Meet Melissa Ortendahl…
“Helping other women turn their passion into a profitable business is the reason I started teaching.”
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,
Highlighted Courses
This course is for you if:
You’ve ever found yourself stressed trying to make a location that your client chose work for a session
You have to shoot during a time of day that is less than preferred
The location you planned to use isn’t available and now you have to make a session happen in a shorter timeframe and non-ideal location
You are feeling frustrated with the lack of locations in your area and want to find new places to use, but aren’t sure what to look for
This course includes:
40 page, interactive e-book to teach you how to location scout (the right way), to train your eye on seeing the potential in locations, a better understanding of light and how to photograph a session in any type of light or location.
3 behind-the-scenes videos:
A session held on the side of the road in mid-day sun
Location scouting and what to look for
BTS and Breakdown of Several Lighting & Location Situations
This course is for you if:
You’ve ever felt frustrated, confused or overwhelmed trying to learn how to use your camera.
You want to take creative control of your images and be able to create - in-camera - the images that you visualize in your head (and spend less time fixing mistakes in post-processing).
You want to feel confident in being able to create beautiful images in any type of lighting, create sun flares, silhouettes and motion blur
You want to understand the technical foundations of photography so you understand what the elements are, how they work together and how to adjust them to achieve a technically sound image every time.
You’re tired of missing focus and want to be able to create tack sharp images
This course includes:
47 page e-book
10 instructional videos on EACH foundational element
5 videos on shooting in different types of light
Shooting Assignments and Exercises to get you out shooting on manual from day 1
Course Requirements:
DSLR or Mirrorless Camera
Prime Lens (recommended), but any lens will do
Willingness to practice - need to use your camera 20 minutes every day
Being trusted to photograph an expecting parent and their newborn baby is not something to be taken lightly. Whether you want to streamline your current session process or you’re entering into newborn and maternity photography for the first time, this is a course you can learn from.
TFF Co-Founder Melissa Ortendahl takes you along with her to SIX client sessions (three maternity sessions and three newborn session) to provide you the hands on experience and information you need to be able to hold safe and successful maternity and newborn sessions while also creating beautiful and meaningful images for your clients to look back on.
In this course, you will receive the following:
52-page downloadable E-Book
8 Videos:
BTS Maternity Session - 2 Parents/No Other Kids
BTS Maternity Session - 2 Parents / 1 Toddler
BTS Maternity Session - 2 Parents / 3 Kids Under 7
BTS Newborn Session - Twins in 1 Bedroom Boston Apartment
BTS Newborn Session - 2 Parents and Toddler - In House (Using mostly 1 room)
BTS Newborn Session - 2 Parents, 3 Older Siblings - In House (using two rooms)
Baby Safety Video
Newborn Session Prep Video
3 Exercises to Implement and Practice