VANCOUVER ISLAND BC

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NANAIMO

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VANCOUVER ISLAND BC 〰️ NANAIMO 〰️

MELISSA MILNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Documentary Wedding & Family Photographer

Smiling carefree documentary wedding couple enjoying a intimate moment with family near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island

For a Documentary Wedding and Family Photographer

YOUR UNFILTERED STORY IS ENOUGH

Archiving memories for those drawn to Unfiltered Moments, Boundless Adventures & Deep Connections

Smiling couple captured by documentary wedding photographer located on Vancouver Island BC
Smiling couple during their documentary style wedding near Nanaimo located on Vancouver Island BC

Sincere documentary photography FOR THOSE WHO VALUE REAL LIFE in all its forms

Do you want a calm, easy-going element to your wedding or family photographs? A photographer who can observe for those elusive moments of connection, and adventure in the seemingly mundane moments of life? Someone who feels like family or a friend with a camera, providing a safe and inclusive environment for all to be their unfiltered selves?

This calming presence, intuition and providing a safe place to be your most unfiltered genuine self are the biggest gifts I want to bring to your wedding day or family session. I don’t believe you have to stage interesting moments during a session or wedding day to get jaw dropping images because your unfiltered story is ENOUGH! You have permission not to worry during our time together… because I am here to show you it’s all part of the story and how beautiful that can be.

three kids competing for who's table gets to eat next captured by a documentary photographer near Nanaimo located on Vancouver Island
Documentary wedding portrait photography of new born attending their first wedding near Nanaimo bc Vancouver island

HI! Im MELISSA! A documentary wedding and family photographer who…

Hello, I am Melissa. I am a hybrid film and digital photographer who specializes in documentary wedding and family photography here on Vancouver Island BC. I aim to blend into your day so you can enjoy it from top to bottom without any interruptions. If you’d like to read more about me follow the link here.

If you are interested in chatting more in-depth about your special day or a family session click the LETS CONNECT link!

Self portrait of documentary photographer on Vancouver Island BC

Captures real life… full of connection, adventure & unfiltered moments

I am a member of both the FEARLESS FAMILY Photography collective! and THIS IS REPORTAGE Photography collective. Check out the link here to see my profile on Fearless and Check out the link here to see Reportage

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But don’t just take my word… Here is what my documentary wedding and family clients have to say!

Documentary style family portrait taken on Vancouver Island BC

“Melissa has truly out done herself. She’s a dream to hangout with, and makes chaotic shoots with young children just a breeze. No cheesy posing, no forcing the kids to smile. Just real authentic photos from a real authentic photographer. The end result is always so much better than we could imagine, she truly is the best at what she does! So thankful for the beautiful memories she’s captured for our family, and look forward to having her continue to do so as the years go on!”

-Gabby & Family

Sweet moment between mom and son on her wedding day captured by documentary wedding photographer near Nanaimo bc on Vancouver Island
documentary wedding photographer capture joyful belly laughter of friends during speeches near Nanaimo bc on Vancouver Island

“My husband and I hired Melissa to capture our special day in August of this year (2024), we took our time in choosing the photographer because of specific wants and needs, we wanted a few portraits but more importantly for the photographer to catch the small precious moments from the serious moments to the fully belly laughs.

When I first spoke to Melissa I knew right away she understood the assignment. We had a couple chats so she could understand our wants and needs on our day, Such as having two non verbal boys with autism and explained possible challenges with this she didn’t hesitate to quiet our worries and reassure us she would do whatever we need to assure we had pictures with the boys.


We had a small engagement photo session and 8 hours of her time on our wedding day. Melissa was well organized and very efficient in getting the few portrait pictures we wanted. Then as we requested she did a phenomenal job at fading into the background while capturing little moments we will never forget.


We received sneak peak pictures very shortly after the wedding and the full package of photos including fun Polaroid pictures in a very timely matter, the pictures look GREAT!


In conclusion I just want to say I was very nervous about choosing the photographer for our wedding and we couldn’t be happier we chose Melissa, we will be suggesting to friends, family and anyone who reads this that they do the same!”

-Heather & Connor

family playing outside during their family documentary session spring time Vancouver Island BC

“I love how Melissa captures moments that we don’t usually capture as a family of 6. I can’t remember the last time someone took a picture of me (Mama) and caught a memory with my kiddos. Our pictures are so genuine and real life too. We have beautiful photos of mundane things but there is so much emotion in it and they are pictures we will treasure. Melissa was so easy to work with. She is so easy going and just goes with the flow. Nothing super staged and forced. Would highly recommend for anyone wanting pictures of their life and day to day to remember. She has a knack for capturing the vibe and emotion in her photos.”

-Brie & Family

Couple shares a laugh with speech presenter captured by wedding documentary photographer located on Vancouver Island BC near Nanaimo
Dance the night away with a documentary photographer by your side to capture all the laughter and excitement. Located on Vancouver Island near Nanaimo bc
Dance till 6am with a documentary photographer by your side capture all the moments of laughter, joy, excitement and love. Located near Nanaimo bc, Vancouver Island

“Melissa did an amazing job with our engagement photos and our wedding photography. I can't recommend her more highly.

She is super easy to work with and willing to adapt to specific preferences. She takes the time to learn about you and fits seamlessly in as a partner in the planning process. In our case, we were looking for a more casual and candid vibe, and the end photos reflected that. Additionally, Mel is great at working with friends and family without disrupting the natural rhythm of events, capturing things in a way that we felt reflected our personalities.

I'd highly recommend using Mel's abilities with film photography. She's incredible at both film and digital, but the timelessness and unique character of the film photos blew us away.

Mel went way above and beyond for us. Her photos have continued to play a core role in how we remember our engagement and wedding - that's a testament to her ability to capture things accurately and from a viewpoint that really understood us as a couple. It's amazing what a great photographer can do!

With all the details required in planning a wedding, one thing I can say with Melissa is that we never stressed once about photography. And the end results were better than we could have imagined.”

-Dave & Ashley

PORTFOLIO 〰️

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