Hello! I’m Melissa Ortendahl

I am a full-time wedding and family photographer located in Central Massachusetts. I am in my 6th year of being full-time and in year 8 of my business. I started my photography business from a passion for photography after leaving my 10+ year career in Higher Education to be at home with my kids. I am a mother to three boys, ages 14, 11 and 11 (that’s right…we have a set of identical twins!)

I started my business with NO idea of what I was doing or how to do it. My kids were 2.5, 2.5 and 5. I built my business during nap times and late nights and taught myself how to shoot on manual, how to use photoshop and lightroom and it took me three years, but I was able to build a business that went from non-existent to part time to full time.

With a background in education, and LOVING being my own boss, I realized that I wanted to help other women be able to pursue their passions as well. I started an in-person workshop in 2020 that was designed to help women build, grow and scale their businesses. That sold-out workshop continued through 2023. Prior to that, I developed photography courses that taught the fundamentals of photography,