RAYA ALBIBI – 2005

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELODY FINLAW

The adorable little girl in the photos is Raya Albibi. Raya was one year old when her picture was published in the fall edition of Panama City Living Magazine. Photographer Melody Finlaw first photographed Raya as a toddler when the little girl was mere months old. Raya’s mother, Ayesha Albibi, scheduled frequent photo sessions from then on. “They grow up so fast and babies change so much, especially in the first three years. I wanted to capture as many memories as possible,” Ayesha says with evident pride.

When Melody Finlaw started working with Panama City Living Magazine, one of her first contributions was the cute photo of Raya Albibi. The photo was taken in 2006 when Raya was 1 year old. “Melody is so wonderful with all my children and they are completely at ease when taking pictures,” says Ayesha Albibi. Raya is the oldest of three siblings. Her brother Yusef is the youngest at 3 years and her sister Sami is 8 years old. Their parents, Ayesha and Osama Albibi, could not be prouder.

“A lot of people know my in-laws and my family and when the photos appeared in Panama City Living, a lot of people were telling me that they saw them,” Ayesha remembers.

The young mom explains that it was not until Raya became 5 years old when her little girl realized that it was really important to look very pretty for the pictures and that the photos were very meaningful to her mom and little Raya started being much more conscious about keeping her dress neat and clean for the photo shoots. ”Melody always did a great job with all our children and wanted to keep the images natural, simple, and casual. Photo sessions were scheduled every quarter when the kids were very young to capture all growth spurts. As they grew a little older, they were photographed every half year and then later on every year.“

Raya tells us that she is “really excited” about being in Panama City Living Magazine and we absolutely feel the same and are happy to share her photos and show how she has grown to a beautiful young lady.

Our editorial team is gushing over the fact that Raya is just as old as Panama City Living Magazine. Raya’s birthday is July 22, 2005. It is the same time that Panama City Living first came to life!