Mansi and my wife used to be roommates during their early days in San Francisco. I have known this couple for years, watched them build their life here, and when they asked me to photograph them before their first child arrived, it was not a job. It was something else entirely.

We shot at golden hour in June of 2025 in Palo Alto. The light was exceptional, the kind that makes everything feel unhurried and warm. Two days later, their daughter Mira was born. Two days. I still think about that timing sometimes.

There is something about photographing people you know well. You skip the awkward beginning. You just make pictures of people who trust you, and you try to do right by that trust.