As a natural light photographer, Melissa Winters seeks out beautifully candid moments that make hearts full.
And she also finds the warm glow of love at home, in Mount Horeb, with her husband Matt, who works in nursing administration at a hospital, and their three kids — eight-year-old Ava, five-year-old Isaac and two-year-old Elaina.
Melissa shares more about her approach to work and family life.
What do you like best about living where you do?
Matt is from Sauk City and I am from Mount Horeb. We love it here! We especially love all the beautiful places we have to explore right in our backyard — Stewart Lake, Blue Mounds State Park, Governor Dodge State Park — and one of our favorites that’s a small drive away, Devil’s Lake.
What are your family’s favorite things to do together?
Our favorite things to do as a family are getting outside and exploring new places. We especially love the summertime and finding a nice lake to spend our day swimming. This past summer we started camping, and it was a great way to get away from the busyness and relax in the woods.
We’re hoping to check off more state parks on the list this year! We also are known to last-minute pack up our bags in the minivan and go on a road trip out of state. Last year we went to Marquette, Michigan, in the summer and the Black Hills and Badlands in South Dakota in the fall. As much as we love getting out of the house, we are also big homebodies and love a good movie night at home.
What’s a typical winter weekend like for you and your family?
A typical winter weekend for us is usually a little more laid back. Winter months are a lot less busy for me so I really try to enjoy the slow. We get up and make breakfast together and then try to get outside and go sledding and snowboarding and try new winter activities.
How did you come to photography and please tell us more about your work!
I first got into photography when my husband bought me a nice camera in 2016. I loved taking pictures of our kids (at the time we had just Ava and Isaac), and after a couple months of playing around with it, friends and family started saying I should use my talent to start up a business. Something in me thought that was a great idea, and I jumped right in! At the time I was doing in home daycare and thought photography would be my side gig. A year in and I was shooting weddings and my calendar was full! When we had our third, Elaina, I decided to take the leap and make photography my fulltime business.
What does capturing moments for families mean for you?
My work is lifestyle and storytelling. I love capturing families in the moment, whatever that may be for them. My hopes are for a family to feel comfortable enough around me being themselves so I can capture not just smiles but their authentic emotions. I want their walls full of moments that make their hearts full. I find so much joy in knowing years from now they will have these moments in time to look back at it. 2020 really made me realize just how meaningful documenting families truly is — taking an hour to step away from the craziness of the world and to just love on the most important thing in life, your family. I am so grateful that over the past four years I have created a friendship with many clients. That truly means so much to me.
What do you hope your kids get from seeing you do this work?
I hope my children see that I am doing something I love. That I am using a talent I was given to give back to others in so many different ways. I hope my kids see the smile on my face when I get back from a session, but I also hope they see me working really hard at something I love. Most of the time I capture love stories, new life, families loving on one another. But sometimes I capture things that aren’t always easy and make me feel vulnerable, but I know that what I am doing is so incredibly important to my clients.
There’s never enough time for everything, so what do you prioritize or always make time for as a family?
We make sure to prioritize having dinner as a family. It’s the one time of the day the kids aren’t bouncing off the walls and we can all talk, laugh, pray and share one thing we are grateful for from the day.
What are three words to describe your family?
Adventurous, spiritual, grateful.
What are you most looking forward to in the new year?
In the new year, we are most looking forward to baby number four to make his or her arrival in June! It will be a great summer! We will probably spend a little more time at home loving on baby, and I am really looking forward to that.
– Katie Vaughn
Photos by Tumbling Sparrow (top photo) and Melissa Winters.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.