Saunak Shah | Mumbai 🇮🇳 + NY 🇺🇸 based Photographer📍

A Ceremony of Us 👑 No altar, no aisle, no script to follow. Just us choosing each other in the way only we can. Love like this doesn’t need explaining. It moves beyond contracts and roles, beyond tradition or expectation. Sometimes the deepest unions aren’t named husband or wife but friend, kin, beloved. This is devotion without definition. A celebration of what’s real. What’s ours. Happy #SouthAsianHeritageMonth 🤩 #QueerSouthAsians #QueerFashion 🏳️‍🌈 Ft. @kingsunnb & @saunakspace Wardrobe: @aaykafashion Videography: @studioparab @mandarparab Ally: @browngirlmag

Role Reversal 🇮🇳 - Khari Baoli, Delhi, Circa 2019 - A modern day spin on the age old patriarchy in Indian classical portraits of royalty where men are portrayed as powerful and women as wives, consorts or concubines. - Dating back to 1900s, the shoot is inspired by a family portrait of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and his 5 wives and a book titled ‘The Magnificent Maharaja’ by Khushwant Singh where the author remarks the Maharaja as a headstrong bully, a debauch, drunkard, womanizer and philanderer. - Fast forward to 2019, “Role Reversal” is a concept that deconstructs ancient Indian traditions and aims to portray women as strong, authoritative, and unapologetic and the reversal analogy of men objectified as consorts. Much can be said about the present day where age old traditions resurface and many still prevail across the country and this set delves into striking a conversation challenging the perception and image of the modern day Indian woman. - TEAM (India-based): Concept: @saunakspace Photographer: @saunakspace Stylist: @radhikaggarwal Models: @rashnair , @rajatsingh2220 , @wungmi MUA: @mahima.mua Videographer: @mohitfornow Assist. Photographer: @ms_selfportrait Jewelry: @thetianaoffical Wardrobe on Rashmi: @studio_rx - CHECK OUT 🔥 my stories from few more up-close from this set. Thank you to the amazing team based in Delhi making this one possible. - @pursuitofportraits // #pursuitofportraits

A little homage, a little drama. From canvas to carpet. #MetGala #RajaRaviVarma Theme: Fashion is Art. Comment Lotus 🌸 if you want the prompt. Made with Adobe Firefly. @adobefirefly @adobelive #MadewithFirefly #AdobexCommunity #AdobePartner

#Ad - “Is this paid?” — always the first question. Yeah… but it’s never just that. Currently en route ✈️ to Mumbai for the first Adobe Ambassador Summit, and it’s wild how this journey keeps bringing me back to the motherland. 🇮🇳👯🤩 Five years in, and I’m still here for the people, the energy, and everything you can’t quite measure. ✨💫☀️ Also stepping into a new chapter as an Adobe Ambassador Mentor!!! 🤩 If you’re curious about being part of this world, hit me up—I’m happy to share more. Mumbai, see you soon ❤️ #AdobeAmbassadors #MyAdobeAmbassadorStory #AdobeIndiaSummit #mumbai

in & around matunga with @saunakspace 🚃

40-Sumthin & Fab Today 🎂🥰😜 This past year pulled me inward in ways I didn’t expect. In a world that asks us to always be on, always connected, I kept feeling the call to return to myself—to sit in the unknown without rushing to define it. I’ve learned that not knowing isn’t emptiness, it’s awareness. That we are not our experiences, but the ones witnessing them. That relationships aren’t bound by labels or proximity, but by how honestly we connect and feel. There were moments of release, of distance, of emotional overwhelm—but none of it was separate from the path. It was the path. And somewhere in all of it, I found a quiet fullness. A reminder that I don’t have to chase clarity, connection, or meaning outside of me. Still learning. Still unfolding. But more at home within myself than ever before. Here’s to trusting the unknown. - 10 Takeaways ☀️💫💓 • Wholeness isn’t something you find-it’s something you return to. • Not knowing is not a lack of clarity; it’s a deeper form of it. • You can be surrounded by people and still be called inward and that’s worth honoring. • You are not your experiences; you are the awareness moving through them. • Every emotional wave is something you witness, not something you have to become. • Relationships deepen when they move beyond labels into presence and truth. • Letting go doesn’t diminish connection—it refines it. • The unknown isn’t a void to fill, but a space to trust. • You don’t have to perform your life to feel connected to it. • Even in uncertainty, there is a quiet completeness already within you. #deardiary #birthdayvibes #solarreturn☀️

Seasons come and go, and in a time when there’s constantly so much happening around us, it feels important to pause every now and then—to just stop, breathe, and smell the flowers 🌺🌸🌼. To be present, to connect, and to remind ourselves that we’re all figuring things out in our own ways, but we don’t have to do it alone. That same feeling is what I’m always reminded of when I host a POP meetup w/ @pursuitofportraits . No matter how many we’ve done, it’s kind of wild how many new people I get to meet every single time—alongside familiar faces who keep showing up for the community, for the energy, for each other. It’s not just about creating, it’s about supporting one another, sharing space, and finding inspiration in the people around us. Thank you to everyone who came out for the Spring Fling meetup and made it what it was. Always grateful for this community. Looking forward to bringing everyone together again in June for our Pride Month edition 🌈 Stay Tuned! AND we’re also looking forward to meeting everyone in Mumbai 🇮🇳 for the @adobeexpress India Creator Summit on May 7th! Ft. (L-R): @critical.mask @apehouse @wanliflowarts @rishabh.myoho @meganluchesi @model.angellashai @reena_behl @galang.leonn @shezcapade @shvnnonwvtson @reflectingelements @taylorbri_ann @teyothecreator @espear_photo @fantine.of.the.opera @meredithhartphotos @shuezzzzz @saunakspace (yours truly shot by @mandarparab ) - Cover Group Photo by @akashxn ✨ Lower third @itsemma_e 💓 Thank you everyone who graced my camera! 📸 Inmay have missed many more models who joined us. See ya at the next PoP 💓🫶🏾💫 — Saunak (on behalf of Team PoP) #PursuitofPortraits #CommunityFirst #CentralPark

Our fave @saunakspace looking #KILLAH in our pink rose shirt from the #GulabiCollection with matching groovy pants. We're obsessed with how he styled it! Perfect for the Queer Prom hosted by @themadsocietyofficial 💓 DM us to find out how you can get your hands on one of the pieces from our limited Gulabi Collection, or to get a custom piece. 🌹🌹🌹 #houseofddog #genderlessfashion #androgynous

Love is so good, so fulfilling, so complete, you know what’s better though? Someone that actually cares about you, behind the camera, someone that wants to authentically represent you and what you stand for, someone that doesn’t take filming lovers as a job, but as a responsibility, and makes us look oh so sexy at the same time 😎✨ Nobody better could’ve captured us in such a short time, but with so much care towards who we are as people. Equals 👯 Hearts are full, we look so fucking good, and we’re more in love with each other and with you than ever. Thank you @saunakspace for taking these. Shot for @intro.queerdesidating ♥️✨🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ . On Harleen: Bodysuit- @erobold Pants- @__tnuc__ Tie- @madrobewalfunction Shoes- @londonrag_in Jacket- thrifted from @bombayclosetcleanse Necklace- @dripproject.co On Gurleen: Bra - @hm Pants- @__tnuc__ Jacket- @fuss_pot Skirt- @madrobewalfunction Gloves- @hm Waist belt- gifted by@humhu_ . #QueerLove #LGBTQ #NonBinaryPride

Spring has entered the chat 🌸🍷🧀 Loved the Spring Fling feels this past weekend with @pursuitofportraits . New york, you are such a tease. 💓 Spring has a way of asking you to begin again, gently. The city softens, the light lingers a little longer, and even the noise feels like it’s making space for something new. Somewhere between the blooms and the movement, I found myself slowing down, holding space, reconnecting with parts of me that get lost in the rush. Maybe that’s what this season really is—a quiet kind of spring fling, not with the world, but with yourself. A reminder that you can return, reset, and fall in love with yourself all over again. Photo Credits: Slide 01: @espear_photo Slide 03: @akashxn Slide 04-06: @rishabh.myoho - #pursuitofportraits

to have people in your life who see you even when you may have lost sight of yourself is a gift ✨ 📸 thank you @saunakspace for seeing me! . . . . . @neverfullydressed @chillhouse @bhavyarameshjewelry #plussizemodels #actor #singer #indowestern