Your Story
Deserves This
Led by Melody Yazdani with over twenty years behind the lens, our studio offers an unparalleled luxury portrait experience in Northern Virginia. At our 4,000-square-foot photography atelier located on Mill Street in the heart of Vienna, Virginia, you'll find a couture wardrobe with over 500 pieces (newborn–5XL), hand-painted Oliphant backdrops—as seen in Vogue and Vanity Fair—and a fully equipped photo & video studio with exquisite lighting designed to create timeless portraits.
Your privacy is sacred to us. As a trusted portrait photographer for clients across Vienna, Tysons, and McLean, we will always ask before sharing any of your images—period. Many of our high-profile clients require discretion, and we treat that with the utmost respect.
2019
Studio Est.
150+
5-Star Reviews
100%
Discretion
![Fine art portrait by Melody Yazdani Studios in Northern Virginia](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="800" height="1205"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
Our Story · Church Street Studio, 2019
Our Mission
We create portraits that honor the people in them—images that become heirlooms, spark confidence, and tell stories worth preserving for generations.
Our studio exists to serve the people who trust us with their most meaningful moments. Every session, every image, every interaction is guided by artistry, intention, and a deep respect for the person in front of our lens.
![Portrait from Melody Yazdani Studios](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="800" height="1173"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
![Portrait from Melody Yazdani Studios](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="800" height="1200"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
![Portrait from Melody Yazdani Studios](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="800" height="1100"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
Find Your Session
Your Journey,
Step by Step
Consultation
It all begins with a complimentary consultation. We'll learn about your vision, discuss wardrobe options, and plan every detail of your session. For boudoir and family sessions, we'll provide a personalized style guide to help you prepare.
Session Day
When you arrive at the studio, we'll review your outfits together, select the perfect lighting patterns and hand-painted backdrops to highlight you based on your goals. Then we'll pose and guide you through the entire experience—photographing as many looks as we can within your two-hour session block.
Ordering Appointment
Within seven days of your session, you'll connect with our team virtually to review your images. We'll help you narrow down your favorites and walk you through artwork options until we meet your final vision. Every decision-maker in your household can attend.
Retouching & Delivery
Your selected images are finished by our retouching team with the care of a fine art painting. Digital files, if ordered, will be delivered first. Print orders are then assembled—all of our products are beautiful, bespoke pieces made custom to order. We'll notify you when they're ready, and make sure your portraits arrive home safely.
Limited sessions available each month
Start Your Portrait CommissionInvestment
Portrait Commissions
Every portrait experience is tailored to you. Your artwork is selected during a personal ordering appointment following your session.
Portrait Art
Investments start at
$399
Legacy portraiture, boudoir, family portraits, professional headshots, and fine art projects—each commission crafted to your vision.
Video Legacy
Investments start at
$799
Cinematic legacy films and video letters—intimate stories captured for the people who matter most.
Your portraits, designed for your walls
Each commission is unique. Contact us for a personalized quote tailored to your vision.
Inquire About Your CommissionLimited Sessions Each Month
Ready to Begin Your Legacy?
It starts with a conversation—no pressure, no obligation. Tell us about your vision and we'll craft an experience just for you.
Inquire NowBe Part of
Something Extraordinary
Our projects and exhibition series invite you to explore the profound moments that define the human experience—the body, love, motherhood, identity, and legacy. Each project is an opportunity to participate, to be seen, and to leave your mark.
The Body Project
Celebrating the body as it moves in motion—the lines, wrinkles, and textures that make us human. Open for every body, with a special emphasis on yogis, dancers, bodybuilders, aerialists, and beyond.
Learn MoreThe Love Project
Our first gallery exhibit celebrating the connection between us—romantic love, platonic love, and all five Greek philosophies of love, told through intimate and powerful portraiture.
Learn MoreExhibition Timeline
The Motherhood Project & A Letter to My Child
A two-year passion project culminating in our own exhibit. Celebrating the profound, complex, and deeply personal experience of motherhood through fine art portraiture, the written word, and letters from mothers to their children.
A Letter to My Younger Self
Women reflect on their journeys, writing to the versions of themselves who needed words of wisdom and grace.
The Love Project
An exhibit celebrating the connection between us—romantic love, platonic love, and all five Greek philosophies of love, told through intimate and powerful portraiture.
Dear Mom
A celebration of motherhood through the eyes of those who know her best—letters of gratitude paired with portraits. Enrollment opens later this year.
Upcoming
Events
Argentine Tango Event
Hosted for the Vienna Tango School. Join us for a night of elegance, connection, and beautiful music in our studio space.
Visit Vienna TangoMotherhood Exhibit: A Letter to My Child
A two-year passion project culminating in our own exhibit. Celebrating the profound, complex, and deeply personal experience of motherhood through fine art portraiture and the written word.
Portrait Meet DC
We are thrilled to host the vibrant community of creators, photographers, and subjects for the upcoming Portrait Meet DC.
A Letter to My Younger Self Exhibit
Women reflect on their journeys, writing to the versions of themselves who needed words of wisdom and grace, paired with powerful portraiture.
Your Story,
In Motion
Beyond portraiture, imagine preserving your voice, your words, and your story on film—a gift for the people you love most.
Learn More
The Chapter Interview
Sit down and answer questions about your life to document this chapter, this moment in time—a gift for yourself and your legacy.
The Letter
Write and read a letter to yourself or someone you care about, captured on film with artistry and intimacy.
The Love Interview
Coming SoonInterview someone you care about, and they interview you—a reciprocal conversation preserved in your own words.
Published Works
50 Over 50
Fifty extraordinary portraits of women over fifty—a testament to the beauty, wisdom, and power that only deepens with time. Each portrait accompanied by the subject's own words about their life, legacy, and what it means to be seen.
The Body Project
An ongoing fine art exploration capturing the body and the body in movement—celebrating the raw beauty of the human form in all its power, vulnerability, and grace.
Giving Back
When you choose Melody Yazdani Studios, you're supporting a practice deeply rooted in giving back. Beyond creating transformative portraits, the studio dedicates significant energy to the community—using the power of portraiture to celebrate, uplift, and honor the people of Northern Virginia.
380+
Portraits Gifted
200+
1,000 Faces Participants
Last year, the studio gifted over 380 free portrait sessions as part of our artistic projects—separate from our ongoing community initiatives. Each one given freely because every person deserves a portrait they love.
The 1,000 Faces Project
An open-door initiative where community members receive absolutely free professional portraits—no purchase required, no strings attached. Over two hundred people have participated to date. Every face tells a story worth preserving.
Spots open periodically — get on the waitlist to be notified
Artistic Projects
Over 380 portrait sessions gifted through our fine art and community projects—because the transformative power of being truly seen should be accessible to everyone.
What It Feels Like
"I shot my maternity and newborn photos with Melody and cannot recommend her enough. To have hair, make up, and a glam wardrobe included is unlike any other photographer experience I've ever had."
— Katie
![Portrait of Leslie](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1600" height="1067"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
"Melody and her team are fantastic! I've had three sessions with her so far. Each session was unique and produced images that will be used over and over again. The quality of the images are unparalleled."
— Leslie
"I wanted to celebrate my late 40 something birthday with a photo shoot of myself for myself and I got more than I bargained for... The photo session was something I had only imagined a famous model or movie star experiencing."
— Bridgette
![Portrait of Kim](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="400" height="533"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
"Absolutely the best portrait experience I've ever had. Melody, the staff, and the studio are beautiful."
— Kim
"I was treated with kindness and respect. Being a full figured woman, I was posed to compliment my size... Melody Yazdani Studios is very well organized. There was nothing left to chance."
— Billye
"The entire staff is pleasant and professional but also fun. Kelsea is the best makeup artist I have ever met. Melody brings out the best in her clients during the shoot."
— Christine
"This was so much more than having some photos taken, this was a life changing, life renewing experience."
— Meg
"It was like a transformation. Melody and her staff achieved more than I could have imagined. With makeup and then Melody's professional eye she coaxed me into exuding the real beauty behind my being."
— Debra
"I shot my maternity and newborn photos with Melody and cannot recommend her enough. To have hair, make up, and a glam wardrobe included is unlike any other photographer experience I've ever had."
— Katie
"Melody and her team are fantastic! I've had three sessions with her so far. Each session was unique and produced images that will be used over and over again. The quality of the images are unparalleled."
— Leslie
"I wanted to celebrate my late 40 something birthday with a photo shoot of myself for myself and I got more than I bargained for... The photo session was something I had only imagined a famous model or movie star experiencing."
— Bridgette
"Absolutely the best portrait experience I've ever had. Melody, the staff, and the studio are beautiful."
— Kim
"I was treated with kindness and respect. Being a full figured woman, I was posed to compliment my size... Melody Yazdani Studios is very well organized. There was nothing left to chance."
— Billye
"The entire staff is pleasant and professional but also fun. Kelsea is the best makeup artist I have ever met. Melody brings out the best in her clients during the shoot."
— Christine
"This was so much more than having some photos taken, this was a life changing, life renewing experience."
— Meg
"It was like a transformation. Melody and her staff achieved more than I could have imagined. With makeup and then Melody's professional eye she coaxed me into exuding the real beauty behind my being."
— Debra
"Melody's work moves beyond photography as documentation and into something more relational. Her sessions are not simply about producing images, but about creating the conditions in which a person can arrive as themselves, often more fully than they expected. There is a kind of permission in her process. Time is taken. Attention is steady. The camera becomes less of an object and more of an opening."
"What she offers women, in particular, is space to be seen without reduction. Not only as professionals, or mothers, or bodies to be evaluated, but as whole people with complexity, history, and presence."
"Melody's camera does not impose a version of who you should be. It creates a space where you can recognize who you already are."
Limited sessions available each month
Begin Your Portrait CommissionClient Experiences at
Melody Yazdani Studios
Hear it from our clients: the magic of their portrait sessions
Welcome to our Client Experiences showcase, where we share the heartwarming stories and magical moments that unfold during our portrait sessions at Melody Yazdani Studios. We believe that every individual and family has a unique tale to tell, and we're honored to be a part of that journey.
In this special section, you'll find a collection of videos featuring the amazing people we've had the pleasure of working with, as they share their experiences with our studio. From laughter to tears, from whimsical to edgy, these testimonial videos are a testament to the power of photography in capturing the essence of our clients' lives and their cherished memories.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked
Founder · Lead Photographer
Melody Yazdani
20+ Years of Mastery
"Throughout this process, I want you to fall in love with yourself. It's the unique pieces in you that make you the most beautiful."
With over two decades behind the lens as a leading portrait photographer in Vienna, VA, Melody has dedicated her life to capturing women and helping them reclaim their confidence—rewriting the story they tell about themselves, their bodies, and the way they show up and exist in the world.
A mother, entrepreneur, dancer, and passionate lover of art, she is deeply rooted in the local community as the Vice Chair of Viva Vienna and a member of the Vienna Rotary Club, where she helps raise over $250,000 annually for charity. She has organized fundraisers for numerous nonprofits across Northern Virginia and the broader Washington D.C. metro area, seeing service to the community as inseparable from her artistic practice.
Melody leads a premier Northern Virginia photography studio that is home to working artists—a place where associate photographers and dedicated support staff pursue mastery in the art of transformative portraiture. It is a home for learning, growth, and delivering a luxury portrait experience that transcends the ordinary.
From left to right: Neha, Jake, Melody, Alena, Sierra, and Hunter
The Team Behind Your Experience
Studio Artists
Neha
Associate Photographer & Retoucher
Since 2021
Originally joined as a retoucher, Neha mastered the art of portraiture in 2024 while continuing to perfect every final image.
Hunter
Associate Photographer
Since 2024
A natural behind the lens, Hunter brings fresh energy and a keen eye to every session.
Sierra
Associate Photographer
Since 2025
Sierra joined the studio with a passion for capturing authentic emotion and connection.
Jake
Associate Photographer
Since 2025
Jake brings a distinctive perspective and thoughtful approach to the art of portraiture.
Support Staff
Alena
Customer Service Representative
Since 2021
A former associate photographer now based in Wisconsin, Alena guides clients through selecting their final artwork.
Aryana
Customer Support · Not Pictured
Since 2026
Our newest team member, Aryana ensures every client feels welcomed and supported from first contact.
Aleksandra
Operations · Remote from Barcelona · Not Pictured
Since 2025
Joining us from across the Atlantic, Aleksandra keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes so the artists can focus on their craft.
By Invitation Only
You Belong
in a Portrait
Most of our clients felt the same way before their session—unsure, maybe even nervous. It starts with just a conversation. No pressure, no commitment. Just tell us a little about yourself.
Schedule a Call
Phone Consultation with Melody Yazdani Studios
15 minutes · No obligation · We'll discuss your vision and answer any questions.
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Available Times for May 16, 2026
No available times for this date. Please select another date.
Or Send a Message
"This was so much more than having some photos taken—this was a life changing, life renewing experience."
— Meg
5 out of 5 stars150+ Five-Star Google Reviews · Melody's 20+ Years of Experience
Limited sessions available each month
303C Mill St. NE · Vienna, VA 22180 · (703) 537-7933
LIMITED SESSIONS AVAILABLE · CURRENTLY BOOKING INTO AUGUST 2026
INQUIRE