Before he was a minister or a chairman, Dubai knew him as a man with a camera. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum — Crown Prince of Dubai — is a serious photographer, and his lens has quietly become one of the most influential in the country’s visual story: desert light, wild seas, horses at dawn, and a skyline he has watched rise since childhood, all composed by an eye the whole world now follows.
Photography might seem a small thing in a portfolio that includes a government and a defence ministry. In fact it is a key to his whole public language. This guide looks at Sheikh Hamdan the photographer — what he shoots, why it matters, and how a crown prince’s camera changed the way a city sees itself.
The Eye Behind @faz3
His Instagram account, @faz3 — one of the most-followed leader accounts on earth — is built substantially on his own photography and filming. The subjects are the constants of his life: the sea he free dives, the desert he rides, the falcons and horses he works with, and Dubai itself, from fishing harbours to the top of its towers. The craft is real: composition, patience and an instinct for the unrepeatable moment that professionals recognise.
Photography, for a man in his position, is also a discipline of attention. A chairman spends his days receiving the world pre-digested in reports. A camera reverses the flow: it forces the holder to look — slowly, personally, at what is actually there.
What He Chooses to Show
Read as a body of work, his images argue a thesis about Dubai. The towers appear, but so do the older countries of the emirate: the creek, the desert, the Gulf. Nature is never backdrop; it is protagonist. And the human Dubai of his frames is at work and at play — a city of dawn rides and night skylines rather than press-conference podiums.
That editorial choice has done quiet diplomatic work. Millions of people abroad carry a mental postcard of Dubai that was, in large part, composed by its Crown Prince: not a shopping mall with a flag, but a living landscape of sea, sand and light. When those followers eventually land at DXB, they arrive already half in love with the place.
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The Photographer as Leader
There is a final, practical point. A leader who documents his own world cannot be spun easily; the feed sets its own record. Photography gave Sheikh Hamdan a direct channel long before direct channels were fashionable — the foundation of the media style that now defines his leadership. The camera taught the prince to frame; the framing taught a generation to see Dubai his way: beautiful, alive, and always becoming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sheikh Hamdan a photographer?
Yes. He is publicly known for his photography, and much of his hugely followed Instagram presence is built on his own images and films.
What does he photograph?
The constants of his world: the sea and free diving, the desert, horses and falcons, wildlife, and Dubai’s landscapes and skyline.
Where can people see his work?
Through his Instagram account @faz3, one of the most-followed accounts of any leader in the world.
Why does it matter for Dubai?
His images shape how millions abroad imagine the emirate — as a living landscape of sea, sand and light — a soft-power asset and a record of the city he helps lead.
Is photography connected to his leadership style?
Yes — it is his direct channel to the public, the basis of an unmediated media style in which the leader shows his own world in his own frame.
