web3me.jpg

Photography is my art, which is funny because I always thought I wasn't good at art. As a child and into my teenage years, I appreciated abstract art and loved looking at it while trying to figure out what the artist was thinking while creating the masterpiece. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could create a masterpiece full of emotion and life.

I am a true mom-tographer. After having our first daughter my husband and I decided I should stay at home and raise her and our children to come.  I had just graduated with a degree in communications/ marketing/ journalism and wanted to work at some big Public Relations firm in some awesome city. But my husband was right, I needed to stay at home with our children {Wait, did I just admit my husband was right?}. In 2008, I purchased my first camera, a Nikon D40 and began taking images of my baby and her growth into toddler-hood.  I had no idea what I was doing but truly enjoyed capturing the essence of my daughter and her growth. It was something about freezing that moment in time that stuck in my heart. I kept at it, took online courses and practiced practiced practiced.

Suddenly my friend's  mother who had a daughter who knows a dog groomer that had a daughter who was getting married was contacting me. Okay that was totally made up, but suddenly out of no where people began to contact me to photograph a memory for them. I was amazed that folks wanted ME to capture THEM. Like I said, I never thought I could "be good at art", but what I didn't know is that creating it with a camera was something that would fulfill the creative void my heart was needing.  In 2010, one year after my daughter was born, I was blessed with an official LLC business and am now a fully insured professional lifestyle photographer. 

I have since realized I have an ever growing extreme passion for documenting the stages of life and all the amazing emotion within."Art" is subjective. I learned "art" in school, but never knew it could and would look like the imaginative world in my mind coming alive in a moment captured for a lifetime. Each moment, each masterpiece is different with each session. The uniqueness that encapsulates each image speaks inspiration in continuing to create art just as I know it, and just as I see it.


Meet my family! Gracie, me, my husband holding our baby boy Abe, Hayden, and Selah. Photo creds Sarah-Beth Photography.

Meet my family! Gracie, me, my husband holding our baby boy Abe, Hayden, and Selah. Photo creds Sarah-Beth Photography.

About me? Well, I am just a normal person. My house is sometimes messy {but I swear it is the kids' doing}, my suv has piles of toys, shoes, and other objects floating around it in... I could practically have a garage sale straight out of my van at any given time and make a killing out of it.

I love my husband to pieces {I met him when I was 14!} He is my rock and the person who brings me back down to Earth when I become overwhelmed by the chaos of this world.

Our new studio was finished Jan/Feb of 2013, until then I worked out of my sun porch for 3 years. Yes, an itty bitty tiny sun porch.  True Story.

My son, Abrem, and I back in 2014 Photo Cred Sarah-Beth Photography

My son, Abrem, and I back in 2014 Photo Cred Sarah-Beth Photography

Fun Facts About ME!

I love Jesus. No question about that. I am in desperate need of him daily.

I only write with my right hand, mostly everything else I do is with my left.

I love salt and vinegar chips and salted collard greens. Not together, of course.

I only ever drink water, or of course a vanilla latte. Oh, and Starbucks green team lemonade is the best ever...mmmh mmmh.

I love to bake. Pies. Cookies...anything fattening. And then eat it all. 

I have two beautiful daughters, a sweet baby boy,  a wonderful step-son, and a gorgeous husband who supports me and my crazy desires/ideas.

I never went to college for photography, my degree is in marketing/journalism. To some people that matters, but to me photography is more than a degree. It requires a connection with the people you are photographing and the ability to capture the emotion and essence of what is happening at that very moment. It is more than pushing a button.

I love the changing seasons and embrace the different colors and light in each season. I go gaga over light...

I love laughing.

I love lemons.

I love baby kisses. I am guilty of sniffing baby's heads.

I LOVE traveling. I’ve been to Belize, Haiti, Honduras, California, Outer Banks, Rocky Mountains, Canada, Smokey Mountains…I LOVE exploring the world and soaking in its history.

I always wanted to own a vw bus and FINALLY purchased one years ago. It was AWESOME. However, after 3 years of having it I sold it to a local who collects antique cars so we could keep my husband at home. He has been at home working our businesses with me since 2016. We love working from home and homeschooling our children!

I think in my last life (I really don’t believe that happens but just for fun) I was a hippie.

I love when an image takes my breath away.

I go mostly barefoot in my studio. Yes, even during appointments.

I wish I could paint. Even just walls. I always get paint every where!

I want to move to Italy and own a vineyard. Or live in the mountains. I would be okay living at the beach, too.

AE Photography

AE Photography

Screen Shot 2020-08-28 at 6.02.09 PM.png

Melissa’s studio resides in Columbia City, Indiana, tucked in the beautiful country. She has been in business for 12 years and is passionate about helping other moms learn how to use their camera, teaching children creative photography techniques, and mentoring other up and coming photographers.