Here's to Beauty.

When I saw this shoot in my mind, I envisioned sweet Belle seeing herself in a dream. She's battling a war within herself as she lets go of ideals and expectations. She welcomes love, peace and understanding as she tries to make sense of her life which once seemed so simple. The yellow smoke is an extension of Belle, the light breaks through the trees to reach her and ground her. I needed to set everything down and shoot for myself this week. This vision has been on my mind for several months and I knew I had to create this for many reasons. I remember when Beauty and the Beast came out the first time. My favorite outfit was a Beauty and the Beast stirrup pant and sweater set I got for Christmas and I wore it as often as I could. I look forward to seeing the upcoming release of Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson.

Here's to Beauty.

My ballerina is Katie Smith, a seasoned dancer and instructor. I knew Katie was the right dancer for this project because she is pretty much Belle in real life, a true beauty and a lady of class.

Photography by myself: Melinda Pike.

Special thanks to Kelsey Schmidt for assistance with this project.
All images are copyright Melinda Pike Photo of Pike Media LLC. Do not download, alter, or reproduce these images without my consent. 

All images are copyright Melinda Pike Photo of Pike Media LLC. Do not download, alter, or reproduce these images without my consent. Media: contact hello (at) melindapike (.) com for use. 

A big move and lots of new shoots!

Hey guys, I've noticed a surge of views here lately and so I wanted to post a little update!

We moved to the mainland for a little while and I've been pursuing my business here. As of right now, I've been booked solid since May and I have the following openings for fall/winter sessions:

November: 1 opening
December: 1 possible opening
These are in the state of Arizona and then I'll be booking Hawaii sessions June 2017.
Here are a few fun moments from the sessions since I last updated. I'm realizing there have been hundreds, so I'll just share some that are most recent!

Traveling around Arizona! So beautiful up in Sedona.

I was hired to do a little shoot for Coral Reef Swimwear in Arizona, which ended up being a great time and we worked with an incredibly talented team!

I've photographed several lifestyle sessions this year and one of my favorites was with Val. 

A long list of product shoots, but here are some fun ones: 

Piper Finn Baby 

Bannor Toys and Tnee's Tpee's

I've worked with a few bloggers on fun projects. This one was in the orchards. :) 

Lots of maternity sessions and this one was for my beautiful friend from Sweden. 

Lots of work for Lily Jade. Here is a fun shot of my favorite bag on my beautiful friend from Sweden. 

We went to Hawaii for the summer and I shot for the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was an amazing experience!

A destination wedding in Hawaii and there are no words for how beautiful it was. 

This post could go on and on as I'm realizing It's been a very busy and beautiful year for us! I have some major projects I'm working on right now, so my posting here will be a little slower, but I'm as busy as ever--especially after welcoming baby #2 to our family! 

Thanks for stopping in to see what we've been up to. 

RAD SWIM

These are darling, modest, swimsuits designed by Michelle Shumway of Rad Swim. My beautiful model, Mindy, and I had a great time playing around the island in these suits! Such a fun shoot.