherhood has also helped me immensely with navigating a variety of behaviors from kids, and I’m able to roll with just about anything… trust me when I say that your child is not the first to resemble a wild animal when it’s time for family photos. (Mine do almost every time!)

::I didn’t grow up wanting to be a photographer. I wanted to be a gemologist. (Is that even a real thing?) I just loved gemstones and wanted to do something I loved for work. Funny how life turns out, because I’m doing that now… just with a camera and your loved ones instead of rocks.

::One of my favorite meals to cook and eat is my grandmother’s chicken cacciatore. I love the smell of butter and onions and red wine that fills the kitchen while it’s cooking, and it never fails to bring back childhood memories of those same scents in my grandparents’ house.

::I have a travel bucket list that’s a mile long, but my favorite place to vacation has always been just a state away in St. Augustine, Florida. Up until the end of 2021, my grandparents had a house on the beach (as in stepping out the back door and right into the sand) for longer than I’ve been alive, and it is a place that holds a lifetime of fond memories. It’s where my husband and I got married and where we got to bring our daughters to experience all that is great about this historic beach town. My favorite memories there were sitting on that empty beach with a good magazine and a cold beer, listening to Jimmy Buffet,  watching the waves crash on the sand, and hunting for pretty little shells in the seashell-covered sand. Now that our girls are getting a little older and easier to travel with, we’ve started taking them on our travels and can’t wait to cross off more adventures on our bucket list!

::I will never turn down a dessert or a glass of wine, so if you wanted to bring one of your favorite goodies to our session, I wouldn’t hate it.

For a glimpse into my personal life (and our tinygirlgang), you can follow me on instagram.

MY WORK::

I am a natural light photographer serving the metro Atlanta, GA area. My style is bright, colorful, clean, and fun. I love working with children and am not afraid to embarrass myself to get an authentic laugh for the camera. It’s my goal for you to feel comfortable and have fun during your session so that I am able to give you something beautiful for your family to cherish for generations to come. Being a parent myself, I now truly understand the saying that the days are long, but the years are all too short. Time passes too quickly when you’re watching your children grow, and I am honored to have the opportunity to capture those precious faces and memories for you.

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Member of the National Association of Professional Child Photographers and Professional Photographers of America.

Photos by Jenny Perry Photography; RyaPhotos by Rya Dunklee

Copyright 2024 Melissa Hayes Photography