Your Family. Your Memories
This is why I do what I do
Hey there, I'm Melinda!
Funmaker. Magic creator. Photoshop wiz!
I'm the adventure-loving mum of three teenagers behind Melinda Thomas Photography.
I have always loved working with children. Which probably explains why we were crazy enough to have 3 kids in 3.5 years. And now we have 3 teenagers. Nuts…I know!
I have worked with children and families for the past 25+ years. Confident ones. Shy ones. Bouncy ones. Quiet ones. Sassy ones. All ages. All abilities.
My day job focusses on working with children and their families - think social work crossed with early years education. But outside of this I can get creative with kids and families through photography.
I love chocolate (I mean…a lot!). I love watching movies, summer evenings and long walks. I love those few moments when nobody needs you for anything and you can have a quiet moment to yourself (I know they don’t happen often, but still!).
I also loathe being in front of the camera. I know…crazy being a photographer. But I still have all the same worries about being in photos - how much will all my wobbly bits show up? What about my wrinkles? Will my crazy hair just be more crazy than usual? What if I am smiling weirdly?
One of the things I am incredibly and deeply passionate about is creating tangible memories for your family that will be handed down to children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Not forgotten on a corrupted hard drive somewhere. Not left unseen and those memories lost. There are so many beautiful options to enjoy these memories for years to come.
“In today’s digital world, I see our kids missing out on enjoying real life printed photos. Flicking through albums and seeing photos of themselves and their family upon the walls of their home. Those things meant so much to me growing up.”
I love kids laughing, families enjoying each other’s company and capturing the perfectly imperfect moments in between.
And I love seeing the looks on the kids faces when they see themselves in a magical piece of art where they are the feature!
More about me...
I grew up with the joy of printed photos, spending hours thumbing through albums, and looking at the pictures on the walls of my Nanna's house. It’s what inspired me to start taking photos from such early age—pictures of my family, the cat, the dog, and the horse. Anything was fair game! It was a long wait to see the gems captured in my little film camera back in those days. Yet, so exciting when I could finally hold those moments in my hands and enjoy them again.
In today's digital world, I see our kids missing out on this tangible experience. The only thing they know about photos is that they live on our phones. While I love the accessibility technology gives us, and I know this is a super important part of our lives now, these photos will not last for the next generation. Hands up if you have ever lost a phone along with everything on it! I hear the same story so often, and it devastates me every time.
Sadly, this means our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have very little evidence of our important moments. That is why I do what I do and why I offer professionally printed heirloom products. That is why putting photographic art in your hands for you and your family to enjoy is so important to me.
Fun facts about me:
I have lived in 3 states of Australia but have visited every state and territory
I have lived and worked in the USA teaching kids to swim at a summer camp
I realise now that having 3 kids in 3.5 years has both pros and cons!
I absolutely love it when it rains…and even more when it storms!
Movies are the best – apart from Sci-Fi (really not my thing!)
And I am also:
25yrs+ experience working with families and kids of all ages and all abilities
Lifelong photographer (the last seven years in business)
Accredited
Advanced Diploma in Photography and Adobe Photoshop
Insured, vaccinated and have my WWVP card
Trained in both Unposed and Superfeel for kids and families (how to get natural photos through playing and prompting, not posing)
An absolute Photoshop wiz so I can transport you anywhere, fix almost anything and tweak just the bits that matter in your photos
Have done hundreds of hours of training on posing, lighting and editing to make the best photos for you
What does this mean for you?
It means you are working with a professional photographer, who is passionate about creating works of art for your family. These must be made to withstand the test of time so we can pass on to our future generations. Photography sessions must be relaxed and fun to capture your family just as you are. And although I am a wiz at Photoshop, you must always still look like you in all of your photos.
The magic of photoshop
What if you want a bit of ah, tweaking? Or something added, maybe removed?
I’ve got you covered! I am a total photoshop ninja.
My expert level retouching and compositing skills seamlessly transport kids to enchanted realms and make the odd pimple (or double chin) magically disappear too. That means we can do pretty much anything to make your photo what you want (even face-swapping for better expressions! Amazing, huh?).
Can I take off a few pounds or even make you look like Barbie? Sure. But that’s not going to look like you. Any alterations must be natural-looking, so you can feel confident that you and your family members will always still look like themselves.