About

Saqib Siddik

The Short Version: I am a British-born, Texas-bred portrait photographer and producer of commercials, industrials, and fundraising videos. Whether it’s motion or stills, I love taking pictures, telling visual stories, and meeting new people through my work. I am a professor of Media Arts & Animation at The Art Institute of Fort Worth. Prior to that, I taught film & video production at The Art Institute of Dallas. I have an M.F.A. in Film Production from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and a B.A. in Kinesiology from Rice University. I live with my wife in Dallas, Texas, where I own Section4 Photography.

The Long Version:

I was supposed to do the traditional thing – major in biochemistry, spend a few years in grad school working on a Ph.D., then go into research. That all changed when I borrowed a camera.

I developed a passion for filmmaking at Rice University. After directing two student films and screening them in front of hundreds of classmates, I was hooked. I loved the feeling of working with friends on a creative project and then sharing the results with the rest of the world. This feeling led me to Southern California, where I earned my Masters degree in film production at Chapman University’s prestigious Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Film school is also where I seriously became interested in still photography. I was always taking pictures as a kid, but now I saw photography as a great way to train my eyes to “see” as a director. I’m also fascinated with technology, and digital still cameras provided me with endless hours of creative playtime. Unlike film and video production, which require hours of post-production to develop a finished piece, still photography has an immediacy that I absolutely love. It’s immensely satisfying to shoot a photograph and be able to share the finished piece, right away. With the advent of DSLRs that also shoot video, my two passions are converging, and I’m eagerly anticipating all of the new developments over the next few years. But regardless of what’s coming around the corner, the foundation of still and motion photography is to create images that move people. I like to think that I’m in the business of creating “moving pictures.”

Today, my wife and I live in Dallas, not far from our original hometown of Houston. I teach in the department of Media Arts & Animation at The Art Institute of Fort Worth. I’ve developed my passion for still photography into a growing business, Section4 Photography. In my spare time, I’m working on a few story ideas to eventually produce as feature films. It’s a busy life, but busy in a good way. In this business, it’s hard to predict what you’ll be doing in five years. All I know is I’ll be creating images that make people laugh, cry, and see themselves in ways they didn’t expect. And if I can help them experience the same feelings that got me here in the first place, then I’ll be truly satisfied.

Here’s a short, media-friendly bio written by my wife, Julie Tam:

Saqib Siddik has worked on films, TV commercials, industrials, and promotional videos from Houston to Hollywood. He wrote, directed, and composed the music for The Passing, the 2007 award-winning short film which has screened in film festivals in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Torrance, California. He has an M.F.A. in Film Production from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, one of the nation’s top film schools, and a B.A. in Kinesiology from Rice University. Saqib was born in London, England; grew up in Houston, Texas; and lives with his wife in Dallas, Texas. He is a Media Arts & Animation instructor at The Art Institute of Fort Worth. He owns Section4 Photography.

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  • By Jeffrey Frame: pic4

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