A camera first brought Arwa bint Mahmoud Al Jabri closer to her father. It eventually became her own way of seeing the world. Guided by Omani photographer Mahmood Al Jabri, she is now developing a visual language — and a photographic identity — of her own.

Before Arwa bint Mahmoud Al Jabri began telling her own stories through a camera, she was following in her father’s footsteps. In 2019, she began accompanying Omani photographer Mahmood Al Jabri to photography workshops and specialised trips.

At first, she was simply observing. She watched him look for light, study details and wait for a moment worth capturing.

What began as curiosity gradually became something deeper — a passion for photography and, eventually, a desire to develop a visual language of her own.

“Those experiences with my father were the first gateway that introduced me to this world. Over time, curiosity turned into a passion and a genuine desire to learn, develop and create my own style,” says Arwa.

Her introduction to photography came at a time when her father had already spent years developing his own distinctive approach to visual storytelling. Mahmood began his photographic journey in 2016, driven by a passion for culture, human expression and the possibilities of the camera. His work spans cultural documentation, portraiture and environmental storytelling, exploring the relationship between people, heritage and landscape.

His international photographic credentials include FIAP distinctions — AFIAP in 2019, EFIAP in 2020, EFIAP/B in 2021 and EFIAP/S in 2023.

His work documenting Omani heritage has also received recognition. In 2021, a photograph portraying traditional Omani customs in markets and souqs won first place in a competition celebrating Omani and Chinese culture, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth.

In 2025, Mahmood won a Bronze Medal at the International Photography Olympiad in Russia for Yellow Reflection, photographed in St Petersburg. The image captured the elegant arch of the General Staff Building reflected in the water.

“The reflection represents my philosophy — a photograph is not just an image; it is a mirror of our emotions and our vision of the world,” he said.

That same year, he won a Gold Medal at the Golden Shot International Competition in the drone photography category. His aerial photograph Golden Sands, showing the sweeping dunes of Bidiyah, also won first place in the competition’s aerial photography category.

For Arwa, however, her father’s greatest gift was not an award or a technique. It was a way of seeing. “He had the greatest impact on my love for photography,” she says.

Through their workshops and photographic journeys together, she learned that photography is not simply about pressing the shutter at the right moment. It is about observation, patience and understanding what makes a moment worth preserving.

“From my father, I learned that photography is not just about taking a beautiful picture,” she says. “It is a different way of seeing the world, paying attention to details and documenting moments and emotions that may not be repeated.”

Those lessons soon began to find expression in her own work.

Arwa’s first recognised achievement came when she received an appreciation award in the Youth Photography Competition in the under-16 category, organised by the Oman Society for Fine Arts in 2019.

The recognition gave her early encouragement and strengthened her determination to continue learning. She subsequently took part in the Youth Photography Biennale in 2018 in Bulgaria, with one of her photographs selected among the works representing Oman in the under-16 category. Oman went on to win in both the under-16 and under-25 categories.

For Arwa, being part of that national achievement was a source of pride and another step in her development as a young photographer.

In 2025, she returned to the Youth Photography Biennale, this time in the under-25 category. Her photograph Sisters was among Oman’s selected works in Category II at the 42nd FIAP Youth Biennial in Bahrain, where Oman won the category.

“It is an achievement I am very proud to have been part of,” Arwa says.

Another milestone followed at the fifth International Youth Photography Competition in Russia, where Arwa won a Gold Medal, while also receiving three Honourable Awards for other photographs. The recognition has given her renewed motivation to continue learning and developing her artistic experience.

Yet as her own achievements have grown, Arwa has remained conscious of where her journey began. Her father’s influence is evident in the foundations of her approach, but she is careful to distinguish inspiration from imitation.

She does not want to become another version of her father. She wants to become herself.

His passion gave her the starting point; her own experiences are shaping the direction. That process of finding an individual voice is, for Arwa, one of the most important parts of being a photographer.

Her message to young women considering photography is therefore rooted in her own experience. “Do not be afraid of starting. Trust your abilities, and never stop learning, experimenting and developing yourselves,” she says.

She believes every photographer has a perspective that cannot be replicated by someone else.

“Each one of you has your own perspective and a story that deserves to be told through your lens,” she says. “Do not try to be a copy of someone else. Search for your identity and create your own signature.”