Last winter, my husband was at a dinner party and was introduced to a photographer Saleha Jamil of RetroSalz Studio, who was covering the event. He knew that I was looking for a decent and affordable photographer to do our family shoot, so I can update our 3 year old family photo in the living room. The photographers I liked in Doha were charging an arm and leg for a family shoot. He told me about her and I went on her Facebook page to see the pictures… Going through her page, I instantly knew I had found what I was looking for in a photographer for us. Her pictures were a reflection of her creative eye!

I contacted her and arranged the time and place for the shoot. The price she quoted me seemed very reasonable.. reasonable enough that I thought to myself that if I am not happy with the pictures, we will do another one with someone else (little did I know that I will be looking no further..)

The day of the shoot, we were at the meeting point and there appeared a teenage looking girl walking towards us… I was in complete shock! I couldn’t imagine a girl her age, taking the photos that I saw on her page..Her photography seemed so mature to me that I assumed she must be an older woman. But there she was.. the (little)girl with her camera.

Since I am a little (read BIG) control freak, we discussed what I was looking for and she was extremely accommodating and sweet about all of my random requests. She was great with kids too! Not one of them threw a tantrum during the shoot and happily posed on her instructions. A hour of clicks and laughter later, we were done….. and I anxiously started waiting for the photos. And a few days later when she sent me the photographs, I was totally in LOVE with each and every one of them!

Since then, I have never given a second thought whenever I need a photographer for any occasion. Next was a dinner we hosted for our friends and the pictures came out amazing again.

And after that a shoot for my blog portfolio…. I cannot recommend her enough!

As I came to know her more.. I understood why her pictures were so mature and way ahead of her age.. She has seen a lot in life than we usually do at the age of 23. Saleha belongs to Pakistani (Lahore based family), settled in Doha for years. She was born and brought up here in Qatar and is 4th in order among the 5 siblings (4 sisters and 1 brother). She had a great childhood here but during her teens, things took a turn for the worse for her family as they went into a financial crisis. A crisis so grave that they couldn’t even afford to pay her fees to complete her High School education.

Seeing her father and brother in distress, this 19 year girl decided to do something to help them.. be their support. She turned her passion for photography into a career… a career she never envisioned for her self. Her journey started as freelance photographer with her family’s support and their belief in her talent..and she has made them EXTREMELY proud! She works hard to support her family and from time to time saves up to upgrade her equipment. Having said that, I believe she is the perfect example of this quote by Peter Adams…

Photography is not about the camera, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a good picture anymore than a typewriter wrote a great novel.

Going through so much at such a young age, this is what this inspirational young girl says..

“I can only thank Allah (God) for all the good times & bad times which have made me the person I am. I am not someone who would ever give up. One day, I want to be known as the The girl that inspired me to photograph.. “

RetroSalz Studio provides services like Wedding Photography, Events Coverage, Couple Shoots, Family Shoots, Fashion Shoots and much more…

Have a look at the gallery below (click on the image to enlarge it and browse through the gallery) that will give you an idea of the quality of her work and you will know why I love her photography. Head over to her Facebook page , like it and  book your next event with her.

Also, I have something VERY EXCITING for my readers in Doha in collaboration with RetroSalz Studio.. So stay tuned!