About Us – Patriot Photo Collective

School Portraits Team

Amy Gray & Melanie Monroe

Hi there! We are Amy Gray and Melanie Monroe, formerly known as the Cothran sisters.

Our early memories taught us to associate bright lights and camera shutter sounds with GOODNESS, because while our mom was assembling the Easter baskets and adjusting the stockings from Santa, our dad was setting up the giant video lights to make sure our holidays were appropriately captured.

When our own kids came along, we picked up our own cameras and never put them down again.

We launched our photography businesses simultaneously in 2009, when we photographed our first wedding together.

In 2012 we began photographing our children’s school, and we’ve done it every year since, beginning outdoor with natural light, and then switching to indoor continuous lighting for more consistency.

After a decade of trial-and-error, we’ve got this down to a science, and there may be some sibling-intuition going on, too. We love working together, and our little clients seem to enjoy getting in on the fun.

Amy

Amy Gray is Patriot Photo’s primary shooter, master of spur-of-the-moment camera setting adjustments, taking the same picture seven times because it’s just so cute, pointing out stray hairs that Melanie was just about to fix, and occasionally locking up entirely and forgetting the punch line to the joke.

When not photographing adorable school children, Amy photographs other adorable children (and families and seniors) on the beach. Two minute school photo sessions are good training for situations like this. Amy also owns Sitterwise, San Diego’s most trusted resort childcare agency.

Her passion is Christian education, and she loves to help with marketing for her favorite Christian schools and churches. She and her husband Rod have two teenagers who are just the absolute best.

Melanie

Melanie Monroe always remembers the punchline. She knows all the good poses, fixes the collars and the hair, crosses the feet the correct direction, and, if all else fails, says “slay” and makes everyone crack up. She has a perfectionist’s eye for color and editing, and she can Photoshop the glare off glasses like a boss.

Melanie has 37 chickens, two dogs she loves, and two cats with whom she has a complicated relationship. Since she and her husband Jeff also have twin daughters (now 16, talented, gorgeous), her photography niche has always been families with multiples. Many of her clients have returned to her year after year, and she has seen their children grow from toddlers to teens.

Melanie is never completely happy if it isn’t Christmastime, because she loves Christmas with all her heart. The only thing that can help her be happy when it is not Christmas is an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper.

A behind-the-scenes look at our outdoor, natural-light set-up from 2018.