I met the Shah family back when we were living on the Upper West Side. Like many Manhattan families, they relocated to Northern New Jersey in the last two years. The Shahs found and lovingly restored a gorgeous historic home in Glen Ridge, NJ. They wanted lifestyle family photos that would document their sweet young family at the start of their journey as a New Jersey family. 

Rather than doing a typical pre-session consultation in my studio, I visited this family in their home to plan out our session. This allowed me to see the best locations in their home and on their property for family photos, as well as learn the best locations to hang wall art with the images we were going to create. Their new home offered so many gorgeous options. We also looked through Neha and the girls’ closets to consider different outfit options for their session. Mom opted to wear her own outfit for the first half of the session and changed into a studio wardrobe dress that I brought for the second half. 

Mom and Dad really wanted to document their sweet girls in some sister portraits and document Zahira’s baby stage before she became a toddler. She was just starting to crawl, which is such a sweet time. As a mother of two myself, I know how quickly your baby becomes a busy toddler and then a big kid. For this reason, we made sure to create some mother-baby portraits with little Zahira.

Big sister, Zuri, was so much fun to work with. We kept it light and played lots of games and gave lots of cuddles to keep this feisty three-year-old entertained. Working with children outdoors gives so many opportunities to showcase their true personalities. The garden at the new house was so beautiful, and Zuri was excited to show me around and pick the first strawberries of the season. 

I loved working with this beautiful family. We created a gorgeous variety of images that work well as wall portraits and will tell a full story of who they are and how they love in an album that the girls will treasure as they grow.