Rising Stars: Meet Raed Esmail of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Raed Esmail.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in the Youngstown area, and a lot of who I am today goes back to my childhood and my family. My mom was a huge influence on me. She taught me the importance of family, kindness, hard work and creativity. She was also the person who would hand me the camera at family functions when I was a kid. At the time, neither of us knew that something so simple would eventually turn into my career.

I graduated from Liberty High School in 2007 and went on to Youngstown State University, where I studied psychology. Like a lot of people at that age, I really didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Eventually, I realized that the path I was on wasn’t where my passion was.

In 2013, I decided to take a chance on photography and started my business literally out of my garage. There wasn’t some huge business plan or investment behind it. I had a camera, I loved creating, and I was willing to figure things out as I went. I photographed friends, aspiring models, portraits and the occasional wedding—pretty much anything that gave me an opportunity to learn and get better.

Weddings, portraiture, boudoir and editorial photography quickly became some of the things I loved most. In March of 2015, I opened my first small office and studio. Then in 2018, I moved into a larger studio in Niles. What started in my garage gradually became a career that has allowed me to photograph thousands of people and take my work throughout Ohio and across the country.

13 years later, one of the things I’m most proud of is that I built this from the ground up. I’ve also never really stopped learning. I’m constantly experimenting with photography and filmmaking, building things for my studio, learning new techniques, and finding new ways to create.

But as much as I love the creative side of photography, I think what has kept me passionate about it for this long is the people. I love being able to make someone who may not normally feel comfortable in front of a camera feel confident and genuinely good about themselves. I get to document some of the biggest moments in people’s lives, and I’ve had clients and families who have continued coming back to me for years. That’s something I don’t take for granted.

Outside of work, I love traveling, spending time with my family and my dogs, and lately I’ve really gotten into building and creating things with my hands. I’m the type of person who always needs some kind of creative project going.

It’s pretty crazy to look back and realize that this entire career can be traced back to being a kid at a family gathering and my mom letting me hold the camera. I certainly didn’t know where it would lead at the time, but I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think when people see an established business, they usually see where you are now and not everything that happened behind the scenes to get there.

I started this business out of my garage with very little and basically learned everything as I went. I wasn’t just learning photography—I had to learn how to run a business, price my work, market myself, work with clients, manage finances, handle difficult situations, and somehow still stay creative through all of it. There were plenty of times early on when I questioned whether I could actually turn photography into a career.

One of the biggest challenges has been learning that being a good photographer and being a good business owner are two completely different things. Photography is the part I fell in love with. Running a business means dealing with everything else that comes with it—the long hours, inconsistent income, cancellations, difficult clients, equipment failures, unexpected expenses, and the pressure of knowing that people are trusting you with moments they can never recreate.

There have also been circumstances completely outside of my control. The COVID-19 pandemic was an incredibly difficult period for the wedding and photography industry. More recently, I walked into my studio after a pipe burst and found the entire space flooded. When you’ve spent years building something, moments like that can be pretty defeating.

I’ve also had to learn how difficult it can be to balance owning a business with having a life outside of it. When your name is attached to the company, it’s hard to ever completely turn work off. For years I’ve answered messages, edited late into the night, worked weekends, missed events and sacrificed a lot of personal time because I wanted the business to succeed.

But I think those challenges are also a big part of why I’m still here more than 13 years later. I’ve learned how to adapt, rebuild when something goes wrong, accept that I’m going to make mistakes, and keep evolving. There have absolutely been moments when things didn’t go according to plan, but I’ve never seriously been able to picture myself doing anything else.

If anything, the difficult parts have made me appreciate what I’ve built even more. I know what it looked like when it was just me with a camera in my garage, so I try not to lose sight of that when I look at where the business is today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a photographer specializing primarily in weddings, portraits, families, seniors, boudoir, branding and editorial-style photography. Weddings have always been one of my biggest passions because I love the combination of storytelling, emotion and creativity that comes with documenting an entire day.

Stylistically, I’ve never wanted my work to feel overly staged or like I’m simply checking photographs off a list. I want people to look back at their images years from now and remember what that moment actually felt like. I love genuine emotion and candid moments, but I also enjoy creating dramatic, editorial images that feel intentional and artistic.

I think one of the things that sets me apart is my ability to work with people. Most of my clients aren’t professional models, and a lot of them tell me immediately that they’re awkward in front of a camera or hate having their picture taken. I genuinely enjoy breaking down that wall. I want the experience to feel relaxed, fun and comfortable while still giving them direction when they need it. Seeing someone’s reaction when they realize they actually love photographs of themselves is still one of my favorite parts of what I do.

I’m also constantly trying to evolve creatively. I don’t like doing something simply because that’s how I’ve always done it. I’m always experimenting with lighting, filmmaking, new equipment, different editing techniques, building my own studio sets and finding ways to create something I haven’t done before. Even after more than 13 years, I still feel like there’s an enormous amount left for me to learn.

What I’m most proud of, though, isn’t necessarily a particular photograph or award. It’s the fact that I’ve built a career that has allowed me to be part of people’s lives. I’ve photographed couples getting engaged and married, and then later photographed their maternity sessions, newborns and growing families. I’ve watched kids grow up through my camera. Having people trust me with those moments and continue coming back year after year means more to me than just about anything else I’ve accomplished professionally.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to just take beautiful photographs. I want people to have a great experience creating them and walk away with something that will become more valuable to them as the years go by.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Some of my favorite childhood memories are the simple ones. I genuinely loved going to school, being around my friends, and just being a kid. But what really stands out are the summer trips we would take to Dayton, Ohio, to visit my family. Family was such a huge part of my childhood, and I always looked forward to those trips.

One thing I think about now, especially being a photographer, is how much I wish we had cell phones and cameras like we do today. I would love to have more photos and videos of those summers, the people we spent them with, and all of those little everyday moments that didn’t seem important at the time. Back then, you didn’t document everything—you just lived it.

Maybe that’s part of why photographs mean so much to me now. As you get older, you realize how quickly those moments pass and how valuable it is to have something that takes you back to them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.restudiosohio.com
• Instagram: @restudiosohio
• Other: Https://linktr.ee/restudiosohio