creatING a photo experience that has you feeling comfortable + Confident WITH yourself
I'm Melissa :)
I am California grown with Peruvian roots.
Being the Latina that I am, I want you to have FUN during the photo session! It's not just about the photos making an impact, but the photo experience leaving an impact on YOU!
My goal is to make you feel confident + comfortable with yourself in front of the camera. Bonus points if my spider money moves make you laugh! I'll climb high and bend low to get your best angle!
San Diego Elopement Photographer San Diego Courthouse Wedding Photographer
San Diego Lifestyle Photographer. San Diego Portrait Photographer San Diego Wedding Photographer
"We worked with Melissa for our courthouse wedding, and she was a star from start to finish. She was timely, efficient, and helpful while we were booking and planning our session with her, but she really shone during the photo shoot. She was super creative in using spaces around the courthouse to our advantage, turning unassuming concrete walls, ramps, trees, and hills into beautiful backdrops. She helped wrangle us and our guests for photos (harder than it sounds!) and helped us feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera when it didn't necessarily come naturally... Our friends and family were thrilled with the results. Also, we weren't necessarily looking for a bilingual photographer, but this was very nice bonus, and helpful for ushering our guests through the process. Melissa is energetic, fun, and professional, and I would be pleased to work with her again and recommend her to others."
-Chiara D.
A portrait session memorializes an important time in your life. It can be graduation, starting a family, the love with your significant other, an accomplishment of some sort. It can be a time when you want to remember who YOU were at that moment.
Lifestyle shoots help you communicate your brand or yourself creatively. It creates visual storytelling of your brand identity.
Getting married should be all fun + love with little stress. Welcome to the world of San Diego courthouse weddings + elopements!
WORD ON THE STREET...
"I'm so glad we chose to work with Melissa for our San Diego courthouse wedding! We were coming in from out-of-state so her knowledge of the area and overall process was indispensable to us. Melissa helped guide how to register for our appointment, was present to explain where/what we needed to do at the courthouse, and even signed as our witness when we definitely forgot about that whole part 😅
Then of course the photos! Melissa was able to organize our large party of extended family with an ease and attention to detail that paid off in ways I couldn't have imagined! Our little 2 hour session gave me exactly all the little family pictures I requested as well as a wonderful album of just my partner and I that make me smile whenever I look at them, all within the immediate surroundings of the courthouse itself! And don't even get me started on how quickly we got our photos back in the first place!! Couldn't have imagined the day being as beautiful as it was, and Melissa captured that beauty perfectly ❤"
"Melissa is pure magic behind the lens! She photographed my wife Sonia and me during a sunset beach shoot in La Jolla, and the photos turned out absolutely stunning. Every shot feels like a scene from a love story—ours.
Melissa made the whole experience feel effortless and fun. We laughed, we kissed like no one was watching—and somehow she turned those moments into art. Her warm, easygoing energy helped us relax and just be ourselves, which made all the difference.
If you’re looking for dreamy, romantic photos with a playful vibe, Melissa is the one. We’re so grateful for the memories she captured—we’ll be smiling at these forever.
Thank you, Melissa, for giving us something so beautiful to hold onto!"
— Deeya C.
— Christian C.
— Jace G.
