Our Story

It started with a real estate agent who saw what the market was missing.

In 2012, Basem Awaad became a licensed real estate agent in Nova Scotia. After a year selling homes with Royal LePage Atlantic, he saw what the market was missing: professional photography and video that did listings justice.

In 2014, he became the first in the region to create agent videos. They caught attention quickly. Royal LePage Atlantic asked him to build an in-house photography department, the first of its kind at a brokerage here. It started as a team of one and grew fast. In 2016, Ghada joined to manage the business alongside him, and the team expanded across the city and into Moncton and Fredericton, serving agents in two provinces under the name Studio Royale and handling more than 1,000 listings a year.

In 2023, Basem and Ghada stepped out on their own to serve agents across all of Nova Scotia, and Newlife Studio was born. Agents they had worked with for years followed them. Since then the studio has kept doing what it has always done: staying a step ahead, from early adoption of 3D tours to today's AI-assisted editing and agent app.

In 2025, Newlife Studio photographed 1,300 listings, and it has already passed 1,300 so far in 2026. Every one of them gets the same care as that very first shoot.

2012

Basem becomes a licensed Nova Scotia real estate agent

2014

First agent videos in the region

2016

Ghada joins; the team grows into Moncton and Fredericton

2023

Newlife Studio is founded to serve all of Nova Scotia

1,300

Listings photographed in 2025, and 1,300 more so far in 2026

The Team

The people behind every shoot.

Basem Awaad

Owner & President · Architectural Photographer

A licensed Nova Scotia real estate agent since 2012, Basem has been photographing real estate since 2014. He was the first in the region to create agent videos and built the first in-house photography department at a local brokerage. Known across the industry for his passion and his eye for what's next, he's always the first to adopt new technology in real estate media, from 3D tours to AI editing. His background as an agent means he knows exactly what sells, and his love for the work shows in every detail.

Ghada Elsehemy

Owner · Managing Director

Ghada has managed the business side alongside Basem since 2016, growing the team across two provinces before co-founding Newlife Studio. She looks after every booking and client conversation, and she's the reason agents always get a fast, friendly answer.

Mackenzie Muise

Senior Team Lead · Photographer

Mackenzie's career at Newlife Studio started at a golf tournament she was supposed to be "just shooting." Ten minutes after meeting Basem, she was offered a job, and she quit the one she had that same day. A year and a half and more than 1,000 homes later, she leads shoots with a sharp, clean, intentional eye and a talent for making every listing look its best.

Brayden McConnell

Team Lead · Photographer

As one of our team leads, Brayden brings an eye for aesthetics and a passion for images that make a property feel as good as it looks. He's always experimenting with new ideas, techniques and technology to push our work forward and find better ways to showcase every home. Whether he's behind the camera or exploring the latest tools in the industry, he never takes his eye off the horizon, so your listings are in good hands.

Ahmed Awaad

Videographer

Ahmed films the listing and agent videos that help our clients stand out. He is an Electrical Engineering student at Dalhousie who founded the Dalhousie Robotics Club from scratch, and he brings the same drive to every shoot. Videography is his real passion, and he never misses a chance to join the team on weekends and through the summer, turning properties into cinematic walkthroughs and agents into confident on-camera presences.

Yasmeen Awaad

Photo Editor

Yasmeen is the creative eye behind every finished image. With a genuine love for nature, beautiful scenery and the small details that make a place feel special, she brings out the natural beauty of each property, enhancing light, colour and atmosphere while keeping every photo true to life. Her goal is simple: bright, inviting images that make buyers stop, look and imagine themselves there.

Newlife Studio is a family business. Basem and Ghada run it together, and their children Ahmed and Yasmeen are part of the crew too.

Behind our core team is a trusted group of part-time photographers and specialists who work to the same Newlife standard, so you may meet a few other friendly faces on site.

Fourteen years behind the lens of Nova Scotia real estate.