I’m Maisie Eden, and I run a family photography business in Dubai, UAE (Maisie Eden Photography). I moved to Dubai 2.5 years ago for my husband’s work and set up my business about 4 months after we moved. It’s been wild, but I love it! My focus is on capturing motherhood and family moments. I love to catch the in-between moments, slightly abstract in terms of traditional family photography, I suppose, but I’m obsessed with movement and free-flowing love! 

I should say I specialise in family desert shoots as that’s deffo my most popular session. But I love all things Motherhood and like to add a touch of whimsical romanticism to my work where I can.  

At the moment (July) I’ve just wrapped up my winter season. In Dubai, we only have two seasons, winter and summer. In one, working outdoors is glorious, and in the other, it’s impossible! Can you guess which one’s which? Haha! 

From July through to September, everything moves inside, and I get lots of squishy newborns to photograph. I’m entering my quiet time, which I love because it means I get to focus on improvements within my business and refresh everything before the madness of winter starts again. I get to take a little breather which is much needed. Dubai becomes a bit of a ghost town during the summer. 

Describe your photography style in 3 words: 

Intimate, spirited, whimsical

How did your photography business journey begin:

I’ve always done photography in some form on the side of whatever other job I was doing. After I finished my degree in Photojournalism,  I completed a Masters in fashion photography from LCF and worked a year’s stint for Next in their photography studios, thinking it was fashion photography I wanted to do. I managed to get an interview for the position of Nick Knight’s photography assistant when I lived in London, which I was ecstatic with. I never got offered the job, haha, but the whole experience was surreal. But not long after that I realised I hated the fashion industry, did a complete U-turn on everything I’d been working towards for literally years and picked up work nannying for a few years whilst I tried to figure out my next photography move. 

Fast forward to Jan 2020, and I was so excited to quit my day job and finally be starting my photography business full time, mainly focusing on newborns, and then the big C fluffed everything up for me literally 2 months later. So my first business, ‘Maisie Coulbert Photography’, never really had a chance. I spent most of Covid stressing about being completely unemployed, and then, out of the blue in August 2020, my husband was offered a transfer to Dubai with his company. We got married in Sep 2020 and flew to Dubai in Jan 2021. A few months later, Maisie Eden Photography UAE was born, and we’ve never looked back! Funny how things work out, isn’t it? 

What was your biggest struggle in your business journey?

Ignoring the whole covid debacle – I’d say setting up in Dubai has been a journey. Moving to a new country, that’s vastly different to home, not knowing anyone at all. We’d never even visited Dubai before we moved here. So navigating that has been really tough at times and a steep learning curve. Now 2.5 years in I feel I’m coming out the otherside of everything and starting to settle in for the long haul. 

How do you balance a busy business whilst taking care of your mental health and avoiding burn out?

Oh gosh, well, this I’m still trying to figure out, honestly. This season I’ve really struggled to have any sort of balance. I ended up massively overbooked due to having to take a few unplanned weeks off for a family bereavement. Coupled with a string of bad weather out here (when it’s super windy, you can’t shoot in the desert because of all the sand whipping up and potential sand storms) so I had about 10 postponements to fit into an already booked calendar.

Behind the scenes, it’s been a bit of a shit show to be brutally honest. BUT all is not lost, I’ve learnt some incredibly valuable lessons about just how important it is to prioritise your mental health and balance, and now I can’t wait to start the next season because I have so many things to implement. Such as, having a full weekend off every month, not starting work until 10 am, and writing morning pages really helps gain clarity, so sticking with this every day, saying ‘No’ more, and no editing on the weekends. The full works! I feel super prepared for the next season now because of all the learnings from this one! Bring it on! 

What inspires your creativity:

I’m most inspired by nature, which can be tough to find when you live in the desert. I’ve learnt that I do need breaks from Dubai throughout the year to feel creatively energised again. I have been lucky enough to travel to Vienna, South Africa and home to the UK this year, and it really does give me a new lease of life mentally, spiritually and creatively to be surrounded by lush greenery. Lying in a field, feeling the soft sun on my skin, listening to the birds and some music is my idea of heaven and where I get my best ideas. 

I’m also heavily inspired by music, literature and film (mainly period dramas – Sofia Coppola and Autumn de Wilde are my fave directors)

Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone at the beginning of their business journey? 

Invest in education and community as a priority. These are the two things that have helped grow my business and made me a happier, more productive person.

You are one of our OG’s who came to our 2022 event; what was your experience, and how has it helped to shape your business this year?

I had the most incredible time with you at G2G. Before the event I felt quite alone, working alone all the time and feeling like I hadn’t ‘found my tribe’ in the business world yet. I also felt like I’d hit a brick wall with how to elevate my business to the next level. Client journey was a big focus for me, but I had no idea what to do, so when I saw that this topic was a big focus at G2G, I was like, YES! I need this in my life!

I followed some of the founders on Instagram before the event, too, and just so badly felt I needed to be in their sphere – I think when you surround yourself with people who inspire you, your work naturally feels the benefits of that, and at the time I felt that’s what I needed. A good big dose of inspiration. And that’s exactly what I got! G2G 22 gave me the energy and direction I was craving, and my business has flourished since. 

When you’re not working, what are you doing?

You can find me in one of four places – I’m either charging around the dunes with my husband and fur babies, at running club with my ladies team training for a race of some sort, chilling at the beach or at home reading in my cosy chair. 

What are you listening to whilst you’re editing?

Taylor Swift, on repeat, forever and always <3

What is your favourite pizza topping? 

Ohhhh, margarita with mushrooms and chilli oil. Is that weird? 

What’s in your bag:

My TOG bag obvs – I always shoot with my Nikon Z71ii and a 24-70mm lens. That’s my trusty combo these days since I switched to mirrorless. I also have my Nikon D750 & 24-70mm in there as backup. I’ve got a random 50mm floating around in there too, but I never really use it. 

Lens cleaning kit, hand sanitiser, and a pair of socks, haha ( I live in Birkenstocks out here, but when I go to client’s homes for newborn sessions, I hate being barefoot in other people’s houses, so I always pop socks on when I get there haha)

My TOG SD card case, some business cards, spare batteries and some SPF 50! 

Where can we find you?

Instagram: @maisieedenphotography

Website: www.maisieeden.ae