Not all mothers are the same. Some are good, some are better, others are super-awesome.
In my generation, I've seen a bunch of millennial women who are super-moms in their own rights! Juggling career with their kids, household chores, business endeavors, wife-duties, groceries, listing bills to pay, voluntary involvements in church ministries and other organizations, old friends to meet, and a lot more. With all these balls to juggle in the air, no woman could afford to lose sight of anything here. They get tired, then take a rest, and regain energy too quickly and I salute them for that. But one thing that amazes me, is the way they manage to still look fabulous in under an hour like nothing happened.
I know one person who does exactly like that and I want to dedicate my first blog post to my best friend. Folks, meet Angel Isles - a gorgeous mom of two boys who works full time - while baking customized cakes and sweets on the side. Check out her facebook business page at Sammons Patisserie. Her husband, who is also a very close friend of mine, has been very supportive of her since the beginning, and her faith in God is unsurpassed.
This young lady encouraged me to pursue my passion in photography and blogging (and stick with it!) in times I'm not even sure what else to do here in Saudi Arabia. As you all know, unlike other countries, KSA has a limited environment for artists due to its strict compliance to cultural and religious matters.
But recently, thanks to Saudi's crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, his Vision 2030 ripples the blueprint for tourism expansion as we see a huge spike in the number of ladies driving along the streets of Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam! I hope this will soon open a door of opportunity for artists (both local & international) like me to be able to express themselves openly to add color and vibrance to this beautiful country - may it be in music, fashion, literature, or media industries.
Nothing beats natural light when it comes to portrait photography.
Angel, her husband Justine, and their kids, Samuel and Simon, have been the pioneering models for my photography portfolio. Drag them around everywhere, whatever clothes they're wearing at the moment, at any time of the day they are ready for random candid shots. Portrait and lifestyle photography with this family has always been relaxed and full of stories - pixel by pixel.
HACK #1:The series of pictures for this blog post is inspired by the sunrays in my apartment's rooftop. Nothing beats natural light when it comes to portrait photography. All you need is a flexible model, a clean background, and an impeccable taste for angular display of the subject. In this case, since it's a bit messy on my rooftop, I used a huge cut of plywood from the garage as a background and instructed the model to look straight in the vastness of the sky along the sunrays. This technique will relax the eyes of the model and will reflect a more authentic emotion on her face.
HACK #2:
For black and white portrait photography, make sure the model wears a contrasting color of tops and/or pants. Monochrome effect takes the maximum and minimum color saturation present in an image, adds them, and gives out the average result. If the color combination of the clothing, and the background has no varying color, the image will look boring and lifeless even more.
HACK #3:Never, ever, count "one, two, three" when taking portraits! Tell the model what he/she needs to do or to feel at the moment. Let him/her move freely. And then take the random shots from there without the model knowing. You'll be surprised by the transparency of overflowing emotions there are in the pictures.
Times are changing, and so are millennial moms. Under my lens, I see them as strong independent women who are unafraid to look into the camera and say "Yes, I can".
See more of my shots in my Portfolio.