Hello, hello! I’m a Maine photographer, traveler, former teacher, lover of dessert + coffee, reader, and adventurer. I started photographing people in 2014 to share my travels throughout Asia with friends and family back home in Maine, and I fell in love with its ability to capture authentic, raw, and real moments. My camera and I are ready to tell your story!
I lived abroad throughout China, Thailand, and South Korea for 7+ years, working in education and photographing in my spare time. I began my photo project, "The Human Experience", in 2014 and completed it in 2018 with a final book of my photos and thoughts on how the human race is all interconnected. During my time abroad, I traveled extensively throughout Asia, capturing phenomenal sights and people. In 2018, I moved to South Korea and switched to fashion photography briefly. I had the unique opportunity to shoot for street wear brands and models and was even published!
In February 2021, I moved back to Maine and launched my photo business. I took everything I learned as a documentary and fashion photographer and melded them together for a unique style that blends documentary , candid, and editorial styles. My time spent living and working abroad, traveling extensively and documenting various cultures, mixed with my love for all things style and who I am as a person makes what Janelle Lyford Photo is today.
As a full-time Maine photographer, I’ve worked with over 275 clients and captured 50+ weddings and elopements. I’ve photographed across the beautiful state of Maine - from Bar Harbor to Portland, even as far as Lubec - the most eastern town in the US - and everywhere in between! I love sunrise photo sessions and sunset photo sessions even more. Contact me today to set up your session!
Meet: Janelle
HOW IT ALL STARTED
As an adoptee from Cambodia, pictures were all that I had that connected me to my motherland. I grew up looking through travel books that described where I was from through pictures. For most of my life, this was the only lifeline that I had that offered me any insight into where I came from. I deeply treasured the photographs that were provided of me as a very sick baby in the orphanage. Looking at myself in those photos would spark an emotional reaction in me each and every time I would see them in my baby album; they were a reminder of where I came from. Still to this day I feel something move within me when I look at them.
My relationship with photography has evolved over the years and has transformed me and my life for the better. Making the decision to live in Asia during my 20's allowed me to visit Cambodia and photograph the people + places that I had always longed for.
MY STYLE, EVOLVED
Moving to a remote city in Xuzhou, China, in 2014, I was fascinated by the traditional way of life those around me lived, in addition to the food, sights, and all around everyday life. Trying hard to describe to friends and family back home about what I saw around me was difficult, so I decided to simply start taking photographs to show them. I quickly fell in love with photography’s ability to tell a story through pictures, and its ability to break language barriers. Soon, my project, The Human Experience, was born, where I documented everyday people in their everyday lives.
This project moved with me to Bangkok, Thailand, where I continued to document street photography. I photographed during all of my travels throughout Southeast Asia, giving those back home insight into what the world was like oceans away. In 2017, I published my photobook, entitled The Human Experience, showcasing all of the faces and places I encountered from 2014-2017.
In 2018, I moved to South Korea, where I got into fashion photography. I worked with models and streetwear brands - photographing upcoming clothing releases - and directed fashion shoots for them. It was there where I fell in love with editorial photography.
Upon moving back to Maine in February 2021, I knew I wanted to continue photography, and after much contemplation, started my photo business in May 2021. I took my experience of shooting documentary and street photography and combined it with my experience of editorial photography to give clients a unique photo experience: portraits that encompass both documentary and editorial styles, resulting in portraits give you an almost “behind-the-scenes” look into their love and their lives, mixed with portraits that are stylized to give you an elevated look and feel.