About
About Melinda
Soul Archetype Portraits • Asheville, NC
Since I was sixteen, the camera has been my way of answering a single question:
“Who am I, really?”
When I was sixteen, I fell in love with photography. My dad signed the two of us up for a course with a local pro, and I was hooked.
Two years later, I began my BFA in Photography at East Carolina University, graduating with honors in 2007. I developed an ethereal collage style that often explored themes of breaking the bonds society places on women and challenging the limits placed on our personal expression by the patriarchy both internalized and externalized. I loved layering portraits with light & shadow, and movement and symbolism. Even then, I was seeking to capture the truth beneath the surface—the emotion that can’t be spoken, only felt.
My fascination with people, relationships, and the inner worlds we carry led me into the healing arts, where I spent nearly twenty years as a body and energy worker, hypnotist, women’s empowerment & sensuality coach, and intuitive guide.
Through all those years, my camera was never far. I photographed nature, animals, motherhood, and the people I loved—quietly weaving my artistic world with my inner one.
And then, during a season of deep personal transition, I returned to self-portraiture.
What began as playful archetype exploration became a lifeline—a way to reclaim my sensuality, my visibility, my creative fire, and my self-worth.
The lens became a mirror that revealed the parts of me I had forgotten, suppressed, or outgrown. That practice taught me how to hold space for the tender, shameful, and powerful thresholds women cross throughout their lives.
Now I offer that same journey to others.
Today, my work is a fusion of portraiture, embodiment, and ritual—a soul-archetype process that becomes both a safe container and a mirror of reclamation.
Whether we’re wandering through a forest, standing in a stream, or creating in the studio, our sessions invite you to step into the archetypes that are calling you: the Lover, the Mystic, the Warrior, the Queen, the Maiden, the Witch, the Wild Woman, and beyond.
It’s not just about the photos (though the photos are beautiful).
It’s about seeing your full self—sometimes for the first time.
It’s about bringing an inner truth forward, letting it breathe, and letting it be witnessed.
As a North Carolinian, I hold deep reverence for this land—the mountains, the rivers, the dynamic skies—and I use its diverse beauty as the backdrop to these journeys. My approach blends intuitive coaching, trance-based embodiment, and guided archetype exploration to help your nervous system soften into visibility and self-expression.
In this work, the image is not the end point.
It is the portal.
A portrait can be ritual—a sacred mirror that reflects the hidden archetypes within you, guiding you back to power, beauty, and wholeness.
We are all vast galaxies.
It is my joy to hold up the lens that reminds you of your radiance.
Land Acknowledgement
This business operates on the tribal lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Most of the images you see in my portfolio were created on land that was forcibly taken. I acknowledge and honor the traditional caretakers of this place past, present, and future and hold deep respect for their ongoing presence and stewardship. May the work I do here be rooted in reverence for the land, the waters, and the stories that have always lived here.
Equity & Inclusion
I believe every person deserves to feel seen, honored, and safe in front of the camera.
I affirm all bodies, all genders, all orientations, all abilities, all ages, all cultures, and all family structures. I warmly welcome BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrant, economically diverse, and all-size communities, including people in larger and smaller bodies.
My work focuses on all women (cis & trans), and non-binary people who identify with feminine experience or embodiment. This is the community my portrait journeys are crafted for. And if you identify outside this group but feel called to work with me, you are welcome to reach out. Every person who enters my space is met with joy, dignity, respect, and care.
My intention is to create environments whether in nature, at home, or in sacred spaces, where authenticity can flourish without judgment and where every story is honored exactly as it is.
If you see a way in which I can live in greater alignment with these values, I welcome your feedback as I continue to grow in my responsibility and role as an ally.
