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Why photos are important in daily life

It’s in the little moments. Those moments that we so easily forget within a year, a week or even a day. But it’s not just about capturing the moments. It’s about remembering the happiness that relationships bring. Photography helps you remember why you married your spouse so many years ago. It helps you remember those tiny little feet that brought a swelling to your heart the moment she was born. It even brings to mind that ‘slightly ugly family couch’ you lounged on years ago till your parents decided to finally buy a new one.

Sometimes we are caught up with the routines of daily life and hardly have time to reflect on things that bring us the greatest joy. If we are true to ourselves, we will acknowledge that real connections with the people most precious to us makes us happy. If we can just capture snippets of life with these people, and reflect on these memories when life throws us a hardball, we will begin to remember that feeling.

With the launch of new and better camera phones yearly, it’s no surprise that photography is pretty much a natural habit. But most of the time, we have snippets of so many memories taken without us being part of the picture. This is where I challenge you to include photography as part of your yearly personal budget… not viewed as an expense, but as an investment towards your future. You are building an album filled with happy memories.

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Newborn Portraits: Ahmed & Balqish

Ahmed & Balqish’s baby is blessed to have two good-looking parents, of Saudi Arabian and Malaysian heritage. Perhaps one day, she might follow in the footsteps of her mom who is a traveller, a public personality and a youtuber. When the family came to the studio for their mini session, the little one kept exercising her lungs (By the way, that’s normal in most photo sessions involving babies!). Eventually, she calmed down, enough for Jennifer to get the shots she needed. Congratulations on the birth of your baby, Ahmed and Balqish Maarif!

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Wedding in Bangladesh: Navin & Faika

20170101_WEDDING_NAVIN_FAIKA_079Navin and Faika’s wedding trilogy ended with a big bang on the 3rd day…their actual wedding day. As usual, Faika looked stunning in her wedding dress. As with most Bangladeshi weddings I have photographed, their decorations are always very elaborate. The venue where their wedding was held could cater for a few events at once. The entire palace setting on the stage was constructed on the wedding day itself. The highlight of the day was when Navin and Faika looked at each other through the mirror as husband and wife for the first time.

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Mehndi, Bangladesh: Navin & Faika

Navin and Faika’s wedding celebration continued with the mehndi event, held at the poolside of their family home. Considering it was winter, the temperature was just right for an outdoor party (especially for a Malaysian like me who doesn’t like the cold!). It was quite an intimate event, with only close friends and family attending the event. I love the intricate mehndi art on the arms combined with the gorgeous bangles that were given as a gift to the guests.

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Holudh in Bangladesh: Navin & Faika

20161229_HOLUDH_NAVIN_FAIKA_1221.5 years before their wedding, Navin and Faika spoke to me over Skype, all the way from New York city. They were planning their Bangladeshi wedding way ahead of time, and soon, we were hired to photograph their event in 2017. By this time, I have been to Bangladesh a number of times, and it felt like familiar ground once I stepped off the plane in Dhaka once again. For Jamie and Jennifer who were with me, it was their first time traveling there, so the experience was new and exciting. The moment we arrived at our hotel, we were welcomed with a gift from the couple, which included wet wipes, chanachur snacks, medication for tummy aches, mosquito repellant and more! They were so thoughtful and we felt blessed to be part of this wedding.

As part of the usual wedding celebrations in Bangladesh, there are the exchange of gifts. It’s pretty similar to our Muslim weddings here with our ‘hantaran‘ exchange between the families. But one major difference is that we do not have this giant fish which is usually decorated to represent the bride and groom. It was a huge fish, and weighed about 20kg each!

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