Marnie Doherty

You deserve to be celebrated.

The beauty that surrounds where we live is second only to the stories of the people that appreciate it. Capturing the spirit that is YOU and your loved ones is what guides my creativity. I’m a lover of all that is outdoors – I need to run, walk or hike in nature each and every day. Photography let’s me bring my passion for nature and beauty together with my love of being with people. Meeting you for the first time and seeing your family grow and change ignites all of my passions as and artist and a mom of four kids. I also specialize in High School Senior portraits. These one-on-one sessions are unique and memorable. This is your time to shine – a time of your life where everything is in front of you. Let’s see all of you. Serious. Humorous. Natural. Beautiful.

with YOUR story in mind.

making art for family

Thanks for dropping by! I’m a portrait photographer specializing in families and high school seniors along with some headshot and product photography as well. Let me share a little bit about me and my photographic journey. I’ve been in love with photography for most of my life. It began with film and cameras you’ve never heard of back in Santa Barbara, California. While the passion grabbed me in middle school, dunking light sensitive paper into chemicals in a darkroom, the digital age hasn’t curbed my enthusiasm.

I’ve been lucky to live on both coasts of the U.S. and I find that the Jersey Shore offers us some of the most amazing backgrounds to make gorgeous portraits. We can shoot on the beach, in the woods, between buildings in one of our adorable local towns or take a trip to the Big Apple! Whether it’s an entire family, a high school senior or a professional head shot job, I strive to find the most authentic looks of the people I’m spending time with while also having a whole lot of fun! There’s always a goal in mind when we’re capturing your poses, but it’s the reaction to the unexpected photos that makes me enjoy the process so much.

Marnie Doherty here!

Hi there...

Always bold.
Always daring.

Harmony is achieved when musical notes sound beautiful together and singing has always been a giant-sized passion in my life. I won’t list all the old band names! Light is the feeling of freedom - freedom from weighted drama to create a mood, a focus and an intensity. When I engaged in the notion of using two words to identify my brand, these came to me almost immediately. Inspiration strikes me when ‘all the things’ are working in harmony - the people, the place and the moment being captured. The light I see defines the edges, showing you images out of the ordinary, different than you expected.

harmony + light

John Lennon

but I'm not the only one.

You may say I'm a dreamer,

I have been shooting the covers of both of these magazines since their inception in our shore community. While I have known and recommended quite a few of the cover families, more often I have been introduced to people I’ve never met before. This is honestly one of my favorite parts of the assignment!

Best Version Media distributes millions of publications every year to neighborhoods across the United States and Canada. The magazines are family-friendly, positive and local. They feature a new family on the front of every cover and share their unique stories with the community each month.

If you are interested in your family being on a cover – let me help you! It’s a wonderful way to have a professional writer bring your family’s story to life while having a professional photo shoot done by me with no shoot/edit fee. My services for the magazine sessions vary in that many of the magazine shoots are done at family’s homes rather than one of the many local nature backdrops. But this isn’t a rule. I absolutely love bringing these family’s stories to life with my images.