bio

Sean Arbabi is a commercial photographer specializing in adventure, lifestyle, nature, & travel - for ad, corporate, & editorial clients. He has had freelance & contracted assignments with over 300 publications and 150 companies worldwide. His recent project, a 225-page book entitled The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure, published by Amphoto/ Random House, hits shelves January 2009, in the top 50 photo books for months.

Credits include American Express, Backpacker, California Division of Tourism, The Daily Telegraph, Endless Vacation, Fuji Film USA, GEO Germany, Inside Sport-Australia, JC Penny, Microsoft, National Geographic Adventure & Traveler, The New York Times, Newsweek, Nikon Inc., The North Face, Outside, Random House, REI, Runner's World, Sports Illustrated, Timex, VisitFlorida.com, Via magazine, & Woodbridge wines. Sean has shot over 200 assignments for Sunset, & authored numerous feature articles displaying his photography.

A native Californian, his family moved to Iran in 1972, & after living in Tehran for four years, returned to the San Francisco Bay Area in '76 where Sean makes his home today.

In '91, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Commercial photography from Brooks Institute of Photography, & began his business Arbabi Imagery thereafter combining outdoor, on-location, & studio photography.

Today, he shoots in 120mm medium format & 35mm, film & digital, & brings a background of on-location, studio, outdoor, & lighting skills & experience to every job. His assignment travels incorporate much of the US, with international locations including Canada, Mexico, the UK, Southeast Asia, & South America. His stock image files, currently 400,000 strong, have been published in ads, books, brochures, mags, newspapers, trade shows, & websites worldwide.

Over the years, he's backpacked over mountain ranges, helicoptered above jungles, ridden horseback across plains, rafted down rivers, biked along forest trails, sailed on oceans, & hung over cliffs, all to capture images he & his clients were in search of. Photography is his passion.

Sean is a down-to-earth person, easy-going & fun to work with. He takes pride in being a pro photographer & businessperson, & feels lucky to succeed in a career providing so much happiness.

In recent years, Arbabi's travel jobs lead him around the US, the Caribbean, Canada & Mexico. Recently, he landed two travel guidebook covers, five magazine covers, a catalog cover, wrote & shot seven feature articles, all the while creating a tv show on photography entitled Photoguru.

Sean resides in Danville, CA with his wife & two cutie-patutie daughters.

• Read Sean's blog @: http://www.the-photoguru.blogspot.com/