The Akthar family won our Valentine’s day portrait contest last year, and I was stoked to finally set up a day to meet up with them.   We settled on beautiful weekend afternoon in Piedmont Park.  The weather was warm, the leaves were golden, and the sunset was perfect.  Thanks to mom Aneesa and her  facebook savvy family/friends for helping them win!

When I walked into this party I thought two things: “Oh my goodness, this is so cool,” and “I hope my future kids will be happy with Chuck-E-Cheese because I could never pull this off.” But after really paying attention to all the little details I realized Imani’s mom Sharmeen is not only a creative GENIUS for thinking up this theme, but also for executing all the details by hand!  Everything from the beautiful cupcake-liner flowers, to the bejeweled paper chandeliers and clocks suspended from the ceiling are totally DIY. ::Mind blown:: Oh and see that beautiful Mad Hatter-inspired cake? It was created by both Imani’s mom and Aunt, who just happen to be the fabulous cake artists/pastry chefs behind Saffron Cakes.

The girls were treated to lady-like white gloves for favors…

… while the little boys got these:  

DIY puppet show, written specifically for Imani…and her cupcakes!

Imani summed up the party perfectly at the end of the afternoon when she walked up to her mommy and said, “Thank you mommy, this is the best birthday ever.”

–Uzma

For some reason I’m surrounded by a slew of uber creative and talented people.  Need evidence?  See photos below of  Aya’s first birthday.  Think you need a party planner to achieve such awesomeness?  Nope.  Every last detail came from the creative mind of Aya’s mommy Palwasha.  From the homemade cupcakes to the goldfish favors for the kiddos,  this was all done by her and her team of family/friends.  And yes, that ridiculously cool centerpiece is an Elmo holding a bouquet..made of freaking balloons.  So kudos to you, Palwasha for making every other party ever thrown look lame.  This was totally Street…Sesame Street.

75 degree weather, partly cloudy skies, outdoors with the beautiful scenery of Wesleyan College.  Along with Julia and Abby, two gorgeous models made even more beautiful with hair/makeup by Jennifer Horton Makeup, this stylized session turned out to be a photographer’s dream come true.

Thanks again to Jennifer for organizing this session and to Abby and Julia for being so awesome in front of the camera!

–Uzma

It’s always exciting to see our photos featured on blogs, but when they’re published on super-cool blogs like Offbeat Mama, it just makes my day.

 Head over to their blog to see their post on Imani and Zidan’s 3rd birthday!

When my fellow photog friend asked if I wanted to walk around Dragon Con to take pictures, I was excited from the get-go.  I’d never been before and didn’t really understand the “nerdy” hype behind it, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to people-watch.  Well folks, it only took 5 minutes after entering the Hyatt lobby for me to get it.

Why are these people so excited to see a character in costume?  I don’t get it, they’re not rea…OMG Hagrid and Snape!! “Can I get a picture with you guys?”

Then obviously I was hooked.  The hype behind Dragon Con of course has to do with the celebration of all things comic booky, fantasy and sci-fi.  What made me love being there was the vibe of the entire crowd: everyone was happy, having a great time, and they were so gracious and willing to pose for pictures. I even hugged a random kid wearing a “Hug the Emo Kid” sign after he let me take his photo.  In a nutshell this convention is a photgrapher’s heaven.  My only regret was not dressing up, but next year have no fear–I’m breaking out the Chicken 65 costume.  Not exactly sci-fi, but who cares?  I’ll be dressed up as a big red chicken, and that’s all that matters.

P.S.: There were no dragons.

When you’re newly married, strangers sometimes look at you and say, “Awww…you look like newlyweds.”  When people said that to us I never really understood how they figured it out so quickly.  I thought we acted and looked the same as before, so I was always puzzled as to HOW people could sense that we were newly married.

This weekend I met up with Nadia Apu, Sakib bhai, Noori and Ilaan at Shorty Howell Park in Duluth GA. Noori and I bonded over the awesomeness of Ring Pops while Illaan was fascinated by the “qaak qaaks” (ducks) and bubbles. You heard me, bubbles! Earlier that weekend I thought a few tubes of bubbles would be a cool little prop to bring along on this shoot, but Nadia Apu was one step ahead of me by bringing something even better: a bubble machine! With Sakib bhai’s help on the “special effects”, the bubbles added such a surreal, almost fairytale-like effect to the photos.

I had such a great time with the Khans…just a laid-back Sunday afternoon with friends in a park. A great way to wrap up the weekend.

I really couldn’t have asked for a more fun family to do a portrait session with.  Litu bhai, Monira, Sarah and Salman were so comfortable in front of the camera.  It might have something to do with the fact that Monira is herself an excellent photographer, or it could just be because they’re such an outgoing and sweet family.  We started off walking along a nature trail near their home, took a quick ice cream break, then headed over to downtown Duluth.  On the drive back from downtown, they decided to stop by a McDonald’s to pick up a quick snack.  After being asked if I wanted a milkshake, Sarah said “You should get one, you deserve it!”  Anyone that wants to feed me has a special place in my heart, so this was a portrait session I’ll definitely look back on with a smile.

Nieces and nephews have to be one of the biggest blessings in life. I was lucky enough to have two nephews and a niece before marriage, but after getting married that number was doubled with all the cute little ones on my husband’s side of the family.

This year my sister-in-law paired up with her friend Tumpa to throw an amazingly cute birthday bash for my niece Imani and her BFF, Zidan. What I absolutely loved about this birthday was how the moms made this an educational party while still keeping it fun for the kids. So here’s a sneak peak of Imani and Zidan’s Dr. Suess themed party:

How adorable are these cakes by Saffron Cakes?  They tasted just as amazing as they looked.

I recently had the honor of photographing fashion for Mehr ‘n Nisa Couture at the GA APPNA charity fashion show.  I’ve been a fan of MN Couture for quite some time now, so having the opportunity to see her new collection was a treat.  Mehr ‘n Nisa Couture’s boutique is located at:

Cobb Galleria Specialty Mall
1 Galleria Pkwy (inside Galleria Jewels)
Atlanta GA 30339
404.275.3628

These beautiful ladies modeling the fashion are students, businesswomen, moms, etc who took time out of their busy days to participate in this event.  How stunning are they?