Authentic stories with a touch of nostalgia 

Family Sessions that feel like grandmas chocolate chip cookies. Warm, in-home and filmy

- learn more

Virginia based,
adventure lover,
mountain girl at heart,
latte obsessed

An organic, elopement and life stories photographer for adventurous, heart-centered and intimate, families and creatives.

My husband James and I live in the Appalachian Blue Ridge moutnains and have 3 children that keep us on our toes. Our favorite things to do are, going on sunset walks, fishing and when we get the chance, ride James's Harley together. 
I am also a traditional doula and birth photographer!

hi friends, i'm mel.

love stories like the movies

Timeless

for the ones who want to remember this moment forever

Where Editorial meets authentic movement

when every detail matters

click here for my free wedding guide.

see my style guide

Unrushed timelines, in-home sessions with your loves and the unaltered reality of capturing a birth story. 

a lover of real and raw

Cities are definitely my thing.

i lived in london.

Can you tell?

i love black and white.

"Mel has a way of showing the beauty in humanity. Capturing the beauty in what most see as flaws." - AM

OMG Sobbing! I love them so much! You did an amazing job. Thank you for capturing our love so perfectly.

- R + N

Kind words

OMG! I DONT EVEN HAVE WORDS. 😭 I'm in absolute tears over these. Our house, us interacting...it's so beautiful and so much more than I ever imagined. I am gonna treasure these forever and ever.     - Chelsea

"OMG MEL! I CAN'T EVEN! These are amazing, I don't have words. Like isn't even the word. OBSESSED! We truly had the best time. I saw a whole different side of him. He even secretly loved it."
            A.S. 

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', 

- drew and sara

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look li 'Content here, content here'

- craig and laura

thanks! i'll be in touch shortly.

HR+L

VA + Destination Elopement +
Lifestories Photographer

hello@hralphotography.com