Ayaad Damouni: Analog Man

Dubai-based photographer Ayaad Damouni may be living in a digital age, but he’s a firm believer in being old school

Beirut-born Ayaad Damouni considers himself part of a dying breed of photographers — the purists, who trained and worked old school, with analog cameras, and whose idea of the perfect shot involved some very technical calculations before each click.

“Only a few of us left hanging around,” notes the 41-year-old nonchalantly, during a tête-à-tête in his funky Al Quoz studio, Capital D. Dressed smartly in a grey blazer, dark shirt, jeans and shoes so shiny they almost serve as a looking glass, the well-known fashion photographer is almost pragmatic as he talks of a day — not too far away in the future — when there will only be photographers of the digital variety. In fact, he says, we’re halfway there. “In the art world, there’s still a lot of analog being used but in the commercial sense, I’d say it’s already phased out completely.”

A model wears Gucci for a shoot for D Journal magazine

Ayaad’s own affair with photography began as a young lad, by chance — and thanks to a mild case of insecurity. “My dad had a camera and I was appointed the photographer of the family,” he recalls. “We migrated to Australia when I was 15 but because I couldn’t speak English [back then that is!], I used to use the camera as a ‘divide’ between people and myself. So whenever someone wanted to speak to me, I’d pick up the camera and pretend I was busy shooting… and that’s how it happened.”

Serendipitous beginnings, but it might almost have been fate calling. For when he was 19, chance favoured Ayaad again — this time by getting him a foot in the door. “I was studying graphic design at the time and someone saw a photo I’d taken of a friend of mine,” he narrates. “There was a fashion and portrait photographer who was looking for an assistant at the time so, upon their recommendation, I was asked to go for a trial. It was the shoot of an Australian rock star on a small boat, using a Hasselblad medium format camera — one I’d never seen in my life before that day so I ended up being more of an obstacle than a help to the photographer.”

Ayaad was so sure he’d blown it that day but to his surprise, was asked to return again next week. It was the break many aspiring photographers would’ve given anything for, at the time. “I was very grateful to be assisting this guy (for free) for a long time, carrying his heavy equipment and being yelled at,” Ayaad smiles. “But that’s how it worked. The industry was so competitive that, in Australia, people would work for free just to get their foot in the door. Then, once in, it was up to you to prove your worth.”

One of the more fun shoots at a night club—they generally are more fun when you don’t have to work to a set brief, Ayaad feels

Now based in Dubai, the creative professional has come a long way since those work-for-no-pay days. But when he moved here seven years ago, it was with the expectation of a certain standard of studio, equipment, assistants, production and post-production — the sort that comes from years of shooting for international magazines and brands — all of which he found not up to scratch in the region. That’s when he started Capital D, with the aim of elevating the Middle East to an international production destination.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare the UAE photography sector to other mature markets, simply because it’s still such a “baby industry”, Ayaad feels. “I think everything is heading in the right direction — just at a very slow pace. In mature markets — the usual suspects being New York, Paris, Milan, London — photography is very segmented. You have people who specialise in shooting food, cars, fashion... But here, to a certain extent, it’s all still very amalgamated. Here, you’re a photographer — that’s it — and you probably shoot everything from architecture to cars to portraits.” Things have begun to change slowly in the last two years, he assures (“there has been a bit of maturity where people are starting to specifically ask for a fashion/lifestyle/food photographer”) — but it wasn’t the case when he started Capital D.

In the last five years though, Ayaad believes the quality of photography, globally, has taken a dip — primarily because of the shift from analog to digital medium formats. “Everything is about speed and budget now: who’s the quickest, the cheapest… And now, we have the bloggers who are photographers and yet, not really photographers. The school I come from, it was all about film and Polaroids and lighting... You had to set up the light and shutter speed and f-stops just right; it was very, very technical. But now, if you are half a stop over or under, it doesn’t matter because you can just fix it in Photoshop. Hence, this abundance of photographers.”

Shooting Karl Lagerfeld was “awesome but stressful” for Ayaad, but, he adds, “The good thing is I've never felt any pressure shooting anyone else after that.”

He is not unaware of the possibilities that come with the digital world, of course, considering it “opens up a whole Pandora’s box of creativity”. In fact, if you know what you’re doing, he says, there’s no limit to what you can do with digital photography. “People who were born into digital [photography] are probably more experimental,” he agrees. “But because I’m still a purist, I prefer to get everything I need during a shoot and not rely so much on post-production.”

He predicts the current abundance of snappers will eventually give way to their polarisation as well, where the really good ones will stand out from the rest — only it will be that much harder to make one’s mark in the field. “Everyone is a good photographer today so to become a photographer is going to be difficult.” To achieve that greatness, he says, will require much commitment and passion.

Ayaad captures fashion designer Rami Al Ali with a huge smile

Well-worn words of wisdom but, no doubt, true. “If parents are unwilling to let their kids pursue photography as a career, I don’t blame them,” quips Ayaad, whose own parents would have preferred him to pursue the typical doctor/lawyer/accountant route. “People think it’s all about cool parties and fun — but they don’t understand the absolute stress involved.”

Like the time he shot Karl Lagerfeld about six years ago. “That was really memorable but whether I’d shoot him again or not, I’m not sure,” Ayaad grins. “It was pretty stressful, just because it was Karl Lagerfeld — a fashion icon and photographer himself, who does all these campaigns for Chanel and Fendi… So, for me to be pointing a camera at him was something… There’s a lot of hard work, heartache and long hours, but that’s what makes it all worthwhile in the end, when you look back at everything you’ve been through. You can’t be in it for the money — and that’s true of any creative industry.”

In the end, there has to be heart and soul — though a spot of chance won’t hurt too.

karen@khaleejtimes.com

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