Life & Work with Melina Tavares

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melina Tavares.

Hi Melina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a New York City (NYC) photographer but have relocated and now primarily based in Kansas City. My passion is in beauty and product photography, but I have experience in portrait photography, editorial and lifestyle. When I do portraits, I try my best to capture the essence of the person I am photographing.

My career in photography began in 2015. I took a leap of faith and reached out to Japanese photographer Tak Takei to ask if he was taking on new assistants. Coincidentally, he had a photoshoot the week of and needed a photography assistant. I jumped on the opportunity and met with Tak and his team in Long Island City, NY, for a fashion shoot. From that week on, I worked on improving my skill-set and knew that one day I would be able to produce my own shoots. About 6 months later, I assisted beauty photographer Magdalena Niziol, for Nylon Magazine shoots. After assisting both photographers on a few photoshoots, I began to produce my own photo shoots and partnered with NYC makeup artist Maria Ortega and hairstylist Andrita as often as possible. During this period I was also working full time and attending school at New York University (NYU).

I took advantage of my Spring, Summer, and Winter breaks from school and flew to Milan, Paris, and London for fashion week. I worked with models from all over the world, who were in town for fashion week at each respective city. Traveling and shooting in Milan, Paris, and London has been some of my favorite experiences because the energy of each city was so inspiring. I would walk through each city with a camera in hand photographing everything I was inspired by, the people, architecture, food, music, and the list goes on.

The relationships I have established during my career as a beauty photographer have helped open doors for the projects I have worked on. In 2016, I photographed the Feng Cheng Wang, AW 2016 collection for New York Fashion Week, and in 2020 I photographed backstage for Cong Tri SS 2020 New York Fashion Week show. One of the greatest opportunities I’ve had is to photograph behind the scenes for celebrity makeup arists Hung Vanngo, behind the scenes for photographer Magdalena Niziol for Nylon Singapore with actress Kimiko Glenn and bts for Nylon Espanol with actress Jackie Cruz.

In 2021, my work in beauty photography helped me establish a relationship with Canadian brand Veil Cosmetics and I was commissioned to photograph their products. I now live in Kansas City (KC) and work in NYC and KC. I love working with and photographing people from all facets of life, professional models, artist, musicians and everyday people.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In the initial stages of my career, I did not have a photography studio, so I converted my NYC living room into a photography studio. I was 100% committed to becoming a professional photographer and figured I’d sacrifice part of my living space to create an in-house studio to shoot from. I also had to juggle time, as I was stretched thin between work and school but I took any chance to shoot if possible.

When I first started I tried many facets of photography but I fell deeply in love with beauty and product photography. Product photography presented me with a new set of challenges and I had to think outside the box in reference to set design and prop styling as well as swatches of the products. I welcomed these challenges and it was a bit of trial and error but it ultimately led to capturing the brands products and highlighting the beautiful packaging.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My main focus is beauty and product photography. So I photograph close-up portraits of individuals highlighting their features and essence of their being. My product photography is all about the product, I use props, lighting, textures; truly anything to highlight the product.

Working in New York City has helped me to be prepared for the unexpected. I am extremely comfortable working in different settings and accommodating clients while making models and talent feel comfortable in front of the camera. I’m organized and very detail-oriented. I am known for clean photography and really capturing the beauty of the model and talent in front of my lens. My preference is fresh makeup with glowy skin and a pop of color on the eyes.

Beauty photography is my favorite because I am able to capture the beauty of the individual with no extra bells and whistles, just the essence of them and the makeup and hair that have contributed to that image. I also love shooting portraits for that reason as well. You don’t simply capture a person’s photograph, you capture their soul and whom they are and represent.

What are your plans for the future?
I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a photographer and in the near future, I would love to photograph a beauty campaign, which is an advertisement for products like makeup, skincare, hair products, or jewelry. Additionally, now that I am also working in Kansas City, I look forward to partnering with local artist and designers.

Contact Info:

• Email: MelinaTPhotography@gmail.com
• Website: www.MelinaTavares.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melinatavaresnyc & https://www.instagram.com/melinatavaresKCMO
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelinatavaresNYC/