DJ Almos: Planting Fields Maternity Shoot

You don’t see a female DJ as often… Now, an Afghan female DJ? One who speaks Russian?? I have her Planting Fields maternity shoot for you!

Female DJs

According to the statistics, just 10-20% of DJs around the world are women and that’s been a long-standing problem with the dance music industry. The situation is slowly improving in the lucrative and mainstream EDM segment but lagging behind in the private event spectrum. I can only recall seeing one female DJ at a birthday party I covered, Sweetlana.

DJ Almos

When Hama reached out to me on Instagram regarding her Planting Fields maternity shoot, I was stoked to learn that she is also a disc jockey known as DJ Almos. My jaw kept moving down when I heard she’s from Afghanistan, making her the only Afghan female DJ in New York! She plays at weddings and parties, check her out!

And when she dropped the final beat on me, I just gave up — she also speaks Russian… Turns out, her family lived in Russia (forgot, probably in Moscow) for several years so she picked it as a child.

Planting Fields Arboretum

Hama picked the Planting Fields Arboretum on Long Island as a set for her maternity shoot. Not only does it offer a beautiful flora but it is located on a magnificent Gold Coast estate from the 1920s. Its prime feature, the magnificent country home Coe Hall was built to resemble a 400-year-old English manor. Unfortunately, its West Portico is being restored so we couldn’t use it but there are plenty of other spots, including an Italian Garden with a pool.

Her husband accompanied us and took part in the shoot. It reminded me of an inverse situation when I was shooting a pregnant wife of my buddy DJ Gio. Love working with peers, and always try to give them something extra. 🙂

Maternity Gown

You must be wondering about her maternity dress. It was custom-made by a designer family in Latvia, MatchingLook. They ship worldwide and also offer matching mother-daughter dresses, bridesmaids and evening dresses, and wedding gowns. Hama’s exquisite maternity gown fitted ideally into this Planting Fields maternity shoot.

Milk Bath

Hama also wanted to get a few milk bath shots so we drove to her home in Queens. The bathroom was small but I managed to squeeze in my lights. When shooting, I was standing on the edges of the bathtub. I didn’t take as many photos as another dedicated milk bath sessions produced.

After the shoot, I got a share of South Asian hospitality when her mom pretty much forced me to sit at the living room table and loaded me with treats.

Thank you, Hama and family! Power and health to you, rock the world!

Click images for full size. Kindly refrain from re-uploading images to social media during the first week of feature. Share instead and give credit to @ZorzStudios!

Behind the Scenes

Here we are in the tight bathroom with Hama’s helping mom and sister. Then, short video clips from the Planting Fields, courtesy of @dj.almos.