you + I
hi, I'm Saf!
Here's a page from my book.
I’m the mischievous face behind Safeena Noah. Published, international wedding and couple’s photographer based out of Malibu, California. Usually elsewhere. Always collecting (and promptly accidentally killing) plants. Not obsessed with coffee, so I’m not sure if this can even count as a legitimate photographer bio. I hope you can still like me?
At my core, I’m a
rebel for love
and fullness of life.
Adventurous love is my true north. I ran away to California on a one-way plane ticket bought with a CVS pre-paid debit card and cardboard boxes for luggage. I left a lot of traditions and expectations behind, and chose to pursue photography in order to stay true to that calling.
If having a wedding that’s true to your love is important to you, I think we’ll be awesome together.
a feeler
I’ll tear up when you exchange vows and obsess over any adorable child present. It will always be more important to me to photograph how a moment feels over how it looks.
Because rawness of feeling + emotion will always trump technical perfection.
a roadtrip junkie for the American West
After 9 years of salty air, foggy canyon drives, and overpriced groceries, I know every nook and cranny of Malibu’s scenic coastline. My National Parks Pass is my favorite tool–– Yosemite, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Sequoia have my heart. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are my second home. I spend more weekends than a contributing member of society should camping, climbing, and hot-spring-hopping between Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Mono, and Tahoe. The 395 is my favorite piece of America.
And I love sharing all that magic with my couples.
a traveler
International travel is integral to how I see. Location, landscape, and environment give life to my craft; I get to know my places just as well as my people in order to tell a cohesive story. Having started out as a humanitarian photojournalist in Kenya, Israel, and France, I’ve stayed connected to the mission that first drew me to photography.
Fostering moments of emotion and meaning are what I focus on–– and environment can’t be separated from that. I’ve lived in 5 countries, creating and telling stories of adventure, love, and humanity in 40 countries on every continent except Antarctica (so far!).
peep some
fun facts
peep some
fun facts
now that you basically know my life story, who are you?
Safeena Noah is:
For the wild-hearted and fellow rebelS for love
For the norm-breakers
For the ones who recognize love, in all its mess and masterpiece, as an inherent adventure
For the ones who believes in genuine human connection…even if it’s just the photographer
For the ones in it for the big picture but appreciate the tiny in-between details
For the ones who see an incredibly beautiful world outside of themselves
For the ones who cry tears of joy
For the intentional lovers
NOT for the perfection chasers. I am pro-flyways-in-the-wind
NOT for those in it for the wedding more than the marriage
For the wild-hearted and fellow rebelS for love
For the norm-breakers
For the ones who recognize love, in all its mess and masterpiece, as an inherent adventure
For the ones who believes in genuine human connection…even if it’s just the photographer
For the ones who cry tears of joy
For the ones who see an incredibly beautiful world outside of themselves
For the ones in it for the big picture but appreciate the tiny in-between details
For the intentional lovers
NOT for the perfection chasers. I am pro-flyways-in-the-wind
NOT for those in it for the wedding more than the marriage
Photographers talk about
their "ideal client" a lot.
Here's the tea on that for me:
You don’t need to be a 10-time Olympic athlete and live out of a tent while maintaining flawless beauty for me to think you’re the best client. You don’t need to look a certain way or project a certain trendy ideal. You don’t need to be naturally adventurous or outdoorsy –– as long as you’re okay with letting me guide you into an epic adventure.
All you need is to
be real with me
so that I can be real with you.
That is where I do my best, most truthful work.
If you're looking for a transactional wedding vendor who puts on a formal business mask, rolls up, gets all the Pinterest shots, and bails, I'm not going to make you happy.
I’m telling you all this because, for one, you deserve someone amazing for you. If formal, perfect, all-posed, and classic is what you’re looking for, I think that is awesome, and I will so happily refer you to some kick-ass friends of mine.
And I'm telling you this because I want you to know that you're not getting a fake version of me.
You’re not getting a “wedding photographer version” or “Pure Business Saf Version 2.0” or a “perfect social media version” of me. You’re getting me, the friend and confidant, the cheerleader, the dad-jokes and all.
Because the biggest thing I’ve learned after years of doing this, is that
the real version of you is the most beautiful.
That is the version I need to preserve.
For you, when things get messy, for your grandbabes, when memory fails. And I know I can’t ask you to let me into your beautiful, joyful, complicated mess or go deep with me if I won’t do the same for you. You don’t need to tell me your deepest, darkest secrets (honestly, though, be my guest), but you need to be okay with me knowing you. With letting me see the real stuff.
So I can capture it, as honestly and beautifully as it is.