Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Barnes.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My name is Melissa. I’m a wife & a mom (my kids’ bark) and an architectural designer to a local architecture firm. Architecture & Interior Design will forever be my first love, but photography is a mistress that has always sat next to it warmly in my heart. I just can’t help it – I am in love with love, the warmth of storytelling candids, and all the belly laughs that you can hear in photos.
It started with taking a photography class in school. At first, it was just for an easy A. We made a pinhole camera from a coffee tin, and I learned how to develop photos. I started taking photos of my friends for projects, mostly all of which were just goofing around – the pictures of my friend’s laughing were always my favorites.
My mom is Filipino, and anyone that grew up in a Filipino household knows how strict your parents are. My mom wouldn’t let me get a part-time job in while I was in school, so I decided to learn photoshop via YouTube videos and offered photo sessions to classmates; I even made friends with a local music talent, and I took all of her major photos.
When I was 14, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) stage 4, and this story deserves its own article, but I only found out trying to skip gym. In a matter of minutes of faking sick to my mom only to find out I was actually severely sick, my life was flipped upside down. It was just so sudden. Photography and the rest of my academic and social life ended for a while. To try to cheer me up, my mom bought me my first DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel T3.
I’m originally from NJ, and I was treated at Beth-Israel Children’s hospital in Newark. There, I met a few other people my age where we got to know each other, and it was nice to just be a teenager with others that understood what you were going through. One of my first friends was Alejandra, and she let me take photos of her sometimes to practice with my camera. I’ll never forget the picture I took of her laughing; you could almost hear her voice when you looked at it. Years and years later, she passed and was freed from cancer. We were not as close when she passed, but I still had that picture of her at the time, and I could still hear her laugh. It was then that I started to realize how much warmth and life a single picture holds.
Ironically enough, during my treatment, I never wanted to be in pictures. I was crazy thin – and I was ashamed of my bare head during chemo, and while that’s sad for anyone, I regret focusing on those superficial things instead of thinking about what was important: this time was the closest I’ve ever been with my mom.
My treatment was during 2008-2009, and fast forward to 2020, my mom passed away…just days after I got engaged to my now my husband. I would tell people stories that would describe what kind of person she was, including how much she showed up for me when I was at my weakest. I didn’t have photos with her during the time of my treatment and it devastated me to know I didn’t have photos of my mom that reflected the strength she had during our most trying of times. I used to fight having to take pictures with her during those times, and now all I wanted was pictures with her.
“It’s true what they say –
one day, all we are is a box of pictures.
Let’s be honest; there are plenty of reasons we tell ourselves to NOT take pictures.
“I need to lose/gain weight, I don’t like my hair, I don’t want to seem self-absorbed, people won’t care to see these pictures of me/us” You don’t. You look great. You’re not. People who love you will.
Life is far, far too short. Believe me. I lost both my parents before thirty, and all I wanted was pictures with them.
When all we are is a box of pictures, our children and surviving loved ones won’t care about those silly things – so why do we? It’s all about the moments, the memories, and the feelings – because while life does what it tends to do and things change, the pictures never do. The feelings live on. Forever.”
My goal as a photographer now is to capture the warmth you feel with someone you love, the laugh you can hear in photos, the strength you can see during a trying period in someone’s life they don’t even want to speak about – because I personally believe this is what makes us who we are, and I want to capture these moments for those who trust me enough to do just that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In regards to photography – the journey’s path was not linear. Life happens, and things get in the way, but we somehow always find each other again.
I had a writer’s block, but for photography, for a while. Between grieving my mom, planning a wedding, going through some family trauma, my passion for the arts (I draw portraits as well) slowly faded out.
Also finding time for it when you have a time-demanding 9-5 job that you also love is a struggle.
But I noticed there seemed to be a light that was out with me, and I knew it had to do with my lack of creative outlets. So, my new year’s resolution in 2023 was to make time for my creative passions, photography being number one. I took it more seriously, took workshops, attended styled shoots, etc. I’m naturally an introvert, so networking was and still is a challenge for me, but growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I provide couples & engagements, portraits, maternity, family, and now boudoir photography. I used to think I needed a niche or one thing to specialize in but when you’re telling someone’s story – the story doesn’t end with their engagement, their first child, etc. It goes on after that photo session.
I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, and neither is anyone else. I want to be there for all the moments – big and small.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t think I’ve taken on any major risks with photography – though I thought putting myself out there as introvert was, lol! I’m an architectural project manager most of the time, so planning and staying organized come natural to me.
But like I said before, growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone. I think if you want to grow – you’ll have to take risks.
I’ve been asked a couple of times to take on a wedding now, but that to me is risky. I’ve done a wedding before, but with my 9-5 now, I’m just not sure if I’ll have the energy to give my best work by the time wedding on the weekend comes around. It’s a lot of work. And I don’t think couples deserve work that is not given 100%, but who knows, maybe I’ll move my schedule around one day and take that risk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mmbphotography.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmb_.photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMBPhotographyy/
Image Credits
MMB Photography
