About
I started this because of a toddler and a pitch.
Back in 2014 I needed to photograph my child the way I could already see them — fully, beautifully, exactly as they were. So I did what any determined person does when they have a vision and no budget: I pitched my grandparents. Told them what I wanted to build, asked for their support, and paid them back within three sessions.
That was the beginning of Creatively Curious Photography.
What followed was eleven years of wanting this, working toward it, and choosing it over and over again even when it wasn't easy. My grandparents watched that whole journey unfold. They saw the doubt, the determination, and everything in between — and eventually they became some of my greatest supporters. Not just financially. In every way that matters.
When they were dying, I almost stopped.
I want to be honest about that because I think it's important. There are moments in building something that test whether you actually believe in it, and losing the people who believed in you first is one of the hardest. I almost walked away from all of it. I didn't. And the reason I didn't is the same reason I started: because this work matters to me in a way that goes beyond a business. It's how I see people. It's how I show them what I see.
Twelve years later, I'm still here. Still behind the lens. Still doing exactly what I pitched in that very first conversation.
I'm Sami, photographer, golden hour devotee, and the person who will make you forget you were ever nervous in front of a camera. Here's what I know after twelve years: the best photos don't happen when people are performing. They happen when people are present as they are mid-laugh, mid-sentence, mid-being-exactly-themselves. My job isn't to construct a version of you. It's to hold up a mirror and capture what's already there.
I think of myself as exactly that. A mirror that captures your essence.
I specialize in golden hour because that light is honest. Warm, cinematic, and forgiving in the best way, it has a way of making people look exactly how they feel on their best days. I shoot candidly, I read the room, and I create an experience that genuinely feels good to be in. My clients come back not just because they love their photos, but because they loved showing up for them.
For my small business clients especially, this matters more than people realize. You are your brand. The imagery you put into the world is the first impression you make before anyone speaks to you, before they read your bio, before they decide whether to trust you. I take that seriously. We'll move through your session with ease, we'll have more fun than you were expecting, and you'll walk away with a gallery you're genuinely proud and excited to share.
Radiant. Real. Entirely you.
That's what we're building together.