The staircase
Close
Coffee at Combi Roasters
The library, Barcelona
Golden hour at the Louvre
Film photo at home
They met through a friend of Jad's aunt who knew Reem's mom. A slightly traditional, slightly old-school connection that Jad initially brushed off. "This is so lame," he thought, "meeting someone through my aunt." But his aunt was persistent, and the more Jad looked into it, the more he thought: okay, she seems cool. I'll just go meet her.
Their first date was at Do Not Feed the Alligators, a cafe near Jad's place in New York. He knew the owner. He'd done his birthday there. It was comfortable ground. And then Reem walked in, and he was completely taken aback by how beautiful she was. Guard up. Not taking it too seriously. But they just... got along.
He walked her home. Second date, third date. They acknowledged early on that the way they met was a little awkward, and that honesty cracked everything open. From there, they did something unusual: they went deep, fast. Hard-hitting questions. The real ones. Not small talk, not surface-level. They wanted to know if this was worth taking seriously, so they treated it seriously from the start.
Obsessed with coffee (high standards only), health tracking (too many devices to count), and building things. Wears a lot of black and brown. More Gen Z than he'd like to admit. The better dancer of the two, though he'll be gracious about it. Drawn to dark textures, analog things, and deep conversation. Quieter when it's just the two of them, but more social and outgoing in group settings. Admittedly bad at languages.
Called "Rita" by her sister. Wakes up early to do her hair. Has produced films, writes beautifully, and carries a high-brow sensibility when it comes to music and art. Loves classical music. Speaks very good French. A calming, grounding presence. More colorful in her style than Jad, but they're balancing each other out. Talks more when it's just the two of them; a bit quieter in social settings. Self-conscious about dancing, but gets there.
They are, at their core, calm and grounded together. The kind of couple that can sit in silence and have it mean something. But then one of them will crack, and the silliness pours out. Jad pointing at the camera while Reem sleeps on the couch. Reem grinning while Jad is knocked out in the car. They find humor in the ordinary, not the performative.
They can also go deep. Conversations about politics, what Jad's building, what Reem's thinking about, ideas neither of them has fully formed yet. Intellectual without being pretentious. Curious about what the other one sees that they don't.
He judges her classical music. She judges his Gen Z tendencies. And over time, they've come to not just tolerate but genuinely love what the other person loves. For her birthday, he took her to a symphony orchestra. It wasn't his thing, but it became meaningful because it was hers.
Their music taste is a Venn diagram that tells you everything. She comes from classical music and high-brow art. He leans Gen Z: Bon Iver, Dijon. Where they overlap is where the magic is. They saw Maggie Rogers live together. Holly Humberstone means something to both of them. And then there's 2Pac and Stormzy, because range is part of the deal.
Sleep in. Snuggle. Get coffee. Brunch at St Jardim. Walk around. Maybe catch a show. Spend time outside, in nature or just wandering the city. A good dinner. Dessert. Being in each other's company. That's it. That's enough.
Simple. Clean. Contemporary with a penchant for the analog.
Think film grain, natural light, warm tones, nothing overly staged.
He gravitates toward black and brown. She brings in more color. Together, it's earthy with occasional warmth.
Spring and fall people. Not summer, not beach lovers. They like the in-between seasons, the transitional light, the layers.
Not performative. Not posed. Intimate, warm, a little bit analog. The kind of photos where you feel like you're intruding on a private moment in the best way.
We want you to feel like you know us after seeing this. Like you've had dinner with us. Like you get it.
Their relationship is warm but not saccharine. Playful but grounded. Intellectual but never pretentious. They are two people who fell in love by asking the hard questions early and then spending every day since discovering that the answers only got better.
She is his calming presence. He brings energy and curiosity. She brings depth and taste. Together, they explore cities, sit in cafes, argue about music, share dessert, and build a life that feels both ordinary and remarkable at the same time.
Capture that. The in-between moments. The unposed ones. The way she leans into him. The way he looks at her when she's not looking. The quiet stuff.
Avoid: overly posed editorial shots, heavy filters, anything too "perfect." What feels right: natural light, candid warmth, film-like tones, spring/fall energy.