since you are here, you are probably wondering...
“Who is this person I am thinking of trusting to capture-only(!)-the most important few days of my life in the most beautiful, stunning, omg-I-will-skip-work-today-just-to-ogle-my-pictures kind of way."
Yeeeaa, no pressure!
So hello! I am Qurrat Ansari
and
this is me…
I was the first baby born in my extended family. Naturally that comes with privileges! My privileges included endless cuddles, sweets, and (most importantly) a room full of photo albums of me doing apparently majestic things like opening a book. I feel bad for my brother who was just so uninteresting opening a book :). As a child I grew up with my own platoon of paparazzi.
Fast forward a few years...
I find myself in the sterile, suffocating dungeons of the University of Toronto's engineering department, the smell of red-eyed, overworked future Elon Musks all around me. I was on my way to becoming an engineer. Let's just say I didn’t quite belong. Whenever I felt stressed or had time, I would grab my little Canon point-and-shoot and photograph anything I could— puddles, flowers, nature, my baby brother bawling his eyes out.
The day I finally bought my first DSLR I felt invincible! I signed up at a few clubs as a photographer. This is where I met the love of my life. I loathed him. You know what he did? He criticized me on every aspect of my photography and then some. He then had the audacity to ask me to marry him. Of course I didn’t make it easy for him, but I was a yes before he even asked me. He saw in me what I didn’t see yet and he pushed me towards it.
I picked up my DSLR (and a lot of other fancy toys) and became a professional photographer with the support of my husband and family. Now, every time I shoot the budding love of two souls I am motivated by my own love story as well as my passion for this art.
We named the company Qurrat A’yun Studios because of the beautiful Quranic prayer [25:74], which implores Allah (swt) to grant us in our spouses and children a comfort/pleasure for our eyes. And through my work, that’s exactly what I attempt to do. I aim to capture, in the most exquisite manner, the pleasures of peoples’ eyes by offering my clients photographs and prints as cherished mementos.
As of the last few years, my team has grown beyond me to 4 other very talented photographers!
drop us a line >
Drop us a line and let’s see if my team and I are the people you want capturing the most important days of your life. It’s all about good chemistry!
p.s. True story. A client of mine did actually love her photos so much the day of the delivery, she skipped work to ogle them :)
2019 and 2022 were the most memorable years
because our beautiful little girls came into this world and gave us the honor of being parents. Hidaya and Aliya are our feisty little daughters and the lights of our lives.
my husband and i....
work too much! So our downtime is travel. We’ve travelled to: Costa Rica, Dubai, Turkey, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and all over the North-American West Coast.
call me an ‘aunty-charmer’
As a Pakistani, I know my client isn’t just the bride. It’s the whole ‘khandaan’ (extended network of familial relations)! I truly work with families, not just bride-grooms.
living across the continent
We moved to the USA in January of 2021, and call San Francisco Bay Area our home now! We come back to Toronto to spend our summer months with family here and to photograph our lovely Canadian couples!
lover of home decor
I love everything pretty and nice, especially pretty home decor! My husband knows - if I’m at HomeSense, I’ll will be a while!
naps... always!
Naps. They are my weak spot. I can’t do without them. I love ‘em like I love my fries!
how my husband and i met
I met my husband when volunteering for a photography position at university. Funny story: I came out of it feeling really offended. In a couple of months we were engaged!
