Los Angeles based photographer Sarah Bahbah is renowned in the artistic and commercial world for her creative fashion and lifestyle photography and social content. Looking at feminine experience in matters of relationships, love, and life, her vibrant portfolio has grown from her instagram account to editorial magazines and brands such as Gucci, Moncler and many more.
Commercial and personal stills photography may be what she is known for, but she has recently expanded into motion, directing fashion commercials for Gucci and music videos for musicians like Kygo, featuring actors such as Dylan Brady.
Describing her art as a healing experience “birthed from the deeply challenging and sacred act of giving myself permission to be emotionally transparent,” it was only natural for Sarah to turn the camera from models to herself, becoming the subject of her powerful new series, ‘3eib’. “Instead of just giving my heart and soul to the world, I’d also be giving my body and my face. And I’d never done that before as an artist.”
3eib, (shame in Arabic) dives deep into Sarah’s history as a Palestininian raised in Perth Australia, and as a victim of sexual abuse. “In my previous work, I revealed my trauma but hid myself behind other bodies because I was not ready to completely expose myself to my corrupted standards of Western beauty and the violence of shame stigmatized by my Arab culture,”
Hosted on her instagram page, the new personal series consists of stills and motion content with her signature captions, originally inspired by the subtitles in french movies, translated into arabic. Her rationale turned her inward motivations into an outreach to Arabic Culture: “I usually only have my subtitles in English, but I wanted this to be able to reach the Arab world and have women see it and feel empowered by it too… So, I’m doing it for them predominantly. I want Arab women to see this and feel heard… With the weight of my words, it’s one thing to have a white or non-Arab person say these things, but when an Arab person, especially an Arab woman, says them, she’s putting herself at risk because she’s going against everything she’s been taught.”
The full series is unfolding on her instagram account @sarahbahbah. Follow Sarah Bahbah for more lifestyle, commercial, fashion, editorial and personal photography and motion content. Sarah Bahbah is based in Los Angeles but her photography takes her around the world, and is available for creative advertising photography in Australia. Photoplay Photography, based in Sydney, is her agent, producer, and representation for Australian work. We offer a full suite of creative and production services, from concept development to post production.
