April 2, 2020

Meet Nadia Ghneim



Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Ghneim.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nadia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

Well, I was born in Venezuela and lived there for most of my life.There, I graduated from university as Special Education Teacher and worked in my career (which I loved) for so many years, also I got married with the love of my life and we had two wonderful kids, a boy and a girl. Back in 2011 my husband got an offer from a company based in Atlanta, so we decided to change our lives and move to the USA looking for a better life and opportunities. Atlanta welcomed us on the best way from the beginning, and I always will be thankful for that. But the last nine years in my life have also had ups and down with my language barrier and some serious health issues.

In 2015 I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, that was another very scary moment in my life but after so much reading and researching, I found how I could face this new challenge in my life so I put all my efforts on being consistent with my self-care in order to be better every day. It was great! But I still needed “something else”, “something different”, a new hobby, a new passion on my life. So, it was when the art of photography came to me. I have always been a creative person. I’ve always loved colors and take pictures of my kids, my family, my dog, and my friends, but in January 2016 my husband gave me my first semiprofessional camera and enrolled me in a complete course of professional photography with the New York Institute of Photography, and that was when my love for photography exploded. That has been one of the best gifts in my life. Since 2016 I started to see the world from a different point of view. I started to see things differently and appreciate even the simplest things in life.

At first, I fell in love with nature and macro photography and I still think that those are the ones I enjoy the most but while I was studying photography and posting my work on Instagram, my friends started to ask me to take photos at their family and special events and I did it for free. And they loved my pictures! That’s when I realized I needed to make it a business which I did in Spring 2019 and I’m so happy now! I finally feel that I’ve found what I was looking for. Something that I love, a form of self-expression, a way of connecting with people beyond the spoken language, Capturing the special connection between family members is a pleasure and an honor for me. I’m thankful that my work allows me to pursue my passion for photography and let me meet unique people to connect in unique ways.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

No, my journey has not been easy at all, but the ups and downs have taught me to be strong and independent. I think the worst struggle along the way has been my insecurities, my lack of self-confidence because of the language barrier. Moving was, and still is one of the biggest challenges in my life, because I had to start over, learn a new language, learn a new culture, make new friends and everything. My English was not good at all when I came to the USA, so I had to fight so many difficulties due the language barrier. Now, I can say it is so much better, and I feel way more comfortable, but I know I still have many things to improve to be totally fluent and this disadvantage has made my journey more challenging.

After moving, I felt I lost so many things that made me being who I used to be, my language, my family, my career and I was so concentrated on just seeing all these sad things that I wasn’t allowing myself to grow again. All of this prevented me to feel confident in starting a new business, or offering my skills. But thanks to my husband and my family that have always believed in me, thanks to my friends and my first clients who have supported me from the beginning, today my business is something real and something that I am looking forward to making it a success.

Nadia Ghneim Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?

To me photography is about people being real and then letting me paint a picture of that moment to remember it forever. I love building meaningful relationships with all my clients and making them feel comfortable in front of my lens. I specialize in portrait photography, family portraits, senior portraits, children and baby portraits. Due to my experience as a teacher and my genuine love for the kids, I feel very comfortable working with them and their families. I have the knowledge, talent and experience to work with them in an easy way.

I provide services throughout the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. I don’t have a studio yet so I shoot on outdoor locations. I love natural light, but I work with professional lighting equipment for indoor sessions too. For Newborn, Baby and Children photography, I like to use props and gimmicks in order to keep the focus of the photo on your little one, and of course, baby’s safety and comfort is my first priority.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?

Every time that a client lets me know that they like the result of my job, it makes me feel proud and happy with what I’m doing as a photographer. To be featured in this magazine is also a very proud moment for me as a photographer so thank you!

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