“I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Loulou d’Aki said. The Swedish photographer, who is based in Athens, has worked extensively in the Middle East. Before this summer, however, she had never been to Afghanistan.

She was inspired to visit after working on stories about Afghan people in Iran and witnessing the flow of refugees from Afghanistan into Europe. Her first impressions upon her arrival in Kabul? “It’s very, very complicated,” she said. “And very dusty.” She went on: “And very intriguing and, at the same time, very frustrating.”

As a foreign photographer in Kabul, Ms. d’Aki had to travel with a driver. “You can’t really go anywhere you want and do anything you like,” she said. “I haven’t been anywhere where I’ve walked so little in three weeks.”

She did come across some of her subjects by chance, like the group above, whom she photographed during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. But for the most part, she made appointments to see people.