Today we’d like to introduce you to Afsha’n and Mahreen Lakhani.
Hi Afsha’n and Mahreen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
We are the two sisters behind the lens of Afreen Visions, our DFW-based photography business! We both have had a deep-rooted appreciation for photography for as long as we can imagine. Individually, we both would always take photographs of our family and friends, of school events, and of life’s biggest moments. We bought our first DSLR camera around ten years ago, and you would’ve been hard-pressed to find us without it! Somewhere along the way, life took over and our love for photography took a backseat. We both became busy in our own lives, from attending college to building our individual careers, and while we still loved photography from the sidelines, we spent years without getting behind the lens.
When the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic hit close to home, we were inspired to recalibrate and reinvest in ourselves and our passions. We decided to take the leap and started our own photography business in August 2020, something that we individually dreamed of for years but never imagined coming to fruition. Now, through Afreen Visions, we have found fulfillment in our creativity, and we’ve built something that we’re truly proud of.
Considering our business was born out of an extraordinary time ridden with struggles, sadness, and separation, we are most proud of the resilience we’ve shown towards Afreen Visions, towards one another, but most importantly, towards ourselves. We care about this so deeply, and we both want to see the other succeed, so this has been an incredible show of our strength through hardship. While 2020 has been a year unlike any other, we are blessed to say that we were able to create something good, light, and joyous for ourselves and, hopefully, for others!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In some aspects, starting our own business has been somewhat easier than we initially anticipated! We both are very serious about this passion, and as such, we give it the time and dedication that it deserves. That being said, one thing that we’ve both struggled with is striking a balance between our lives outside of Afreen Visions with the needs of a budding new business. We both work full-time jobs, and Afsha’n is a full-time graduate student, so it does take a toll on our schedules. Not to mention, growing our business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge that we expected to run into since many of our potential clients may not be comfortable with being around others at this time. Thankfully, we are both very determined and strong-willed; we know that in order to see this dream become a reality, we need to invest ourselves and our time into it. We knew that this wouldn’t be an easy road for us, but that in the end, it would bring us the happiness of doing something that we love with one another and of being able to share our talents with our clients in a way that is safe for them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Afreen Visions?
We specialize in portrait photography, and we work with couples, families, expecting mothers, graduates, and influencers – there’s something for everyone! Our style can best be described as light, fun, and natural. We like to create special, intimate moments for our clients, whether that’s by sharing cheesy jokes to capture some laughs, playing music that give our clients that “music video” feeling, or by giving our clients the freedom to get creative with our props.
We strive to create memorable sessions for our clients, and we aim to deliver top-notch quality so that they can get the best bang for their buck. We understand that some people may be camera shy, some may go years without having a photo shoot, and some may even not feel confident in their own skin. Our ultimate goal is to allow our clients to feel comfortable, happy, and beautiful! Our clients are the best part of what we do; absolutely nothing matches up to the relationships we create with those on the other side of the camera.
Photography has become our way of creating lasting memories. Just like people say that a certain fragrance takes them back to a moment in time, we reflect on our favorite memories and can be completely immersed in the feelings we felt just by looking at one photograph. Our hope is to create and capture this same sentiment for our clients and to share our love for photography with all of you!
What does success mean to you?
We believe that our idea of success is constantly evolving! If we feel fulfilled in what we do, and if we can feel connected to the work that we create, then we can confidently say that we’ve succeeded in our endeavors. But, should we ever feel that we are not taking a pulse on our own happiness, if we are not feeling creatively stimulated by what we do, it’s hard to pour our energy, time, and attention into whatever is in front of us. Before starting Afreen Visions, we’d fallen into our individual slumps, where we frankly weren’t sure of why we were devoting so much time towards the 9-to-5 and societal expectations of what we should do versus what we actually wanted for ourselves and for our lives. To some extent, we did feel satisfied with our career paths, but we didn’t feel inspired by what we saw in front of us.
There was a period during the pandemic where we both experienced setbacks in our careers and were called to take a pause and reflect on what it was that we wanted to do next. We both felt that something was missing and that we needed something more and yet, we couldn’t identify what “more” meant for us. More fulfilling, more out-of-the-box, more of the “us” that we used to be. With the help and encouragement of our loved ones, we realized that it was in front of us the whole time! We spent so much time deflecting when friends joked that we should seriously think about photography, that we should put our minds to paper and create something, that we should build something just for ourselves in our own name. Suddenly, we understood that we spent years chasing success through the traditional high school to college to the workplace pathway, that this measurement of success lost its meaning for us. We needed to redefine it in a way that made sense for us and for our dreams, and with that, there was nothing stopping us from actually pursuing the idea that was growing in our minds for years. We took the time to process the changes around us and in our career, but also took the time to finally get back to what we love: photography. For us, that is a success!
Pricing:
- The Influencer Special – $75, 1-hour session, 20 professionally edited photos, 2 outfits, 1 location
- The Classic – $100, 1-hour session, 25 professionally edited photos, 1 outfit, 1 location
- The Signature – $135, 1.5-hour session, 35 professionally edited photos, 2 outfits, 1 location
- The Deluxe – $180, 2-hour session, 50 professionally edited photos, 3 outfits, 2 locations
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@afreenvisions.com
- Website: www.afreenvisions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afreenvisions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfreenVisions
