Hey, I'm Riya

Your child’s temporary best friend

Your family’s calm observer

The mum behind photographs that hit you right in the heart

I’m obsessed with capturing the raw moments that happen when no one’s looking

Why I do this

Growing up, my sister and I were only 11 months apart — yet completely different. One of us was calm and observant, the other cheeky, energetic and always on the move. From a young age, it taught me something that’s stayed with me ever since.

Children don’t come in one personality type — and they’re not meant to.

That understanding deepened over the years. A background in psychology, working in nurseries, becoming a mum myself — all of it shaped the way I see children, families, and the moments in between. Some children warm up slowly. Some instantly want to show you who they are. Neither is right or wrong — they just need to feel understood. Photography became a natural extension of that.

As a child, I hated stiff, over-posed photos. The kind where you’re told to smile, hold still, say cheese — and by the time the shutter clicks, the joy has already gone.

That experience stayed with me. And now, as a mum, it’s exactly what I don’t want — for myself or for anyone who steps in front of my camera.

What I care about is how things feel.

I know what it’s like to want beautiful photographs of your family — without forcing moments, without polishing away the realness, without turning the experience into something stressful. I also know what it’s like to be the one always behind the camera, capturing everyone else, but rarely being part of the story yourself.

That’s why my sessions are centred around real connection.

My sessions are calm, child-led and intuitive. Especially during family, maternity and newborn sessions, the focus is always on the children first — because when they feel settled, everything else falls into place.

Children are met where they are. Energy is welcomed when it’s there. Slower days are treated gently when that’s what’s needed. No two sessions look the same because no two families are the same — and that’s exactly the point.

My editing reflects that approach too: warm, earthy tones, natural light, homes that feel lived-in and calm. Spaces where families can breathe, move, and simply be together.

The kind of photographs that don’t shout for attention — but grow more meaningful over time.

This work is for families who value presence over perfection. Who want photographs that feel like their life — not a performance of it. Who want to be seen, understood, and captured as they truly are.

If that resonates, then you’re probably in the right place.