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?

safeenanoah about square
Safeenanoah Camping

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.

Yosemite Glacier Point Adventure Elopement by Safeena Noah of Little Boat Photography
Camarillo Los Angeles Ventura Wedding by Little Boat Photography

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.

DSC07369

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!).

DSC07369

peep some
fun facts

peep some
fun facts

I graduated with a degree in Advertising and Non-Profit Management from Pepperdine.
I’d rather grab a lemonade and go for a walk or take you climbing with me than meet over coffee.
Nobody believes I’m from NJ.
I once had to have 2 search and rescue teams come rescue me from up the side of Table Mountain.
I can find a way to talk about enneagrams no matter how a conversation starts.
I’m a total nerd. I’m a Slytherin who presents as a Gryffindor. But I'm the House Tyrell kinda Slytherin.
My dream wedding locations are Antarctica, Patagonia, New Zealand, Jordan, and Greenland.
I was a leash baby. Yeah, I'm not sure why that one's relevant either.
I’m a mountain girl who’s always lived by the ocean.
Previous
Next
DSC07369
bonus pieces of my imperfect soul
I'll give you a piece too, so you should know what you're signing up for. Click right for business-inappropriate over-sharing.
This is Conrad.

He’s my favorite belay buddy, road-trip companion, fiercest competition, and lead associate. He dreams big with me, can make joyful conversation with a literal rock, and is the kind of person who will carry you from the climbing gym to urgent care and then spend a week taking care of you (and becoming your best friend). Climber, skier, mountain biker, surfer, Crossfitter, and overall way cooler than me.

In the last year, I've...

...eaten still-wiggly octopus tentacles, killed all my house plants even the snake plant, paid off my student debt, snapped an ankle climbing, began my lifelong dream of dancing, learned to ride a motorcycle, flew a biplane, loved harder than I’ve ever known, climbed Kilimanjaro solo, and subsequently contracted giardia.

I’m interested in friendships with people doing the work but not missing life to do it. I choose underdogs. I believe deeply in grace, redemption, generosity, and a God that is good. I get my feathers real ruffled by the weaponizing of faith and indifference toward injustice. Humor is my defense mechanism and compliments make me feel weird. I screw up tons and cry all the time, but I laugh more now than ever and that makes me so grateful.
My dreams beyond photography include gown designing, becoming a NICU nurse, working for the UNHCR, swimming in a pool of Hot Cheetos, and writing a book.

And odds are I’d love to talk with you about yours, preferably on a long walk in Yosemite or in an airport terminal.

REACH OUT
Previous
Next

Follow @safeenapadder on instagram for regular doses of adventurous madness and essay-sized captions:

Taft Point Sunset at Yosemite

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.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE

Ready to go deep with me?

Follow @safeenanoah on Instagram for all the inspiration and business-inappropriate captions: