Leo Skryabin is a Dubai-based photographer who covers events and portraits for some of the UAE's best-known brands. His business, Leo Skryabin For Marketing & PR, has photographed for clients including Jumeirah, Adidas Dubai, the Government of Dubai Media Office, Alshaya Group, and VOX Cinemas. In 2024, he won the "Number 1" award in photography at the International Awards Dubai, and his work has appeared in Bloomberg, Photovogue, and Iconic Artist Magazine. What you might not expect is that he trained first as a medical doctor.
From Kirov Medical Academy to Dubai's Events Scene
Leo graduated from Kirov State Medical Academy in Russia in 2006 with a Doctor's Diploma in General Medicine. The turn toward photography came gradually. From 2018 onward, he attended workshops and masterclasses with established photographers in Moscow, studying portraiture and lighting under Valentin Blokh, Evgeny Dyuzhakin, and others. Each course built on the last: technical skills layered over a foundation that came not from a photography degree but from years of careful observation and working with people.
By 2020, his personal work was accepted onto PhotoVogue, Vogue Italia's platform for emerging global photographers, and he became a regular contributor. He also joined Iconic Artist Magazine that year. The move to Dubai followed, and with it came a client base that now spans corporate events, brand campaigns, and portrait commissions across the UAE.
"Building a photography business in the UAE has given me a deep understanding of the local market and its international audience," Leo says.
His background as a Russian photographer working in Dubai is more than a biographical footnote. Having worked with clients from dozens of different cultural backgrounds, he has developed a particular skill for reading people quickly and putting them at ease, which shows in photographs where subjects look like themselves rather than like they are being photographed.
What Leo Skryabin Actually Shoots in Dubai
The client list covers a wide spread of Dubai's commercial and event landscape: Government of Dubai Media Office, Jumeirah, Adidas Dubai, Alshaya Group, ITP Media, VOX Cinemas, ATH American Express GBT, Rise Entertainment, and the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. His services cover events, portraits, and travel photography, and he also works as a gaffer on production sets, bringing a lighting technician's precision to his understanding of how light behaves across different environments.
In 2025, he is collaborating with The Factory Production Studio, TVTok Dubai, and The Builders Production. His exhibition "Actors and Their Heroes", a portrait series of acting students from Dmitry Bertman's workshop at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts, was shown at GITIS in Moscow in 2022. His published credits include Bloomberg, Photovogue, GATE DXB, and Mob Journal.
"I don't just take photographs," he says. "I help people and businesses tell their story through images that feel authentic, professional, and purposeful."
The Shoot Where Everything Went Wrong at Once
The most revealing thing Leo says about his career is how he describes its toughest moment: not a failed project or a contract that fell through, but a shoot where tight deadlines, changing weather conditions, and last-minute client adjustments all landed at the same time. "There was very little room for error," he says. "The experience taught me the importance of preparation, adaptability, and staying calm under pressure. In the end, we delivered the project successfully."
That pressure is most acute at live events, where there are no retakes. A keynote, a concert, a product launch, a gala dinner: the moment happens once, and the photographer has to be ready for it while managing technical settings, shifting lighting conditions, and client expectations simultaneously. Leo has covered enough live events to have built a working system for exactly those situations, and he points to those high-pressure shoots as some of the most formative experiences of his career.
What Makes the Frame Worth Taking
Leo's answer to what gives him the most satisfaction is specific: "Creating images that have a real impact on people." He talks about photographs that help someone preserve an important memory, tell a story, or achieve a business goal. Three different outcomes, each requiring a different kind of thinking behind the camera.
There is something in that framing that connects back to medicine, which is also a field built entirely around careful observation, human contact, and delivering something that genuinely matters to the person in front of you. "I enjoy meeting new people, learning their stories, and transforming those stories into meaningful images that have lasting value," he says. Whether the subject is an entrepreneur having a portrait taken in DIFC or a crowd of guests at a Jumeirah event, the approach is the same: show up prepared, pay attention, and make something the client will actually want to keep.
Quick Facts About Leo Skryabin
Business: LEO SKRYABIN FOR MARKETING AND PR
Service: Event and portrait photography
Based in: Dubai, UAE
Award: "Number 1" in photography, International Awards Dubai, 2024
Clients include: Jumeirah, Adidas Dubai, Government of Dubai Media Office, Alshaya Group, VOX Cinemas
Published in: Bloomberg, Photovogue, Iconic Artist Magazine
Serves: Corporate events, brand campaigns, portrait sessions, private events
Available for: Corporate and private clients
Book via: The PartyPlatform
Find Leo Skryabin on The PartyPlatform
Leo Skryabin photographs events, brand campaigns, and portrait sessions across Dubai and the wider UAE. To view his work and send an enquiry, visit Leo Skryabin For Marketing & PR on The PartyPlatform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Leo Skryabin?
Leo Skryabin is a Dubai-based event and portrait photographer originally from Russia. He runs Leo Skryabin For Marketing & PR and has photographed for major UAE clients including Jumeirah, Adidas Dubai, the Government of Dubai Media Office, Alshaya Group, and VOX Cinemas. He won the "Number 1" photography award at the International Awards Dubai in 2024, and his work has been published in Bloomberg and Photovogue. Before photography, he trained as a doctor, graduating from Kirov State Medical Academy in 2006.
What types of events does Leo Skryabin photograph in Dubai?
Leo covers corporate events, product launches, live performances, brand activations, and private events across Dubai. He also works as a gaffer on production sets, which gives him a strong technical understanding of lighting in varied and challenging conditions.
What makes Leo Skryabin different from other photographers in Dubai?
His background is unusual: he holds a medical degree from Kirov State Medical Academy before transitioning into photography professionally. That combination of methodical training and human-facing work, built over years of collaborating with international clients across different cultures, produces a working style that is focused, adaptable, and consistently aimed at delivering images with a real purpose.
Has Leo Skryabin won any photography awards?
Yes. In 2024, Leo won the "Number 1" award in photography at the International Awards Dubai. His work has also been featured on the PhotoVogue platform and published in international outlets including Bloomberg and Iconic Artist Magazine.
How do I book Leo Skryabin for an event in Dubai?
You can view Leo's portfolio and send a booking enquiry directly through his listing on The PartyPlatform.
