Girls behind the Camera: a heartfelt interview with Waliya and Nataliya

Nataliya Khan of Nataliya Khan Photography and Waliya Najib of Waliya Najib Photography are an amazing sister duo who strongly believe in the principle of ‘be inspiring and be inspired’. Rarely do we see girls so brave and bold but in today’s society these sisters are exemplery. They have set an example of how to turn your vocation into vacation. They are the perfect role models for the girls of our society today.

I recently got a chance to interview the beauties behind the lens, let's see what they have to say.

Q1: Define yourself

Nataliya: I always find it so hard to answer this question. But I’ll give it a try. I am a total family person, my family is my world. I am creative, expressive, sensitive, emotional, impatient, a bit too idealistic, and inspired. I think about things a lot and have this strong need to document this life through my pictures and words.

Waliya: Always the hardest question. I love my family; I think I'm very lucky to have people like them around. I love life and want to appreciate it every day. I love taking pictures, and my dream is to inspire people to live better through them. I want my pictures to tell a story, and to be able to tell people that no matter what happens, and no matter how bad life gets, there’s always something to be happy about, and to never lose hope.

Q2: Define each other.

Nataliya: Waliya is strong, brave, inspiring and inspired. She is so loving and just a happy person to be around. She is also very sensitive, despite the carefree image that she gives off most of the time. And I have to add how immensely proud all of us are, and specially papa must be of her, only the bravest of people can make a tragedy a good thing for you and she is doing that. I pray for the best things for her with all of my heart always.

Waliya: Nataliya is amazingly inspiring. She gives the best advice. Her values are strong. She knows exactly what's important in life and wants to live better and make the people that she loves happy everyday. She's an amazing mom, and Anya is so lucky to have her. She's one of the main reasons that I started taking pictures and photography seriously.

Q3: What kind of a relationship do you guys share?

Nataliya: Waliya is 9 years younger than me, so since the first day, she was my little baby. Actually she was my first baby and I can’t tell you how many times I keep saying Waliya when I have to say my daughter’s name. I remember how before I got married, she shared her room with Nadiya, our middle sister, but every night, Waliya would come to my room and we would always sleep in the same room. That is what our relationship was like, I was her second mom. In the last few years though, she is fast becoming more like a friend. In so many ways she is so much more mature than I was at that age, and gives great advice. She is the perfect baby sister. The three of us sisters are very close to each other, Masha Allah, and we fight like crazy too over silly stuff likes clothes and shoes etc, but we can never be angry with each other for long. Alhamdulillah. We can never live without each other, that is for sure.

Waliya: I've looked up to Nataliya always. I remember feeling like she’s the prettiest person in the world, and wanting to be her when I grew up. While my other sister Nadiya and I had a more play together and fight all the time relationship, though I love her like crazy too, Nataliya was my shoulder to lean on. She's always been the most sensible and the most responsible one out of all three of us and whenever something big happens, I always want to know what Nataliya has to say about it, because I know that she's going to say something worth a lot. Of course we have our sisterly moments, when we fight and are angry and hate each other, But that doesn’t last for long. Of course while growing up I too went through extremely dumb phases and my sisters were always the ones to put some sense into me, which I much deserved.

Waliya: the busy bee

Q4: How has your childhood been? Have you guys been close since the beginning? Any interesting stories?

Nataliya: It was the best childhood in the world. Our dad was in the Pakistan Air Force, so we moved around a lot and our only permanent playmates were each other. Even though Waliya was our baby and Nadiya and I went through stages of being best friends and enemies, we were always close. I remember our summer vacations a lot, as those were when some of the best memories were made, from afternoons at our Nana Nani’s house in Lahore when everyone would be asleep, and we would try to pass time playing silly games, to late nights doing the most random-‘est’ of things and our mom waking us up early mornings in her typical excited way, from fighting over who would get the computer and TV and phone (We had rules between us. One person wasn’t allowed to hog all three or even two things. Lol), there are just so many memories. Those were actually the best days and I’m so happy that our mom made us realize that always, and we made the most of them. 

Waliya: Because of the age gap, I for the longest time had been the baby of the family, which wasn’t bad at all but then we became more like friends. Our childhood has been the best. Our dad was in the Air Force and so we moved around a lot, which had a lot of perks. We lived a very care-free and a much protected life and didn’t have much to worry about. There are so many memories, too many funny stories to write down. Some of the best are the very ordinary ones. Late nights when our parents would be sleeping, and we'd just be watching TV, making maggi, surfing the internet, and we would make the silli-est games and laugh our heads off while playing them. Our parents, both also very adventurous and high spirited always gave us so many days and things to remember. We went to family holidays quite a lot, and Sundays were always spent as a family, my mom made sure of that, which we would sometimes even get angry about that, but today I am grateful to her, because almost everything has changed but we have wonderful memories to cherish.

Q5: How and when did you guys get your hands on the camera? Where did the concept come from?

Nataliya: Our dad was always into photography. When we were very little, Papa had the whole kit with lots of fancy equipment. As he got busier and times changed, he moved to a point and shoot camera. Our interest always remained but it was mostly taking pictures of us, having fun. But in the last five years or so, when we got our hands on our first DSLRS, we were just hooked. Now we live photography. I literally make mental pictures all the time, even when my camera isn’t with me, and I think I can say that about Waliya too. 

Waliya: Pictures and cameras and videos have always been a part of our family. We have albums and albums full of pictures at home. My dad took amazing pictures, and had a lot of interest in photography and SLRs, and that's where the inspiration came from. I remember getting a camera as a gift on my 13th birthday and since then I would carry it around everywhere. But lately, I’ve learnt to express myself, like any other art through photography.

Q6: One thing you hate about each other?

Nataliya: Oh I am sure there are some, but none I would want to share here. Family Loyalty you know.

Waliya: That we're so far. Ha-ha. I’m feeling so much love for her right now, I can not think of one. I’m sure there are plenty though. 

 Q7: One thing you love about each other? 

Nataliya: Her strength, her resilience and her ability to cheer us up always. I remember even as a kid, whenever I would have a fight with my parents and be upset, she would knock at my door and come and just hug me and always make me feel better. She does it with all of us.

Waliya: I love how inspiring she is. And she's not just like that on her blog and page. She is genuinely an amazing person. She takes time out to do good things, too make life better, and to make her relationships stronger. I love that while most people are too lazy, she'll always put in extra efforts for things that actually matter.

Q8: If not photographers and a blogger mum (in Nataliya's case) what would've you guys been?

Nataliya: I have a degree in Computer Science and even though I am terrible at it, I might have been pursuing it. I am also really intrigued by graphic design and might still pursue it at some point.

Nataliya with her beautiful daughter Anya

Waliya: That's a hard one, and I have no idea.

Q9: What inspires you? 

Nataliya: Life, people, strength, love, relationships, nature, architecture, photography, my family, homes, décor, Pinterest, words, books, blogs, faith, just everything.

Waliya: People, who're strong, even in the worst conditions. Smiles. colors. Art. My mom, my sisters. Pictures. Clouds. Doors. Traffic lights. clear blue skies. Pinterest. Life. Food. Everything inspires me, you'll be surprised.

Q10: Can you tell us something about your 'Across the miles' project?

Nataliya: We had been wanting to do a project together for the longest time, and had been on our minds for a while. Last summer we just finally thought it was possible and the name just clicked. Like I wrote about it, through the project we aimed to shorten the distance that divides us. It was amazing the response that this little personal project got on our facebook pages and we are so honored.

Waliya: Living at the opposite ends of the world, we thought it might be interesting to somehow just to see that even though we're that far, we're really close. It was a lot of fun doing it. And we should do another one soon.

Q11: How and when did you guys get your first break?

Nataliya: Once I discovered my love for photography, I started taking pictures for friends, at gatherings and parties, here in Seattle, because I loved any chance of using my camera. Then at some friends insistence I ended up making a facebook page in 2010 and started doing sessions for people around the same time. Even though my work became slow once my daughter was born in 2011, the facebook page became a place to share the pictures I took of our new life. The more active I got on the page, the more viral it got and now it is hard to believe the number of people that follow it and it is definitely a huge honor.

Waliya: I guess it was the first time I realized that I could turn this hobby into a career. I did a photo shoot for a friend's mom's furniture studio. And that just opened doors for a promising career for me. This was long before I had made a page or anything, but I think that was the point where it started.

Q12: Did someone teach you? Or are you self taught?

Nataliya: I didn't go to school for it or take any courses as such but I read many many books on the subject to understand what I was doing and that boosted my confidence. And then of course, experience in itself is a big teacher. Maybe someday I'll take a course on the business of photography.

Waliya: I was very much inspired when I first started. I was especially inspired by the gazillions of pictures on flickr. I would go through them everyday, I would especially view picture by Nataliya' and a friend who owns Massan Photography. I just had so many pictures in my head and so many thoughts put together that I wanted to bring out through pictures. I guess I learnt a lot just by looking and feeling all these pictures, and then of course once I started out, experience taught me much. Nataliya was always there to help me out if I had a problem. I’m pretty guilty to admit that in the start I wouldn’t even read much about photography, or look into it on the internet, the technical part didn’t interest me much. HAHA. But now I do, and that's really important.

Q13: What's your dream project?

Nataliya: I wish Waliya and I were able to work together, second shoot for each other, do weddings and so much more. It would be so amazing to have someone especially your sister who also happens to be amazingly talented, to assist you and to be your partner in your work. Right now it sounds like a dream to me but maybe someday we'll be able to do some projects together.

Waliya: Ahh, my dream project. A dream come true would be that Nataliya and I would live closer, we'd own our own studio, and do projects together, go to different Countries and just take photographs. Sigh!

Q14: Who's your inspiration in this field?

Nataliya: There are so many amazing photographers out there and in today's age of social media it is so easy to follow people's work and get inspired. From local people, I have loved Ali Khurshid's work since the flickr days many many years ago. Besides that I also like Sitwat and Insiya's work a lot. Since I love taking pictures of my baby, I follow the work of many mom photographers. I am especially inspired by Kelle Hampton for taking the most adorable pictures of her kids and capturing their everyday life. Besides these names that came to mind, there are many many talented people out there that inspire me and if I kept going on, I wouldn't be able to stop!

Waliya: Needless to say, Nataliya. Not just as a photographer but also as a person. Elsie Larson from 'A Beautiful Mess'. Brenda Waworga from Indonesia is also amazing beyond words. Brittney Panda, Gwendolyn Leister Photography, Rammal Mehmud, Arsalan Asad and Irfan Ahson, even though I’m not a wedding photographer as such. There are SO many more from flickr and Instagram that I wouldn’t be able to name them all!

Q15: What's the best aspect of your profession?

Nataliya: Just the fact that I love taking pictures. Hence to be able to do it as a bit of a profession is amazing. Also as I am mostly a lifestyle photographer, the fact that people ask you to capture themselves, their families and their lives is such a big honor that I cannot put it into words. And most of all I love being given the opportunity to freeze a moment of their current lives.

Waliya: Meeting new people, being able to make them happy through pictures, exploring places, finding positivity in things and most of all, the messages I get to read and the amazing comments, it is really overwhelming, I couldn’t have asked for more in life.

Q16: And what's the worst...?

 Nataliya: Just like any other creative field, if you want to make a full-time profession out of it, you have to put a lot of energy in the marketing yourself, in putting your work out there. That is hard sometimes and requires planning of its own.

Waliya: That sometimes, photographers are underestimated. People think it's really easy as a job, and all we do is only click and that's about it. But there's so much more. I think what makes it easy is that I love what I do so much and that goes for just anything.

Q17: What are you doing when you aren't clicking around?

Nataliya: I am constantly involved in one thing or the other. When I'm not clicking around with my camera or editing etc, I am dreaming up or writing posts for my blog, catching up with my family and friends, trying to keep my toddler occupied while I manage stuff around the house, dreaming up ideas for our place, reading books or watching one or the other of my favorite dramas and so much more. It is hard for me to not be doing anything.

Waliya: I’m currently doing my bachelors, and will hopefully become a graphic designer real soon, so I’m mostly busy with that. Otherwise I’m with family or friends, going out, eating lots of junk, watching dramas non-stop, acting silly with my sister, spending hours going through blogs, flickr and pinterest, cuddling my cat, missing my little niece, being lazy as hell, making a mess somewhere, being yelled at by my mom and just doing random stuff.

Q18: 'We often see people copying your pictures and adding their own watermarks or else trying to copy your images' What do you have to say to such people?

Nataliya: Luckily it has only happened on rare occasions for me, unlike Waliya, whose pictures are copied endlessly. Every time I see someone claiming her work to be their own I get very upset. If you are one of them, I would just say that if you have to steal others' work, then obviously you are not honest to this field of work. In this day and age, you can't really fool people at all. The biggest thing you can be in a creative field like photography or even blogging, is to be yourself, be original. To find out your style, your voice and to be proud of it. If you constantly try to imitate or be someone you're not, you won't last for long. To be inspired by someone is something completely different, but to copy and steal people's work is pretty much a crime.

Waliya: Sometime back it used to bother me a lot, but I think it doesn’t anymore. I wish they knew how far they'd go if they only stay true to their work and themselves. You can never become much by using other people's work. Hence stay original.

 Q19: 'When Anya grows up and wishes to become a photographer like her mum and aunt, what would you do?Would you let her take up some other profession first then come to the photography side?'

Nataliya: If I know that she is absolutely passionate about it, I think my husband and I both would encourage it, But I think we both would want her to get a college degree either in photography or business, or something that would help her in her photography career. My husband and I have this conversation a lot, 'what if she wants to be that or that, what will we say', and I have to admit, i'm the more conservative one between the two of us. He would love for her to dream big and maybe become an astronaut but I tell him i'd be too scared! lol. However being creative people ourselves, we would totally encourage her if she wants to do something in the creative arts.

Q20: Five things that people don't know about you?

Waliya:

1. I am super loud! I think I get that from Nataliya ;)
2. I spend most of my money on junk food -.-
3. I like to sing. 
4. I am very messy! I usually have no idea where any of my stuff is.
5. My idea of a perfect day is to stay in pajamas all day, watch one movie after another, eat junk food and not move a tiny bit! sigh!

Q21: Well we all know that you guys have got a pretty huge fan following. Is there any message that you’d like to give to your fans?

Nataliya: Just that it is an honor that people follow our work. Just keep believing in yourself and don’t be afraid to dream. Figure out what excites you and make time for it. Let yourself be inspired because living the inspired life is so much more amazing. Also that we all face different battles in our lives, and it is important to be brave, and choose to look at the positive. Allah also helps those who are patient and choose to stand tall. Be blessed and thanks so much for your love.

Waliya: Stay inspired, always. Love life, love the people in it, cherish every moment, do good, because life's too short. Live a life that you'll be proud of if you have to look back. Learn from things that go wrong, and appreciate them when they're right. And of course, I love you all and thank you for everything!

Photography Review

    On Nataliya's Photography

She is one person who stays happy being a stay-at-home mom. I find most people dissatisfied with this life in one way or the other. Those who work don't want to work. Those who don't, crib about boredom.  The married ones complain about their husbands, unmarried ones crib about not having someone. Those with kids are complaining about their kids, those without kids are complaining of being lonely. Nataliya is a very contented person by nature. I don't remember a time she complained about life. She believes life is what you make of it. She is happy just the way she is. She loves her little girl Anya. She has never said a single bad thing about her husband or baby to anyone. She likes to stay at home and she doesn't give herself any time for boredom. It's the creative side of hers that makes her think like that and makes her love life exactly the way it is. Of course happiness is what we all aim for in life. 

Nataliya is probably one of the most inspiring people that I have ever known. Every time I meet her, I find myself inspired and full of new ideas.  I want to write, paint and create things on my own. She is a master of Do-It-Yourself (DIYs) and her house is full of things that she herself has created giving it such a cozy and personal look. Her house is full of personal touches. Her baby Anya's room is full of things which her Phupi, Dadi, Khalas, Nani, Daddy and Mommy have lovingly made for her. When Anya was born, Nataliya even made the cot mobile charm herself which Anya used to stare at when she was only a few weeks old. Her photography is also a part of her creativity. The best part about her photography is that even though she believes in not taking pictures of her little girl's face, nevertheless, her pictures have a class. Quality is never compromised. It's amazing how she can take such amazing pictures of Anya without her face being in the picture itself. That sure is a big challenge and she does it perfectly. I often wonder how is it possible to take such amazing pictures of a baby girl without her modeling for them? How is it possible to capture a baby's mood and actions suddenly without any notice? I know babies are unpredictable and don't let you know when they will be doing that cutest thing which will last for 3 seconds. Babies don't do reruns or acting so once it’s done, they won't repeat it for you. Nataliya has the talent of capturing that perfect moment at just the right time.

~Nadiya Najib Khan, Sister 

Nataliya and Waliya, daughters of an Aero Space engineer (Air Commodore M Najib Khan, and artist and writer mother (Shireen Gheba Najib), they grew up surrounded with art and science. Moving house every couple of years, they travelled a lot. Their father’s interest in photography and computers was passed on naturally to them. Every part of their childhood was filmed in videos and photographs. Their mother insisted on taking them out to art galleries and museums and for meeting interesting personalities from a young age. They travelled a great deal in Pakistan and USA including Seattle, San Francisco. With this back ground, thinking outside the box came naturally to them.

Nataliya was the first one to start this hobby professionally when she got married and lived across the world in Seattle. Sending pictures home to share moments with her family back home in Pakistan became a ritual. The indulgence of Bilal, her husband who always insisted in getting her the best equipment for her hobby helped a great deal. This was coupled with the time she got due to living at a distance from the Seattle, in Duvall. She was an avid reader since the age of four. This habit coupled with her psychic personality is evident in her work. Her ability to focus on tiny things and bringing meaning and depth into reflections comes naturally to her. The skills for using computer started at home and got polished with her degree in BCS honors from FAST, in Pakistan. Having a Microsoft engineer to help her with the finer points is another great advantage that she enjoys now. Seeing her work, her friends started asking her to take family photos for them. And so the ball got rolling, and now Nataliya is doing her work professionally in Seattle, USA quite regularly. Given any situation, she has a knack of seeing so much beauty in it. She has developed the skills for bringing joy to those around her, her readers on her blog and her clients.

She has a great love for nature, home and children. The angles she chooses for her photography are usually very different. Her approach to her subject is also very spectacular. The manner in which she can make an ordinary item in her home appear to be literally 'out of this world' is something that only she can do. Nataliya makes small booklets for her mother and sisters when they visit or when she visits them. These are made up of photographs of us all, and quotations or her words, of appreciations of the little things done for her. She turns it into a priceless keepsake which one can keep in their purse, and keep looking and reliving the happiest moments we spent together.

~Shireen Gheba Najib, Mum

On Waliya's Photography

Waliya Najib Khan grew up as the pampered youngest sister. She shares the same back ground with her eldest sister Nataliya, who was the epitome of everything for Waliya since childhood. Waliya idolizes her elder sister, and likes to follow her footsteps too. I gifted her a digital camera in 2009, which she mastered immediately. And she used this and the SLR gifted by her father in June 2010. She would accompany me for interviews for Dawn, where I had a weekly column. And the photographs for the personalities were taken by Waliya. Recently, she has been asked to conduct a workshop on Photography, at GIK which is a prestigious University of Pakistan. Having studied in 18 schools till her A Levels, she has many friends all over the country. Presently, she is studying in first year at Hunarkada, for her Bachelors in Fine Arts. Her photography shoots are becoming so popular today that she is constantly busy with them. She had started professionally by doing photography for Dawn, and then she took photographs for a furniture brochure which was very artistically executed. She and I would go for assignments at 10 pm at night or at 7.30 am. Both loved the thrill of working together and enjoyed excellent coordination. Both the sisters’ photography is seen in my latest book published by Dorrance Publishers, USA. It is available on Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle and Rose Dog books, called ‘My Life, My Stories’. It is a collection of articles written by me and gives a fair picture of our family’s lifestyle. Naturally, the pictures taken by their father and me are also found in this book, where you can see Nataliya as a one year old traveling through Europe. And on the back cover the photograph of the author is by Nataliya. Waliya’s photos of prominent personalities of Pakistan can also be seen there.

As the youngest of her sisters, she is amazingly mature and smart. However, the elements of youth, spontaneity and humor sparks through her personality and you can see it in her photography. The playfulness, love of nature and pets is there for all to enjoy. She always had a special connection with pets and children. And they love her. This love is obvious in her photography. She manages to catch children and pets in different moods and actions which are hard to catch on camera normally. Many things that you would normally miss out on, are noticed and captured by her. 

~Shireen Gheba Najib, Mum

Waliya has been our youngest sister so we have always been overly concerned about her. She was the fun loving one and was never interested in studies despite our constant efforts. She has been having different phases all her life. She was a big fan of WWF, Power Puff Girls and was called Michael Jackson as she danced so well at PAF ladies functions.  I also called her 'Chapter 1 writer' as she used to start writing a new novel every few days when she was only a teenager. Other than this she is an amazing singer too. Her voice is soothing and has a class of its own. She is a great table tennis player. I needed a competitor so I taught her the game and now it's hard to beat her. She developed an interest in photography when she was a teenager. Waliya soon realized that she wanted to buy an SLR camera. Papa always took care of our interests and encouraged us to pursue our hobbies and interests, so he bought Waliya her first SLR camera. At first we didn't take her seriously. I was in England and Nataliya was in Seattle and we were busy with our lives. Before we knew it, she was a star. I once visited her page by the way and was surprised beyond words. I couldn't believe it was my baby sister's work. There's so much emotion, creativity, sensitivity and mood in one picture that it’s unbelievable that she is still so young.

At such a young age, Waliya has seen life at its worst. The death of her beloved father when both her sisters lived abroad was probably the most painful time that she went through. I think in a way photography became her escapism from the problems faced in life. That is why she has that aspect of sensitivity in her pictures. She feels the pain and can relate to the hurt that others feel. She knows life is not perfect and that is what makes the happy moments so much brighter. Waliya has an eye of a photographer which I think makes her a very positive person over all. I have been with her to the places where she shoots. It's amazing how she has the ability to turn completely plain scenery into something exotic. She has an eye for detail. I remember the two of us really tired and trekking to Monal when she suddenly got excited and said, ‘Wow these flowers are awesome’. I hadn't even noticed them at all. She has an eye for happiness. Waliya was the most pampered and spoiled baby. Papa was always the culprit of most of this spoiling. He made sure he got her everything that she dreamed of. He was an extremely caring father. Before he left his pampered baby behind in this world, he made sure he got her something that will make her financially independent once he's gone. We could never imagine that the same Waliya who wasn't into studies would be the only one of us sisters to start earning at such a young age. She is also a source of inspiration to so many young girls and boys. Meeting her fans everywhere we go is something very encouraging. We are really very proud of her.  Of course older sisters will always be doing their job. So we still find ourselves keeping a check on her page and also telling her not to use her laptop so much. She is and always will be our little baby doll and we love her like anything.

~Nadiya Najib Khan, Sister 

Special Thanks to Nadiya Najib Khan for helping me select the pictures and getting the reviews :)