Saif sees the light
Late last year, the NY-based clothing designer Wiederhoeft reached out to Saif Al-Sobaihi (B.F.A., film and television, 2017) for his lighting expertise as they photographed their Spring/Summer 2021 collection. “I told them I wanted to light the set with continuous light, using LED panels,” says Saif, who minored in fashion photography at SCAD. “It’s much smoother to the eye than the flashing lights used on most fashion shoots, and it means I’m not interrupting the photographer or models. The light is seamless and beautiful.”
In a world where intense specialization is often a precondition of desirable employment, Saif is a multi-hyphenate lighting designer, composer, athlete, writer, and award-winning cinematographer. He dodges the dangers of dilettantism by stepping towards the light. Always the light.
“When you don’t have confidence as an artist, you think you have to focus on one thing,” says Saif. “With confidence comes the ability to conduct your talents in many directions.”
From Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saif first came to the United States a decade ago to commit to an immersive ESL program in Georgia. On a day off, he went to lunch with a friend who insisted they stop by the SCAD Atlanta welcome center at 1600 Peachtree Street NW. “We went inside, and a recruitment representative approached me and handed me a catalog,” Saif remembers. “I opened it and the first thing I saw was a picture of the SCAD equestrian team. I asked, ‘Where do I apply’?”
Having grown up riding, Saif was a natural fit for SCAD’s national championship-winning equestrian program. As a film and television major, he collaborated on two 16mm films that incorporated his love of horses. “Hamood in America” is a wry short comedy starring Saif’s younger brother Mohammed (B.F.A., fashion), while “Rider” is a mini-doc featuring SCAD equestrian captain Ryan Genn (B.F.A., equestrian studies, 2016). Both films showcase Saif’s stunning sensitivity to the emotional and psychological properties of light.
“In one of my SCAD cinematography classes, professor Bear [Paul “Bear” Brown] gave us a fantastic exercise. He handed us cheap, disposable cameras and said, ‘Make a scene, light it and compose it as beautifully as possible, as if you’re shooting a film.’ Those disposable cameras are flashy and weird and you can’t see what you’re shooting, but everyone in the class got incredible results. Trust your eye, love what you see, no matter the camera.”
“Hamood in America” caught the attention of Steve Cossman, founder of the Brooklyn-based non-profit cinema arts organization Mono No Aware. Cossman made the film a selection at Mono No Aware XI Film Festival 2018, and invited Saif to lecture in analogue filmmaking, adding “educator” to his CV. “I teach workshops in 16 millimeter filmmaking,” Saif says, “how to maintain the camera and lenses, how to edit, how to create a film from the moment you order your stocks until your film is finished, printed, and being screened.”
As the conversation winds down, Saif plays some instrumental tunes he’s released under his moniker TheSaif, including his new single “Freelance Angel.” Cool, warm, laid-back, and thoughtful, with the bluesy R&B feel of Tom Scott’s “Today,” the music captures the same lambent, radiant qualities as his cinematography.
“Instead of being a single-focus artist, every artist should explore what they want,” Saif says. “By exploring different disciplines, you understand how they go hand in hand. Art is more fluid now.”
Written by Peter Relic.
