Bashar Alaeddein is a multi-talented visual media content producer, and professional photographer. After receiving his degree in photography from London in 2005, he worked in a local production house for three years. He left in 2009 to Canada to receive a post-graduate diploma from Vancouver Film School. After returning to Amman he decided to open his own studio and called it Adasat, which started as photography and later moved into film, editing, motion graphics, and visual branding. Adasat became the trusted agency for many local and international clients, taking on projects from the food, fashion and advertising industries. Bayt.com had a chat with Bashar to learn more about his life, success story, and what he believes it takes to become a professional photographer.
1. What does a typical day in your life look like? There’s nothing typical about my days. I don’t have a certain routine as the type of work I do changes on a daily basis. Some people prefer having structure throughout their days, I don’t have that and I think it keeps things exciting and interesting.
2. How do you keep a work-life balance? With the nature of my work it’s hard to have a good balance, because at the end of the day my work is my life. I always feel like I’m working even when I’m at home looking through social media.
3. How do you define success? Success for me is submitting work better than expected. I strongly believe in under-promising and over-achieving! If you are willing to go above and beyond in something and deliver it with high quality, then it means that you are closer to success than you think.
4. What are some of the obstacles you’ve faced throughout your career so far? And how did you overcome them? I don’t believe in the term obstacle; I believe in challenges and all challenges can be overcome. For example, if I get a client who is asking for something that’s beyond my expertise, I learn it and do it to the best of my abilities. Always be prepared for anything that will come your way, because you never know what you might gain out of the experience.
5. What kind of characteristics do you think any ambitious person should have to be successful? Curiosity! Always be curious because it goes a long way. I believe that a person should never be bored; I always try to find something to do, even in my free time. Success isn’t just about ambition; it’s about absolutely loving what you do to the point where you fill your day with work and you don’t even feel like you’re working.
6. What advice would you give others about working in photography in the Middle East? Keep your camera with you at all times and keep taking pictures. Try everything even if you don’t really like it; experiment and choose whatever you want to perfect in the end.
