I’ve had difficult experiences with photographers in the past, which made me hesitant to book with anyone new. After hearing about my friend’s wonderful experience with Melia, I decided to give her a chance and I’m so glad I did. As someone who is socially awkward and struggles with anxiety, I was amazed by how comfortable, confident, and at ease Melia made me feel throughout the session. She brought out my genuine smile in every photo, and the results exceeded my expectations. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She is truly worth it, and I will absolutely be booking with her again.

Melia did such an amazing job with our photos! I loved her ability to go with the flow and capture our family’s silliness with a baby and a toddler. I will cherish these photos forever!

I found Melia by happenstance. I was longing to take family pictures at the famous Buckhorn Baths in downtown Mesa and after seeing her work posted on a friend’s social page I knew I too had to work with her. An early morning request turned into an instant booking. Melia responded almost immediately, we chatted about my families wants and needs for the shoot and the over all vision. We were on the same page and definitely catching the same vibes! Upon arrival at the shoot Melia was warm and welcoming. My daughter is a slow start to warm up but after our time together they were best friends. Working with children came natural to Melia and you can feel that while shooting and the final product which is no easy task. In 24 hours we already had our sneak peeks and they were everything we wanted and more. The colors we wanted in our clothing reflected flawlessly in the images she took. 4 days later we had a full gallery return. Downloading the images and the final process was so smooth! I have since then printed and hung up our new family photos which fit in one home just perfectly, when I say she made the west come alive I mean she went above and beyond and exceeded our expectations for our family pictures and the vision. We will definitely be return customers and can’t wait to work with Melia again!

Melia is absolutely fabulous. Recommend her 100/10. Honestly for any occasion. It is a plus that She is amazing with little ones and super patient. Always over delivers and her return on pics is super fast in my opinion. If you are uncomfortable in front of the camera don’t worry she is your biggest hype woman too, she also has tons of ideas on posing and the pictures ALWAYS come out amazing. We love her!

I can’t begin to brag enough about the quality of our family session. The pictures to date are undoubtedly my favorite. A true treasure in my eyes. The skill and attention to every detail in the photos make them a timeless piece in our home. We can’t thank you enough for everything. We had a large group of 12, 8 of whom were 11 and under. The time patience and effort to get the exact photos we wanted didn’t go unnoticed. Thank you so much again for such a beautiful keepsake for our families.

Melia is truly such a talented photographer. We felt so comfortable during our photos. She was extremely helpful in finding the perfect location to bring our vision to life. I could not recommend her more!! We are absolutely obsessed with our photos!

My family met Melia at an event hosted by the Prickly Porch in Gilbert and we were immediately drawn to her warm vibe and inviting demeanor, especially when photographing young kiddos who were very nervous to meet Santa for the first time! I immediately scheduled family photos with her after that and the entire process from the first time I messaged Melia to schedule our photos to receiving our photos has not only been rewarding but so very enjoyable! I word babbled all of my different ideas to Melia and she was not only fully supportive but also helped me realize exactly what I wanted in family photos which was my raw authentic amazing family in all of our chaotic glory (insert crying laughing emoji). From overalls on the donkey to flying kids through the air these are my favorite photos to date and we will be coming back year after year. Cheers to enjoyable family photos!

The whole process was so organized and Melia was super helpful! Being from out of state I wasn’t sure of a location but I told Melia my vision and she executed it perfectly!! The pictures turned out so beautifully and I am very grateful for how she captured my senior pictures.

The noon years eve photos were amazing!!!!

Thank you for capturing such a fun moment! You were great with my kiddos!

Thank you so much for capturing our girls! You were so patient and super kind and friendly which made them feel so comfortable. These new year photos are so perfect!

We love Melia! She is such an amazing photographer and gets the photos to you quicker than most! Can’t wait until our next photoshoot with her, always in LOVE with all of our photoshoots she ends up doing!

We got our pictures done at the Santa event at the prickly porch event and Melia was so wonderful! The pictures are adorable and she got them back to us in not even 2 days!!

Melia from the booking process all the way to the day we had our shoot was incredible. When I tell you I was blown away by what she captured of my family it is no exaggeration! We have had an empty wall in our living room for 8 months trying to decide what art piece we wanted to hang and after receiving our gallery it’s been decided! The place she picked for our shoot was breathtaking, my kids loved interacting with her and I loved how she just captured us with our kids in sweet moments instead of posed photos. I 10/10 recommend her you will not be disappointed!

Melia was amazing to work with. She took photos of our engagement, but did so much more! She was so helpful with the location, lighting & even setting up at the proposal site. We couldn’t be happier with how our photos turned out & we will cherish them forever ❤️

Loved seeing Melia’s posts on IG and the way she captures moments is beautiful, she’s an artist. Her environment is so fun and safe, we felt so comfortable and enjoyed the whole session laughing<3

We absolutely loved our photos! Melia is so easy to work with and our kids love her. She captures the moments of our family naturally without having everything be so posed, which I love! Even with a toddler meltdown, she still got some sweet photos that we will cherish forever!

Melia has always been so friendly and personable the couple of times we have had pictures taken, this was our first family shoot and we will definitely be doing another. She is so quick to snap the natural pictures and I personally love that. My girls adore her and are always comfortable doing poses or acting themselves. The quality and edited photos are always perfect. And she is so quick to get them back to you. Highly recommend this sweet photographer.

Melia was phenomenal! I was nervous about getting the best photos, and spending the money. My friend assured me if was a good price so I went with it. But I couldn't be happier wit the photos, with the help from Melia planning the outfit, location, bringing out the JOY and fun in the session. My man even said he had FUN, which I was not expecting. I would absolutely recommend her to my friends and use her again. No hesistations. Thank you so much Melia. You captured this once in a lifetime moment perfectly.

Melia was absolutely amazing! She not only took beautiful pictures, but was amazing when are kids were having meltdowns. She was patient, kind, and welcoming. We cannot wait to use her again!

Melia was so great to work with! My toddler had a meltdown the whole photoshoot, but Melia stayed calm and managed to get a lot of cute family & couple shots. She also got us our pictures back SO quickly! They’re all unique, beautiful, and very high quality. I’m planning on booking with Melia at least once a year

Melia was so sweet when meeting my girls they already came happy and ready to smile and do as she asked. I was so happy to see she offered the 10 minute mini session it’s just what we needed and just the right amount of time with littles. This was our first time and definitely won’t be our last my girls adored her. Highly recommend.

I can’t recommend Melia enough! She was super organized and professional. She interacted with my kids so well, there was no stress. 10/10

Time and time again Melia captures a perfect moment. You don’t think you had one? She found it! 🤍

We had Melia take photos at my grandmothers 90th birthday and she did an amazing job! We’re so happy with the pictures and Melia was so friendly, communicative, and flexible!! Highly recommend!

With a family of seven, getting everyone to cooperate for the perfect, picture-frame-worthy-shot feels near impossible. There's always at least one pair of closed eyes or missing smiles creating an unusable photo. But when it finally came time for our long-overdue family portraits, Melia worked pure magic behind the camera. Her patience and skill in working with our energetic little girls was simply a breath of fresh air. Melia had the expertise to make us feel comfortable capturing candid, playful moments rather than forcing stiff poses. I had a few poses in mind, and Melia’s creative vision surpassed my expectations. We received our gallery just days after our session. Seeing Melia’s work come to life had me in tears. Melia's talent showcased the love and chaos that defines us as The Guilin’s. Melia is an exceptionally gifted photographer. I cannot recommend her enough to anyone wanting to hold onto life's most precious memories for years to come. She is simply the best.

Thank you Melia for the amazing senior photos! You made Abby feel so comfortable and got so many beautiful pictures! I can’t choose which ones to pick for her graduation announcement! We love them! You are the BEST!

Melia is the sweetest ever and is so talented!! She is my go to for all pictures, never disappoints 💜

Melia is the best! Such a talented photographer. She made me feel so comfortable and confident during my shoot and the pictures turned out absolutely beautiful! Highly recommend!

Melia is truly the most talented and caring photographer that I have ever worked with! From finding the most beautiful locations with the perfect lighting to helping us pose in ways that capture true emotions. I am forever grateful for the fun experience and memories that I get print and display around my home. The only hard part is narrowing down which photos to print since there are always so many good ones!

Melia is the sweetest, kindest person. My husband and I always feel so awkward when it comes to taking photos and she made it so natural! Not to mention her editing turn around time was quick, we had our sneak peeks the next day. I have all her photos hung around our house, because she did such an amazing job. I’m so happy she was able to capture moments that we can look back on forever. Do yourself a favor and book Melia Rae Photography ASAP!

We got our family pictures done by Melia and it was one of the best sessions I’ve ever had! She is so patient, and got it done quickly! As a single mom of 3 kids it can be overwhelming, and it wasn’t AT ALL! She was amazing with the kids and the location was great! The pictures were back so fast and i was so happy with everything she captured! We will definitely be using her every year!

She was very easy to work with! My husband is one of those that hates being “posed” and she made it really easy for us both to feel comfortable, and feel comfortable with her around our infant son (whom she captured beautifully). The photos we got are more beautiful than I expected, I was literally gasping, giggling, and aww-ing as we went through them. Even our baby smiled as we showed him. This was our first family portraits, and it meant a lot that she actually cared to make them truly special and gave us tons of precious memories that I can hang in our home and smile at for years to come.

Since knowing Melia (10+ years) there isn’t a time in my life that I have more photo memories than those times I was around her! Which is why when she said she was starting to do photography I had to see what she was really made of and W.O.W!! Melia was made to take your photos! She has a true eye for good pictures. She is super involved and directive during the session so it’s super laid back and easy which means she captures the most unique and beautiful moments! Not only was the process super easy but then I got my pictures wayyy fast and LOVED almost EVERY. SINGLE. ONE!! If I had it my way I’d never use another photographer… too bad she lives in another state!

Melia is so patient, kind, and talented. If you have littles and are worried they won’t make it through a session, don’t think second, book her now! She whole heartedly captured the essence of our family to perfection. We are so thankful we get to fill our homes walls with her art. We are so grateful to you for capturing our family and freezing these memories in time. Thank you Melia.

Melia knows how to truly make you feel and look beautiful. She has taken my Christmas, maternity, and 1 mo baby photos and continues to truly amaze me each time. She makes you feel very comfortable and truly has an eye for what she does!

I was never a picture girly and had no photos on our homes walls until I met Melia!! We had Melia do our engagement, birth announcement and maternity photos! I am OBSESSED with our photos and have them plastered all over the house. Melia knows how to take the most awkward person (me) and capture photos that will bring happy tears to your eyes 🥹😍 with how much you love the photos and Melia! Can’t thank her enough.

Melia and I got to meet in Utah when she came to visit and was able to take some maternity photos for me and my husband! They turned out so beautifully!! I still obsess over them and my baby is 4 months old now. She’s so sweet and had the best pose ideas!

Melia did an amazing job on my families very first maternity photo shoot. She made us feel comfortable and our photos turned out even better than I imagined. Friends and family still complement our images.

Not only is Melia one of the most thoughtful and kind humans, she is also an amazing photographer. Her creative eye and ability is unmatched and she is so good at directing you and your family to look effortlessly flawless. There is no one else I’d use for my family photos and I’m looking forward to everything else she has yet to capture of my family!

Melia is our go to for pictures that capture the moment in time but also the place we are as a family! Her 100% upbeat attitude and genuine LOVE is what sets her apart. She pours this into her work and beautiful portraits are the result!!

Can’t say enough good things about Melia Rae Photography, not only is she such a kind and wonderful person, but her creativity, energy, and timeliness is A+. She makes you feel so comfortable in front of the camera and it shows in the photos she produces. SHES AMAZING!!!! Can’t wait to do more pictures with her 🤗

Melia Rae Photography was amazing. She had everything planned out before our shoot and made the entire day simple on our end. During the shoot she improvised and made it fun and I can’t thank her enough for my wife’s maternity photos that turned out perfect!

Not only have I known Melia for quite some time and know that this is her calling because I don’t have near as many photos of my life than when she was around most, but I have had her do a couple sessions for me (maternity), (newborns for my 2nd baby) and have no doubt I will be booking more sessions as time goes by (family) (boudoir). She’s honestly made to do this, she makes it so easy and relaxed and the pics always turn out AMAZING!!! Seriously if you don’t get your pictures taken by her you’ll have only yourself to blame!

Melia did boudoir for me and made me feel so beautiful. I didn't think I would feel comfortable enough to have any nice shots but she made me feel so great about myself and I had so much fun! Would recommend her to anyone!

Melia recently captured our daughters first birthday smash cake photos. She was wonderful to work with! Really helped capture some cute moments in what can be a stressful event with a one year old! She was understanding, patient, and did all the tricks to make her smile. We will definitely continue to use her for future photos for our family!

As a happy accident, I had stumbled upon her Instagram page @meliaraephotography and fell in love with her artistic style. Turns out she was also an absolute dream to work with. As we were just visiting Phoenix from Canada our dates were relatively restricted, Melia made it work with her schedule and drove out to us in Phoenix from Mesa! There was also an issue with sending her a deposit as our bank deals in CAD & her bank deals with USD, but Melia was once again accommodating and trusting that we would honour our agreement. She answered all of my questions in a timely manner and went above and beyond to send me some colour options for our outfits. On photo day she was already waiting for us when we arrived and wasted no time getting into the session. I cannot comprehend how she got my 2 year old to pose for the photos as he is not the biggest fan of smiling for the camera, but she did it! From start to finish Melia was an outstanding professional and I cannot wait to frame the photos ❤️