Waleed Shah

I live in the United Arab Emirates, born and raised here actually. The first thing everyone asks is usually where I’m from and I never answer that on our first date. I might tell you over a cup of coffee later though. I’m a Chemical Engineer by education, started my career working in the oil industry, and slowly discovered my love for photography. I’ve had the opportunity to work with the finest establishments in the industry, talented local artists and international legends passing through the UAE, and some of the coolest brands out there. I hate to name drop in conversation so there’s a client list on my home page. My journey got recognized by Fujifilm Middle East and I am honored to call myself an Official Fuji-X-Photographer.

I’ve started a series titled “Rock Your Ugly – A middle finger to toxic beauty standards”, which explores the intersection between physical and mental health through a series of portraits and stories. The series is now a globally published book. After that, I went on to make fun of societal norms with a project titled “Magazine Cover“. I then went on to shoot portraits of freelancers and entrepreneurs to help them navigate the economic downturn post-COVID Pandemic under a project titled “Mowjood“. This work with real people and their stories landed me a Ted Talk titled “Toxic Beauty Standards”.

Lately, I’ve entered the Crypto and NFT space. It’s been a journey of knowledge gaining and sharing and I’ve made it part of my ethos to educate my community on the importance of blockchain. I’ve started interviewing notable people in the space through a project called FRENS which is minted on Ethereum and have started an art project called We Breathe which speaks about using bodies in the commercial world.

That’s me in a nutshell. I do urge you to get in touch with me regardless of how big or small your project is or even if you’ve just got an idea that you want to kick around. I’d love to talk.