Meet Trailblazer Dara Fadel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dara Fadel.

Dara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Before, I always thought of myself as a creative person, but I had no means of actually pursuing anything in an art related field. When my junior year of high school rolled around, I constantly found myself on YouTube watching fashion Lookbooks and outfit videos, so I took it upon myself to save up some money to get a camera as the other YouTubers had. On Christmas day, I didn’t have to worry about having to save up for a camera anymore because my parents got me one as a gift. Within the first week that I had my camera, I was consistent in uploading my content, but it all stopped after the day that my best friend reached out to me asking for senior pictures. After a couple of shots into the shoot, I realized that photography was for me. I loved the fact I could capture who she was as a person in her natural beauty.

From then on, I just continued to take pictures of close friends and family members and posted them all over social media. After receiving many messages to book shoots with people from Twitter and Instagram, I took it upon myself to start my own freelance photography business.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the biggest struggles for me was trying not to compare my work to other photographers work. Sometimes, I felt my as if my work was horrible in comparison to some of the most accomplished photographers in the industry. I also felt as if my equipment wasn’t the best and lacked the quality to be editorial like. Comparison made me so ashamed at one point, that it led me to take a break from social media for a while. After some time, I realized that comparison is not going to move me forward in pursuing photography, so I sought to change my thought process when I saw another photographers work. Today, I see other pictures as inspiring and also as motivation to continue doing what I love. I also struggled with trying to be original and not doing similar shoots and/or concepts to other photographers. Over time, I realized that I had to challenge myself in not doing the ordinary. Stepping out of the box is hard to do, but can be rewarding in the end.

If you’re a young woman into photography or any other art-related field, I strongly advise you to not compare your work to someone else’s because it could cause you to leave your craft altogether. I would also say allow your personality to shine through your work so you can stand out from others. Keep in mind that being different and unique can take you places because it shows your originality.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fadel Photography – what should we know?
I mainly focus on portrait photography, but I am looking to go into fashion photography as well. More recently, I have branched out and have pursued some of my interests in fashion and Video-journalism. I would say I’m most proud of the fact that I can have complete creative direction over some of the shoots that I do, I feel like what sets me apart from others is how I incorporate my fashion sense into my shoots.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
My mother and oldest sister, in particular, had a bit of influence on me when it came to nurturing my creative side growing up. My mom who sews clothes taught me from an early age how to create pieces of my own, my oldest sister taught me all about fashion styling since the age of 13.

Contact Info:

• Email: dfadel98@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fadelphotography/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/darafadel/?hl=en

Image Credit:
Leslie Lazos, Ifreke Inyang

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