Today we’d like to introduce you to Abdi Ibrahim.
Hi Abdi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Kent, Washington. I began shooting photography in high school and continued through college before I took a break from school.
I shot a lot of my personal work early on with my friends and siblings. I would go out with my cousins Mohamed, Zak, Shirshore and our friend Antoine and just shoot. Create set-ups, buy props, and shoot whatever we wanted to.
I’ve never had a lot of resources and I’ve used the same cameras for a good portion of my career. Being able to create with so little just helped me understand how to use my environment and what I have even more.
I ended up moving to LA in 2019 to pursue more photo work. I spent the remainder of that year trying to connect and just shooting as much as possible.
I spent a lot of nights broke and really had to take a lot of L’s in order to even get where I am. I ended up doing a lot of free work and a lot of work just to pay the bills as well. As I maneuvered, I tried to continue to stay true to my goals and keep my passions alive.
Although I did take a lot of losses, I’ve had the privilege of shooting with artists that I love and meeting people I’ve looked up to my entire life like Kendrick Lamar and director Melina Matsoukas.
Being able to see that I could be in the same rooms or realm as some of these people whose art has inspired me was beyond humbling. I got to direct for Apple Music and shoot people like Giveon very early on. This made me feel a bit more valid in my move and made me hopeful.
I began directing shortly after moving to LA as well and began diving into the film and commercial world. Now I’ve been here for about two years and I feel like everything is starting to click finally. I feel like I’m at the beginning still though.
I’ve had some amazing guidance and support from friends and family and that’s really the main thing that’s helped to keep me grounded.
My friends and I are currently working on a magazine we created called Fifty D and I’m hoping to really make that something that can be shared and used to platform our community even more. I think the main goal at the end of all this isn’t accolades but to be able to bring substance and resources back to my friends and my community.
I get to see so many young kids from Washington shooting and doing exactly what I was doing a couple of years ago with my friends. That makes me excited and even inspires me to continue to create whenever I lose motivation.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road at all and still isn’t, an extreme Lack of resources has always been a thing. Going all in on my career and not having a solid direction or a main source of income. I was full-time freelancing while trying to survive in LA at 23. That itself felt so impossible. I had some specific roadblocks along the way as well. One of them being hit by a drunk driver my first month in LA and dealing with that. Also, trying to work and pay rent through covid/quarantine and being so far and disconnected from my family.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m most proud of finding a style and cohesive look that I feel I genuinely enjoy. Every photo I shoot isn’t my favorite but I’ve been able to learn to tell my stories through imagery.
Being able to express myself and also create an image that looks good has been something that I’m proud to be able to get to do everyday.
I think anybody can take photos and there’s so many photographers better than I am out there, but I’m just proud that I can look at my work and feel happy with it.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Resilience and patience. I’ve been shooting for years consistently now and the one thing I’ve never done is stop.
I’ve had many moments where I felt could’ve easily been my exit from the full-time creative world but I always ended up finding a way to continue.
I’ve had a lot of pushback from either family or just my own self-doubts and lack of confidence. I still deal with lacking confidence in my work sometimes but I always try to deal with those thoughts early on.
I’ve tried to really stay patient and just trust the process and God fully.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Abdiibrahim.co
- Instagram: Instagram.com/abshoots
- Twitter: Twitter.com/abshoots
Image Credits:
Antoine Fougere
