Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: For people who give up their passion because of others telling them they cannot pursue their interests or because of various other reasons, His Highness Sayyid Muadh bin Dhiyab Al Said is a true inspiration.
Like many others, he was discouraged by many, but he did not bow down to anyone’s remarks, instead he continued pursuing what he loved the most, which is fashion photography.
HH Al Said was always into fashion and has been following some fashion designers from an early age, at the same time he has sketched outfits, but never showed them to anyone. “I liked sketching outfits but I just never showed them to anyone, and then I ventured into nature photography. However, because I was into fashion from an early age, I thought why not try fashion photography.
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“There are so many beautiful locations for nature photography in Oman, and that is known to everyone, but if you put someone wearing great clothes against that backdrop, the results will be amazing and this is exactly what I want to show the world,” he added.
When he started taking pictures, some people protested, saying that he shouldn’t be doing fashion photography, and so he went to his parents for advice. “When my late father and my mother came to know about it, they supported me and asked me to pursue my dreams, my siblings also supported me. For me family comes first, always, so when they gave me the nod, I went ahead and did what I had to do.”
First exhibition
His first exhibition was held at the Bait al Muzna art gallery in 2013, where he was appreciated, and slowly people who thought he couldn’t do it, suddenly came forward to support him with some great comments.
“I like to think that everything will be okay, and I have been raised by my parents in a great way, so I am a positive person, and when I did my first exhibition, I felt that I was doing great.”
His second exhibition was a series of photos, which were shot at the Nakhal fort and displayed at the Bait al Zubair gallery last year.
“I did this photo shoot in the form of a story, it was about a princess, who was locked up by the prince in her palace, and the model had to change five dresses. It was very tiring by the end of it, I had to shoot there from 9 am to 6 pm, but it was a very interesting experience and now people want me to write a book about the story.” His photos were priced from OMR40 to OMR100, and all of them were sold out at the exhibition, and the proceeds were given to charity.
HH Al Said also started “Photography World,” an Instagram account, which showcases all his photography. Although fashion photography is not so common in Oman, HH Al Said said it is improving. “Without a doubt, I think we are improving in terms of fashion and fashion photography, there are young designers coming up and they are doing fashion shows for their collection and that is an amazing idea.”
When he is not taking pictures, HH Al Said is at home with his family, “I am a very family person, I like to spend time with them and I enjoy talking to them about my work. I also like to take breaks and tour around, I really want to go to India and take photos there because it’s beautiful.”
Among his several dreams, HH Al Said hopes to work with more foreign artists and create a unique name for himself, as an Arab fashion photographer.
