In Conversation
A Kuwait photographer working out his own register.
NYIP-trained, Canon-loaded, with a clear commercial ambition and a clearer sense of taste, Rashid Alneaimi has spent the last several years building what he wants Kuwait commercial photography to look like. His work moves between editorial fashion and brand campaigns, and his read on the field is direct: the local industry can be built, slowly, by people willing to think differently and shoot accordingly.
In an exclusive interview, Rashid sits down with Boujeez to talk craft, conviction, and the long road from NYIP to running his own production company in Kuwait.
On Vision
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Running my own production company.
What motivates you most?
Artwork. Ideas. A goal to reach.
Three words to describe your photography style?
Always be different.
If you could go back ten years, what advice would you give your younger self?
Take things slowly.
On Craft
What camera do you reach for first?
Canon 1DX II.
Prime or zoom?
Both. It depends on how you want to control the viewer’s eye.
How do you split your time between shooting and retouching?
It depends on the shoot, the idea, the lighting. The work tells you.
How do you prepare for a project?
I always tell clients I see things they don’t.
Lighting setup?
Started with Visco. Now Godox.
On Influence
Who inspires you?
Great work. Creativity.
Where do you go to look at photography?
Mostly Pinterest and Behance. There are too many sites to count.
Who would you most like to work with?
Professional fashion designers. The ones who know how to value their own work.
Who have you learned the most from?
Different professional photographers around the world.
On Memory and Advice
What compliment has stayed with you?
My wife told me I’m bringing something to the photography world in Kuwait that wasn’t there before. That made me able to take any criticism.
What mistake should a young photographer avoid?
Mistakes will make them better. But don’t make the simple things hard. Always do it your way.
If you weren’t a photographer?
Filmmaker. Cinema is home to me.
Your best memory as a photographer?
Working with MTV New York, and graduating from NYIP.
Closing Note
A field still being built.
For Boujeez, the read worth keeping is the one Rashid offers without much fanfare: that commercial photography in Kuwait is still an open field, and that the work being done now will define what people expect from it later. He is not waiting for someone else to set the standard.