alia grew up in Alabama and began photographing her friends and family when she was about eight years old. Her parents gave her first "real" camera for her 16th birthday. She didn’t have any formal instruction, though, until she studied photojournalism at the University of Alabama, where she also earned a minor in psychology. She believes that both of these fields of study contribute to her skills of personal observation and connection with her subjects. She began photographing weddings and developing her style of natural portraiture in 1994. She uses a Hasselblad medium format (which she calls the "Rolls Royce of cameras") and a Nikon 35mm.

"Everyone should have at least one portrait of themselves that they love and never get tired of seeing."