Nauseen Taher : innovating through photography

Capturing moments of happiness and smiling faces needs some vision and creativity. It is not given to everyone to capture amazing moments in just one click. But for Nauseen Taher, it is an inborn talent. She is someone very innovative and is striving to bring her own touch to the photography world. She is a reputed baby photographer but recently, she has started to do theme photography.

Recently, Nauseen opened a brand new studio in Sodnac, Quatre Bornes, which is dedicated to Newborn Photography. There are a number of in-house settings at the studio to accommodate the needs of her clients. “One of the most important aspects in the realm of photography is to ensure the health and safety of each and every customer. Whether it is the lights, room temperature or audiovisual, we see to it that the family are comfortable for the shootings. This work requires patience and an acute understanding of babies growing up to warrant a professional approach with good outcomes. Over the years, I have set up a range of maternity and newborn props that reflect the work and the style of photography I offer to my clients.”

The official opening of Bump & Beyond Photography Studio was a great success in that it generated a lot of interests in her products and visitors crowding the venue. “We had a fun day with our current clients and it was an opportunity for new ones to join us and to familiarise themselves with the studio. We had a raffle with prizes donated by artists with whom we have collaborated before. We had gift vouchers from Shabz Beauty Lounge, Sweta Shree and Nushra Niamut, who was offering Mehendi tattoos on that day. We had also a mini setup with a Christmas theme. The evening closed with a little VIP celebration that   comprised some of our regular clients and close family and friends.”

Unique service

Her service is unique, as she offers a complete service ranging from pregnancy to the newly born baby, in addition to a thorough follow-up of a child’s development stages. She has different packages to suit the needs of her clients, who can choose to have a snap photo session or to capture each stage of their baby’s life and they end up with a beautifully progressive photo album that can be cherished forever.

She aims at expanding the market in Newborn Photography, to educate and advise potentials clients in Mauritius. “We want to extend our services to more parents and to render them confident about capturing very special moments in the lives of their babies. This is a special one-time phase that will never occur again!” This year, she did a Divali shoot with the collaboration of Feroz Shop, Tropical Miss by KD, Shabz Beauty Lounge, Indra Restaurant and Sweta Shree. It was a huge success.

From UK to Mauritius

Her love for photography started back in London in 2008 following the birth of her third child, Zayd. She then officially opened a home studio in 2011 in West London and specialised in Maternity and Newborn Photography. It was a slow process at the beginning but an interesting concept which she really enjoyed.

Initially, she had very few equipment but gradually built on them. “Eventually, I put together up a pool of props and all the requirements to ensure that a comprehensive service was provided. I assembled a portfolio to showcase my products and services. By 2013, I had established a reasonable client group and the interests in Newborn Photography was picking up very nicely. In December 2013, my whole family moved back to beautiful Mauritius.”

Upon her return to Mauritius, she introduced a service dedicated to Newborn Photography. This proved to be a very challenging task. “The issues I faced in Mauritius were that, to many, it is a taboo subject to have a mother-to-be having her photos (of the belly) taken or to capture a picture of a newborn baby at an early stage. Interests in Bump & Beyond Photography were scant, thus I had to diversify my photography business.”

During this settling in period, she ventured into Events, Fashion and Wedding Photography. “For this, I needed the help and assistance of a team. I am fortunate to have had the support of my family to develop and to sustain my small business. My husband Azaad and my son Ziyad also helped me with the shooting. We have since begun to offer videography services in addition to photography.”