Melissa Parsons is a Natural light lifestyle photographer specializing in family, birth and newborn photography, serving The Woodlands, Conroe, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, Montgomery, as well as other areas of North Houston.

Amend / Tomball, TX Lifestyle Family Photographer

January 11, 2019

Despite what most people think, we have four seasons in Texas. They just follow a different calendar and length of time than most places.

Sweltering, suffocating sauna of a summer starts in April and lasts until late October.

Falls lasts for 5-7 days if we’re lucky and takes places unannounced in November at its discretion.

Winter lasts from late November until approximately late February.

Spring is similar to fall, but takes place sometime in March and brings a blanket of pollen with it.

This makes my busy “fall” family photo session season a little challenging. I usually book up for the remainder of the year sometime in August. This family scheduled early in the season with me because life gets so busy, and Erin and I are both planners. On the day of our session, we had a rainstorm that blew through quickly in the afternoon. On the bright side, the rain gave way to sunshine, but it also left behind a blanket of 1000% humidity and an army of mosquitoes.

Ten minutes into the session, I did something I hardly ever do. I decided we needed to reschedule. I’ve been blessed to know this sweet family for many years and they were so accommodating and flexible. We got together again later in the season and picked up where we left off….without the mosquitos.

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Amelia / The Woodlands, TX Lifestyle Newborn Photographer

January 9, 2019

I’m finally giving a little love to the blog after coming up for air from busy season! I got a chance to meet this sweet girl way back in September.

My favorite part of this session was talking to this little guy all about his new role as a BIG brother. He was SO proud and doting on his little sister. We would take some pictures and then he would go enjoy a break with his toys or dad and then pop back in to see me.

I sure wish these in home lifestyle sessions would have been a “thing” when I had my kiddos ten years ago. Maybe they were and I just didn’t know it! All I remember was how stressful it was getting myself, my strong willed toddler, and my hungry baby piled in the car and heading to a small studio and then praying we could get ONE picture with everyone not feeling like the train wreck I did after undertaking such an event. Spoiler alert….no, we didn’t get that.

Fast forward 10 years, and that’s why I LOVE doing in home lifestyle newborn sessions so much. I always tell moms ahead of the session that it will feel so easy and relaxed because I want to assure them that this is not stressful at all. You even get a good excuse to take a shower and put on makeup! That’s honestly the hardest part of the entire thing.

Once I arrive, we let baby settle in to some natural shots, capturing his or her tiny details and preferences, and then focus on the love and connection that everyone feels for this new little arrival.

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Vollmar maternity waiting on Sophie / The Woodlands TX Maternity & Newborn Photographer

October 1, 2018

You guys, I feel like I’m living in Seattle with all of this rain and gloom we’ve been having here in Houston, TX. I’m so behind in blogging, so I figured I’ll reminisce about that gorgeous weather we had a few months back for this maternity family photo session. Did I mention that I’m behind? I’m actually going to take Sophie’s newborn pictures in two days because sweet girl arrived last week!

This gorgeous family knows how to work the camera. Now part of my job as a maternity family photographer is to coach you a little bit, make sure you’re in pretty light, and help you engage with your family in a way that looks natural and pretty in pictures. However, this family always handles much of that on their own, like the pros that they are. I mean, I still found pretty light for them, but they pretty much took care of the rest.

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Rider twins 4 Months / The Woodlands TX In Home family photographer

September 12, 2018

The four to six month range is one of my very favorite ages to do a baby photo session. I almost always do these sessions at the client’s home. Babies tend to be happiest still in their comfort zone, and that way they are also not being exposed to extreme temperatures….like when you’re four months old in July….and you live in Houston.

This session was twice as fun, because I was working with twins!! This sweet boy and girl had grown up so much since they’re newborn session. Their little personalities were just blooming and we got some sweet smiles, cuddles and even a quick cat nap in. One reason I love these in home 4 month old Watch Me Grow sessions, is we get to document sweet spaces as well. You guys HAVE to check out this nursery. It’s so gorgeous and I love the mural mom and dad worked so hard on. These two kiddos are going to love looking back on these pictures one day to see this special nursery.

We had so much fun, that brother passed out for a quick cat nap, but sister was still ready to play…so we did.

I’m so excited I’ll have a chance to see these cutie pies in just a couple of months for their outdoor Watch Me Grow sitter session.

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Toupal / The Woodlands TX Family & Baby Photographer

September 7, 2018

You will probably recognize this gorgeous family who has been making an appearance on the blog quite a bit over the last year.

We first met last fall for a gorgeous maternity session in East Shore where big sister stole the show. Then I got meet little brother, William, shortly after he was born for a Fresh 48 session at the new Woodlands Methodist Hospital. If you want to see one of the most gorgeous nursery’s ever, check out William’s newborn session! Six months later was the perfect time to see them again for this milestone family photo session back in The Woodlands.

Usually before sessions, I sent booked clients information and suggestions for what to wear as well as a link to a Pinterest board I keep for inspiration. This momma is so good at dressing her crew, she finds her way on that board many times. =) They walked up looking picture perfect like they always do.

We started this session pretty early in the morning while everyone was still in happy moods and the Houston heat & humidity hadn’t quite taken over yet. Read…it was barely bearable. Summer outdoor sessions are not for the faint of heart, but we are often rewarded with gorgeous light.

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Logan’s 1st Birthday / The Woodlands TX 1st Birthday Photographer

August 31, 2018

The grand finale for my Watch Me Grow packages are the first birthday sessions. By now, I consider these families friends, and I’m so happy to celebrate this special milestone with them!

To be honest, this entire session could have been blogged, because there were SO many great ones. This family always exudes such love with each other, it’s just fun to watch.

For every birthday / 12 month photo shoot I do, I try and spend about half of the session focusing on the birthday boy/girl and the rest on the entire family, because every session of mine is a family session. Once in a while, I’ll have a potential client inquire about wanting to book a session for their baby but not wanting to be in the shots. Guess what? I’ve never done a session like that. I’ve always managed to convince them to get in there and see the value of the family session.

When is your little one the happiest? Who can make them laugh the most? Who do they LOVE the most? YOU.

Sure we want to capture the cake and show how big they’ve grown, but you’ll also look back and remember them gripping your finger as they learn to walk, flying them in the air, and sweet cuddles that only you know how to give.

Siblings are growing up too! That’s why every Watch Me Grown Session is a family session. We’re watching your family bond and grow over an entire year that you won’t get back. Time marches on whether we want it to or not. We won’t get these moments back, but at least we’ll have the pictures to look back on.

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Emma / The Woodlands TX Newborn Photographer

August 26, 2018

I don’t know if I could have loved this in home newborn session anymore than I did.

I’m going to use “newborn” loosely because we did this session a little bit later than I usually do. Emma was born a littler early, so we scheduled this when she was about two months old. The family was already adjusting to their new normal and Emma and her big sister were already well on their way forming their sweet bond with each other.

Older babies are obviously going to be more alert, but this actually gave us the best of both worlds. We still got those sweet sleepy baby shots, but some of my very favorites included the ones where we saw her gorgeous eyes, and girlfriend already knows how to work the camera.

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Evelyn / The Woodlands TX First Birthday Photographer

August 6, 2018

Outdoor summer photo sessions in Texas are no joke. In fact, I usually only schedule them for milestones that just won’t wait for cooler weather, such as first birthdays! The heat was not going to stop this little girl’s first birthday photo shoot, and I dare say…..there might have even been a “pleasant” breeze….or maybe the evening light and gorgeous family just made me forget about it.

Y’all hear me say it all the time, but I love watching these babies grow up! These little newborns that I got to photograph a year ago just blossom into little people with such darling personalities.

I could not wipe the smile off of my face throughout this session because Evelyn herself did not STOP smiling throughout the entire thing! I dare you to try to look through these images and not light up looking at this little girl…she is just beautiful and SO happy!

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Juge / The Woodlands Maternity Photographer

July 18, 2018

Jasmine contacted me a few months back to schedule a maternity session. She and her family live quite a ways from The Woodlands, but they were great about traveling here so we could do an evening session at one of my favorite locations.

June outdoor sessions are normally no one’s favorite, but I have to say, this year we have had some incredible ones! We’ve had such gorgeous light to work with and I just tell my clients to think cool thoughts! Ha! Houston heat and humidity can be no joke, but there have been some breezy evenings that almost make it bearable. We all just bring lots of cold water and I shoot really fast.

I told Jasmine, that she was positively glowing. I’m sure she thought I meant from the heat..but this momma was just so beautiful. The camera just loved her and her sweet family.

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Victor / The Woodlands Six Month Baby Session

July 14, 2018

I love doing sessions (especially with young families) in the mornings at Market Street. It’s one of my favorite locations for beautiful light and color.

We usually have the place pretty much to ourselves before the shops open up, and there are lots of safe places for babies to explore and play with their families.