Hi, I’m Haley — a 26-year-old photographer based in Melbourne, FL, serving couples and families across the state. A little about me outside of being a photographer. I’m a Christian, mama of two, and a huuuuge lover of Italian food. In my free time I love working out, trying new restaurants, making homemade pasta with my family (a Sunday tradition), watching college football, baking, and being in the sun (preferably at the beach.)
My love for photography runs deeper than just keeping a moment as a keepsake, though that’s how it began. Growing up, my Nana scrapbooked everything. Her shelves are lined with nearly 50 albums, each one filled with memories from our family’s life. As a little girl, I’d flip through them for hours, but it wasn’t until I got older that I realized how meaningful they really were. They held proof of the fleeting seasons we often forget, and that planted the seed for why I value documenting life the way I do.
I first picked up a camera in high school. Back then, I just wanted to capture the simplicity of everyday moments with my friends — knowing our years together in the same hometown were limited. It was a mix of documenting candid moments as well as taking portraits for fun. We’d wander around our small beach town, finding abandoned spots to turn into makeshift studios, taking portraits and making memories as we went. It started as fun, but it was also when I realized how much weight and sentiment a single photo can hold.
After graduation, that purpose slipped away for a while. My friends scattered, and the candid, everyday moments I loved documenting weren’t happening as often. I still had the desire to capture life, but I hadn’t yet found a new way forward.
Everything shifted again in March of 2024 when we welcomed our daughter. You always hear people say, “time speeds up when you become a parent,” and I never really understood it until I lived it. One day, while watching her smile at me for the very first time, I felt this sudden fear — that if I didn’t document these fleeting milestones, I might forget them. Life was moving so quickly, and I wanted a way to hold onto the little moments I knew I’d treasure years down the road. I felt like if I didn’t take a picture of it, it didn’t happen or could be lost as a memory forever.
That’s when I picked up my camera again. Only this time, I knew it wasn’t just for me. I had always loved documenting my own life, but as a new mom, I was also searching for a deeper purpose — something that could be both a creative outlet and a way to stay present at home with my kids.
It hit me one day: everyone deserves to have their story preserved in a way that lasts beyond memory. I knew there were people out there who valued documentation the same way I did — they just needed someone to do it for them. Because a tangible memory only gains value with time and eventually becomes an heirloom, just like the ones tucked into my Nana’s albums.
The next step was figuring out what I wanted to document. Family and faith have always been at the center of my life, and when I thought about where every family begins, the answer was clear: with two people. Two separate souls choosing to join their lives together, creating the foundation for all the memories that will one day fill albums and be passed down through generations. That realization moved me deeply — and it’s the same feeling I hope to give the couples I photograph.
Documenting love is endlessly inspiring to me because no two stories are the same. Each wedding day is full of its own rhythm: the anticipation, the laughter with friends, the unscripted emotive moments, the artistry tucked into thoughtful details, and the way it all unfolds into something beautifully unrepeatable. Working with couples draws out my most creative side, because it’s about more than just documenting — it’s about translating emotion into something timeless. Couples are truly where I feel most called — documenting their connection excites me and pushes my creativity in a way that feels so natural. But I also love following along as those couples grow, welcoming new chapters like starting a family. That’s why I still take on a limited number of family and maternity sessions each year. Getting to document love through all of its milestones feels like the most meaningful part of what I do.
My approach to photographing couples and weddings is really an evolution of how I first fell in love with photography. The documentary side of my work comes from those early years of flipping through my Nana’s scrapbooks — pages filled with everyday moments that now mean everything. Later, in high school, I carried my camera everywhere, documenting the candid joy of gatherings with my closest friends. Those experiences taught me that the unposed, in-between moments often become the ones we treasure most. I think it’s the photos that could never be perfectly recreated — even if you tried — that carry the deepest emotion. They hold a kind of honesty you can’t stage,
The artistic, editorial side of my photography comes from the same season of life — when my friends and I would explore abandoned spots around our beach town, turning them into backdrops for portraits. It was creative and intentional, and it showed me how artistry can transform a simple moment into something elevated and timeless. I’ve always been drawn to aesthetics and details, and I love finding ways to bring that eye for beauty into every story I tell.
Today, my work blends both of those early influences — the candid, in-between moments I once documented with my friends, and the artistic, intentional side I discovered creating portraits in unexpected places. What you’ll find in my galleries is a mix of the two: authentic, unscripted interactions paired with refined, editorial-inspired portraits.
It’s a balance that feels true to me and, I’ve found, deeply meaningful for my clients. Because your story deserves to be documented in a way that feels real, yet elevated — something you can look back on now and still treasure decades from today. Just like the heirlooms I grew up flipping through in my Nana’s scrapbooks, these photographs become more than images. They become a legacy.
If this resonates with you, check out more of my work over at my website: https://haleymaysphotography.mypixieset.com/
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