Member since February 2025
Zoe Martin is a legacy filmmaker, portrait artist, and brand storyteller based in McKinney, Texas.
She has spent over a decade inside the most intimate moments families and founders carry. The ones that seem ordinary in the living of them and irreplaceable in the looking back. Her work is rooted in a simple belief: your story is still being written, and it deserves to be documented while it is happening.
Zoe is a contributor to the LeadHERship anthology, a Professional Photographers of America member, and a dedicated volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. She has been featured in Voyage Dallas, ShoutOut DFW, and across numerous podcasts and speaking stages throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.
She works by appointment, in a private studio at The MillHouse in McKinney, with every session designed to feel like a conversation, not a production.
The Zoe Martin was founded in Longview, Texas, in 2018. What began as a portrait studio became something far more intentional after Zoe lost her sister Kristina to breast cancer.
Days before Kristina took her last breath, her final spoken words were captured through imperfect circumstances. That experience changed everything. Zoe rebuilt her business around one conviction: the stories that matter most should not wait for a diagnosis, a milestone, or a loss to be told. Your story is still being written. And right now is the time to capture it.
Our team provides private experiences through portraits and films designed to allow every chapter of your life to be documented.
In Kristina's final weeks, my beloved sister, a vibrant marathon runner whose laughter could fill a room, was too weak to hold a pen. She had planned to write milestone letters to her daughter for graduation, for a wedding, for a baby. But they remained heartbreakingly blank.
In that moment, a profound truth hit me: our most precious stories, our very voices, can vanish if we don't intentionally preserve them. I grabbed my phone, and with her fading strength, Kristina recorded her last messages. Those raw, unfiltered videos became Kaitlin's treasured 'milestone letters.'
This wasn't just about my sister; it was a universal 'Aha!' that ignited my mission. I pivoted my photography and video business to ensure no other family would face the heartbreak of unrecorded memories. I now help families proactively capture their multi-generational stories and portraits, turning potential regret into cherished, living legacies through their own life stories, for future generations to look back on.
In 2019, my world shifted when my vibrant sister, Kristina, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her courageous battle unfolded through the pandemic, and over the next few years, I witnessed her vivacious spirit bravely fight the disease. During this time, I also endured the sudden loss of a dear friend, Friedo. These profound experiences brought a crushing realization: life is incredibly precious, and our stories, our voices, can be lost forever if not intentionally preserved.
This truth hit me hardest with Kristina. In her final weeks, I discovered she hadn't written milestone letters to her daughter, as she had hoped. In a desperate act of love, I picked up my phone and recorded her messages, capturing her voice in her last days. Shortly after her passing, another pivotal moment occurred during my volunteer work as a photographer for "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." I found myself photographing a family who had lost their nearly full-term baby. My heart broke when I learned the older sibling would not get to meet their little brother.
In that hospital room, grief-stricken and raw, I knew I had to pivot. My photography and video skills, once focused on personal branding, now have a deeper purpose. This wasn't just about beautiful images; it was about documenting legacies. My business transformed into a mission: to help families proactively capture their multi-generational stories and portraits, ensuring that the stories still being written continue to be part of someone's stories.
In Kristina's final weeks, my beloved sister, a vibrant marathon runner whose laughter could fill a room, was too weak to hold a pen. She had planned to write milestone letters to her daughter for graduation, for a wedding, for a baby. But they remained heartbreakingly blank.
In that moment, a profound truth hit me: our most precious stories, our very voices, can vanish if we don't intentionally preserve them. I grabbed my phone, and with her fading strength, Kristina recorded her last messages. Those raw, unfiltered videos became Kaitlin's treasured 'milestone letters.'
This wasn't just about my sister; it was a universal 'Aha!' that ignited my mission. I pivoted my photography and video business to ensure no other family would face the heartbreak of unrecorded memories. I now help families proactively capture their multi-generational stories and portraits, turning potential regret into cherished, living legacies through their own life stories, for future generations to look back on.
In 2019, my world shifted when my vibrant sister, Kristina, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her courageous battle unfolded through the pandemic, and over the next few years, I witnessed her vivacious spirit bravely fight the disease. During this time, I also endured the sudden loss of a dear friend, Friedo. These profound experiences brought a crushing realization: life is incredibly precious, and our stories, our voices, can be lost forever if not intentionally preserved.
This truth hit me hardest with Kristina. In her final weeks, I discovered she hadn't written milestone letters to her daughter, as she had hoped. In a desperate act of love, I picked up my phone and recorded her messages, capturing her voice in her last days. Shortly after her passing, another pivotal moment occurred during my volunteer work as a photographer for "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." I found myself photographing a family who had lost their nearly full-term baby. My heart broke when I learned the older sibling would not get to meet their little brother.
In that hospital room, grief-stricken and raw, I knew I had to pivot. My photography and video skills, once focused on personal branding, now have a deeper purpose. This wasn't just about beautiful images; it was about documenting legacies. My business transformed into a mission: to help families proactively capture their multi-generational stories and portraits, ensuring that the stories still being written continue to be part of someone's stories.