Hi, it's me!
The woman behind the lens and this fun hustle of a photography business I started in February 2021. I’m Melissa Gagnon (Gagnon is my married name and if you can’t pronounce it, that’s okay - neither can I)!
I am a wife, a mama and photography is my full time profession. Becoming a mother has inspired me to pick up my camera and to take the leap into doing what I love for myself, but also for my family.
I was born and raised in Halifax where I currently live. I am a morning person, a coffee drinker, I wear my heart on my sleeve and try not to take myself too seriously.
For me, 2023 has been all about new perspectives, bolder styles and shoots, growing more creatively as a photographer and expanding my business.
I cannot wait to show you what wild ideas I have up my sleeve for 2024.
Follow along for the fun!
Warmth & Kindness,
Melissa
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“Melissa was our photographer for our wedding and engagement shoot. She exceeded all our expectations and made my very camera shy husband feel so comfortable. She kept up with the chaos of the day without hesitation and every guest (as well as us) loved her and her approach. We could not be more thrilled with her photos and her contribution to a very memorable day for us. Highly recommend to anyone looking for easy going, genuine photos.”
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“Melissa is an amazing photographer and she is also kind, reliable and respectful. I recently moved back to Nova Scotia and was happy to discover her photography while looking for a wedding photographer. I was so happy that she understood our very relaxed wedding plans. We had a small wedding with immediate family and she respected that we wanted to be present with our guest. Our wedding photos turned out perfect and I highly recommend her.”
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“Melissa is amazing! She is so kind and talented. I do not like having my picture taken and she made me and my fiancé feel so good and so relaxed. She is so personable and puts so much thought into what she does. Melissa did our engagement photos and they are more than what I could have ever imagined. I cannot wait to see what magic she creates for our wedding! I wouldn’t trust anyone other than Melissa to capture such special moments!”
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“I don't even know where to begin! Melissa is an absolute gem. I never thought in a million years we would love our wedding photos as much as we did. Looking at them is like reliving the day over and over again exactly as it happened. Melissa is incredibly kind and generous and went so above and beyond our wildest expectations! It was truly like she was part of our family! We cannot recommend her enough and cannot wait to work with her again!”
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“Melissa is an absolute DREAM. She shot our wedding for us in the beginning of September and she completely blew our expectations out of the water. She has a natural talent when it comes to photography and we could not have asked for better photos capturing our special day. All of our friends and family continue to rave about how impressed they are with Mel's photos! They are beautiful, warm, and dreamy. You can tell this is her passion and it will show through in the photos she captures for you.”
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“Having headshots for my wedding planning business with Melissa was an incredible experience from beginning to end. She was easy to work with and had great suggestions on location and outfits that would work well. She encouraged me to bring my toddler along to the shoot and made the whole experience fun. Not only were the photos beautiful, but they perfectly captured my personality and she snuck in a few sweet ones with my little guy too!!”
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“Melissa was amazing to work with for family photos! She was casual and relaxed, and made us feel comfortable. The photos she captured were so lovely and looked very natural and not staged. I hope to do another session in the future!”
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“Melissa is so talented and sweet! She did our engagement shoot and made us feel so comfortable. She takes such beautiful and unique photos. Can’t wait to have her capture our wedding as well!”
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“Melissa was our wedding photographer and I could not recommend her more highly! The photographs she takes are amazing. She captures all the regular photographs perfectly, but what really stands out is her ability to capture personalities and meaning in her photos. She is incredibly adept at finding and capturing meaningful moments. Whether it is a look between family members, or the perfect snapshot of someone mid story, she is able to capture moments that feel real and true to that person.”
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“Melissa isn't just a wonderful person to work with but she is great at her craft. I would highly recommend her for any photography, the quality and creativity she has is to notch. So book with her for sure!”
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“Melissa was a dream to work with! She is super easy going, but also very professional. She made me feel comfortable and beautiful and captured some really great candid and posed moments. I was very happy with my photos!”
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“My fiancé and I were fortunate enough to have Melissa capture engagement photos for us. We are beyond happy with the photos she gave to us, she even had sneak peak photos back within a couple of hours after the shoot! We are thrilled to have hired Melissa, and are very much looking forward to her capturing our upcoming wedding!”
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“Melissa is a pleasure to work with. Very professional yet fun and compassionate! Quick turnaround time for photos. Highly recommend!!”
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“This is my third pregnancy but I have never done maternity photos before but with this being my last baby I am so glad I decided to and that they were with Melissa.
She captured a very special time in such a beautiful and intimate way, her talent and love for the art of photography shining through the entire experience.
Everything about the photoshoot was amazing and I can’t wait for our next photoshoot with her when this little babe joins our family.”
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“Melissa is a bright light, a beautiful soul, she’s fun and unbelievably talented! Melissa listens to her clients! She provided many suggestions for potential locations after I shared our vision of landscape features and light. Melissa delivers! When we received our pictures two weeks later, they far exceeded what we had envisioned. Melissa’s eye for detail is remarkable. We really appreciated the direction that Melissa gave us. We had such a wonderful experience with Melissa!”
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“Melissa is magic. I am typically not comfortable in front of a camera, so the thought of a business branding photo shoot was not my idea of a good time - until I hired Melissa. She made me feel so comfortable, and had me chatting and laughing like old friends in no time. And just like that, she captured a candid smile. The money shot! I couldn’t believe it.”
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“Melissa tells a story through her photography, and captures those candid moments you don't always get to see. From the first interaction, you instantly feel like you've known her for years with her warm and inviting personality. We had Melissa take photos for both family and business, and loved them. We plan to book some more sessions for the business side to keep product photos fresh and current with the quality our customers expect.”
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“She made the whole shoot completely effortless and it shows in our photos. Our photos were delivered to us quickly after the shoot and we couldn’t be happier with them. She captured every detail and then some. She is so extremely talented at what she does. We can’t wait to work with you again Melissa!”
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“We are so happy with Melissa’s photos. She was able to capture our growing family and two crazy dogs perfectly! She makes you feel very relaxed, with kind and funny conversations, while snapping pictures. You sometimes don’t even realize she’s taking them! Melissa offers a lot of photos for the price of her service, which is amazing! She is quick to edit and get them back to you. She is very professional and you can tell she is passionate and knowledgeable in this industry. I can’t recommend her enough!”
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“Melissa was the best! She took our first family photos and the experience was seamless. She was so chill and friendly, it was like one of your friends was taking your picture. I wasn't sure how difficult the process would be with a 1 year old, but she captured our family perfectly. The turnaround to get our edited photos was quicker than she estimated, and perfect quality for our holiday cards. 10/10 would recommend!”
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“Melissa is not only an amazing human but an amazing photographer! She was able to easily put my vision into reality. I hired Melissa to take photos for the launch of my business, Sweet N' Salty Rentals. The photos elevated my service offering and helped build the foundation for my business. I encourage you to book her for your next project!”
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“I don’t even know where to start! I wish there was a higher star rating than just 5. 10/10 experience with Melissa. At 9+ months pregnant, which has been an experience in itself - to have her make you feel flawless and comfortable was more than I could have imagined and her photos speak for themselves. I can not rave about her, her work and my experience enough! Do yourselves a favor and look no further when making the decision on who to capture your very special moments!
Thank you so much Melissa!”
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“Melissa was amazing to work with! Not only is she sweet as can be, professional and easy to be around, but her pictures brought tears to my eyes! It’s amazing what she was able to capture and make beautiful since she had to follow around two rowdy kids and exhausted parents.”
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“Melissa shot my wedding in Newfoundland and was the consummate professional. She did a fantastic job taking advantage of the scenery at her disposal to create some of the best wedding photos I've seen - in addition to wonderful staged shots, she excels at capturing the little moments that would otherwise go unnoticed. I would gladly recommend her as a wedding photographer.”
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“It was important to us to find a skilled photographer for our elopement. We wanted to be sure we would have high quality photos to look back on and to share with family and friends. We love our photos! Melissa captured our special day perfectly. She is so sweet, easy-going, and talented that she made us feel comfortable quickly. It was an absolute pleasure to have her document our day and we highly recommend her to others looking for an awesome photographer to capture special moments.”
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“That’s what you can expect working with Melissa. The poses are fun, no awkward or forced smiles, and she captures the most beautiful candid moments that are natural and imperfectly perfect.
I really cannot say enough about how talented this woman is. I’m already planning my next photoshoot with her and I recommend Melissa to all my friends and family!”
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“Melissa made the whole experience so silly and fun I honestly forgot about other people seeing us. She made us feel completely comfortable and we laughed throughout the whole shoot! We didn’t have to come prepared with anything she had so many ideas for cute poses to do. Melissa is so fun to work with and I can’t wait to do it again!”
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“Melissa was wonderful to work with. I am typically very uncomfortable in front of the camera and Melissa made me feel comfortable and at ease. She ended up taking some of my favourite pictures that have ever been taken of me!”
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“Working with Melissa was an absolute dream - responsive and clear communication, very accommodating to my requests, enthusiastic and encouraging during the shoot, and beautiful results!”
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“On top of the completely amazing experience, the photos are perfect!! I’ve had several friends make comments that she captured everyone - all 13 of us - perfectly, and I truly could not agree more! If you’re looking for a photographer, I one million percent recommend Melissa!! You’ll be so happy with the entire experience and the end result, I’m sure of it!!”
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“It was like we had been friends forever. I have no doubt Melissa brings this warmth to every photo session. Such a joy to watch someone eager to capture the love in other people’s lives. Melissa is an incredibly kind human with an eye for the moments that need to be framed.”
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“She’s an expert at capturing those ‘in between’ moments in which your true personalities show. If you’re looking for a laid back, adventurous photographer who you’ll feel like you’ve known your entire life, I couldn’t recommend Melissa enough!”
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“Melissa has captured memories for me on two occasions (family portrait and event shoot). She is timely, professional and her personality creates a safe, fun and easy environment to be in! I was thrilled to have her capture my first event and she exceeded my expectations - providing unique shots and perspectives of every special moment. If you are looking for an affordable quality photographer, your search can end here. I will certainly be booking with her again in the future.”
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“We used Melissa for our engagement and wedding photos, and we could not have been happier. She went above and beyond to capture every moment and to make sure that we were comfortable. She is the sweetest person to deal with, organized and truly goes above and beyond to get your photos back to you in a timely manner. I would not hesitate to use Melissa for any of your photography needs!”
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“We hired her again for a family session on the beach. This time it wasn’t my nerves, but my toddlers melting down that had me feeling discouraged.. but Melissa was calm, reassuring, FUN, and my gosh she was brilliant. Somehow, between the tears, she captured so much love. I’m obsessed! Can’t wait for our next session”