Where Aljannahtou began?

Growing up in an underprivileged household as a youth, I never had pictures of my family members. I always questioned why but never had clear answers. This fact gave birth to my passion for capturing moments of my loved ones as I grew older.

As a young mother, I always wanted more for my children than what I had, and them being able to see and know their family was very important to me. Everywhere we had gone instinctively I would ensure that pictures were captured. Now, as time has gone by my passion has evolved into purpose in the form of my newly established maternity, newborn, family, and events photography business, Aljannahtou Photography.

Aljannahtou is a name that chose me during a time I was working diligently to find my calling in life. In the year 2000, I dabbled in different ideas for businesses I wanted to start, like selling African print clothing and starting a restaurant. I had used the name Aljannahtou for both ideas, but my calling and those ideas had never aligned. It is now evident that I was always destined to be a photographer.

Aljannahtou stems from my name, Jannah which is an Arabic originated name meaning Paradise. When you add the affix “Al-“ to the beginning of Jannah and the suffix “-tou” at the end the meaning then translates to the highest level of paradise.

Who is Jannah?

I am a daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother at the age of 44 years young. I am currently based in Pennsylvania. I was born in Ohio and raised in Senegal a country in West Africa. The gift of being raised out of the country gave me the opportunity to be able to see the value of what America really has to offer those that really want to succeed.

My experience in Senegal at the age of 11 gave me a whole new perspective on life. While there I began to notice even more the importance of being photographed. I can remember on all occasions you would find multiple photographers present to capture the special moments. Senegal is where my love for having documented portraits of myself, family, and friends really grew. Till this day I still go back and look at some of the old pictures.

For the many years that I spent in Senegal, ages 11-18 I documented numerous memories of my life. My love for the pictures inspired me, and when I came back home to America, I worked very hard to get my first 35mm film camera. I was 23 years old when I got that first camera. It was heaven being able to take pictures of my now family of 5 and having the opportunity to document the life as they grew. Hence, how Aljannahtou chose me as a name for my newborn, family, wedding, and events photography business.

 Capturing Memories Through My Lens, That Captures The Boundless Love of Your heart!