The Artistry of Samia: Capturing Love in the City

December 2, 2023

In the heart of New York City, a visual storyteller has perfected the art of freezing moments in time – Samia, the creative force and founder behind “Snippets by Samia.” Samia has converted weddings into eternal tales by capturing the essence of love, joy, and the unique tapestry of each couple’s journey through the lens of her camera. The city’s tremendous energy and the different stories of romance emerging within its boroughs encouraged her to shift her focus to the celebration of union. Samia created “Snippets by Samia,” a platform that goes beyond standard wedding photography or videography by providing a glimpse into the personal moments that define the beauty of marital happiness. During an exclusive interview with TINDS, Samia shared her story of building a successful business using her skills.

TINDS: Tell us a little about your childhood. Where were you born, and where did you grow up?

Samia: I was born and raised in New York City, where I am one of five children. Originally raised in Astoria, I moved around in different neighborhoods in Queens before living in the Upper West Side for some time. I now reside in New Jersey, which has an entirely different vibe.

TINDS: Three words that describe you the best.

Samia: Kind, Creative & Intelligent.

TINDS: How did you start getting involved in content creation? Tell us a little about the start.

Samia: My content creation journey began in early 2022, with me filming short snippets of my day-to-day activities. Through my TikTok platform, Insamia, I romanticized everything, from the mundane and monotonous to the exciting activities of everyday life. It was my way of curating a visual diary for me to look back on weeks, months or even years from now. The more content I created, and the more creative I got with my editing skills, the more my friends and family encouraged me to pursue content creation as a service to offer to others. My husband, in particular, a wedding photographer, always believed in me and influenced me to enter the industry. I joke with him that it’s because he wants to spend even more time with me. But in reality, it’s the support and love he has in everything I do. And so, I decided to one day rip the bandaid off and just go for it. My only regret is not doing this earlier.

TINDS: Tell us a little about ‘Snippets by Samia.’

Samia: As a content creator, I offer full coverage of an event. From the big moments, to even the smallest of details, I capture the moments my clients would want to look back upon. Within 24 – 48 hours of the event, I deliver all the raw footage, or “snippets” to my clients. No more chasing family or friends for photos or videos. They have everything from their events all in one email that can be downloaded right to their phones! I then curate short & entertaining videos in the form of a reel or Tiktok. I deliver the content as soon as possible to ensure they are still within the event’s hype. Marriage makes you nervous and excited, all at the same time, and people, especially the bride and groom, like to have something to look back on that resembles their extraordinary moment. Evidently, they often do not experience everything that happens during the event because of the highly hectic routine. . When they have raw pictures and videos to look back on, they can piece together everything that has happened during the wedding. I created Snippets late June so although it’s fairly new, it has tremendously grown. I don’t only offer weddings as a service, I do cover all types of events, from birthdays, to engagement shoots, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, whatever event you want captured, I am there! ; It just so happens that because my first gig was a wedding, which picked up so exponentially, I started getting more gigs for weddings.

TINDS: How did you end up getting your first gig?

Samia: Honestly, I had no prior intentions of turning my hobby into the business that it is now. The first event I covered was a good friend of mine’s wedding, which I attended as both a guest and as Snippets. My friend initially refrained e from asking me to create content at her wedding as she did not want me to feel the pressure of working as a guest. She reached out to a mutual friend and mentioned wanting me to be the content creator for her wedding, joking that she did not trust anyone else’s editing style. Gratified by her trust in my abilities, I went back to her and told her that I would be open to creating content for her wedding and kick-starting this as a service to others, if I had enjoyed the process. I sent her a contract and just like that, she was my first client. The experience was very different compared to when I was documenting my own personal day-to-day but it was a lot of fun to be able to capture all the raw emotions and moments of a wedding and interact with individuals and other vendors that I wouldn’t be able to meet otherwise. As I posted content from her wedding, I was pleasantly surprised by the positive response from my online community. Several people started following me, messaging me, submitting inquiries, and encouraging me to continue creating content – which I will always have endless gratitude towards as it really did push me to take Snippets to where it is today.

TINDS: Do you have a team to help you get things done?

Samia: When I created Snippets in late June of this year, it was just me. However, as of the last month, I have hired a few interns on my team to work on capturing the behind the scene moments, especially for larger events. I do hope to expand my team even further in the future.

TINDS: What are the services you are planning to provide?

Samia: I divide my services into two different components. The first is access to raw photos and videos I capture walking through the event, which involves countless moments, the decor, the bride & groom, the family, and everyone and everything around the event. This allows the clients to access every moment of their special day captured within a frame. The second component of my service includes using the content I capturedand turning it into short, fun and digestible videos. I want to mention that what I do does not replace a photographer or videographer in an event; it’s a very different conceptThe whole idea for a content creator is to deliver candid and behind the scenes moments so clients can have a full recap of their events.

TINDS: What would you say you’ve had to struggle with coming this far?

Samia: My biggest struggle was probably the transition of only focusing on myself and what I was doing throughout the day to now working with clients. When I was doing it for myself, I did not have to take anyone’s feedback into account. Turning this into a business is not just about my skill set or what I like but more about what the clients like. Usually, there’s a lot of collaboration and back-and-forth communication between me and the client. The shift in priority and mindset was significant. Time management is also something that I’ve had to prioritize. For every 6 hours I am at an event, I need to put in an additional 10 or so hours of editing. A lot of overtime hours are needed to be spent perfecting the craft.

TINDS: What would your advice be to young entrepreneurs out there?

Samia: If you are passionate about something, go after it. There will always be doubts and fears to hold you back, and there will always be people who are better at what you do or want to do. I don’t think there’s ever a perfect time to start anything; you have to go ahead and do it. Trials and errors are going to be part of the way, but it is only practice that makes you perfect. As long as you have the dedication and motivation towards your craft, you will surely improve and do better.