07/09/2026
There’s a different kind of joy in photographing someone who hasn’t been in front of a camera before.
Creating that space, where someone feels safe enough to express themselves, to play, to soften, to be seen. And somewhere in that process, they sometimes meet a version of themselves they hadn’t seen before.
There’s something deeply beautiful about witnessing someone fall a little more in love with themselves. Not because they’ve suddenly become someone else, but because, for a moment, they’re able to see themselves without all the stories they usually carry.
And every time I get to witness that, I feel incredibly grateful.
I think this is what made me fall in love with photography in the first place. The photographs are beautiful, yes, but what moves me is everything that happens before the image is captured, the trust, the surrender, the little moment of recognition when someone sees themselves and thinks, oh, there I am and I love myself.
Maybe making photographs, for me, has always been less about capturing someone and more about witnessing them come home to themselves. 💌
muse: rithika
mua: Vinali Jay Masrani(Pal)
hair: The HairDo by Minal
