Sean Arbabi
Photo Studio Director · Arbabi Productions Inc.
Lafayette, CA
In My Own Words
Photo Studio Leader | Digital Production Specialist:
Having worked with major retail brands such as Pottery Barn and Men's Wearhouse, I lead and consult in digital and print production for high volume eCommerce photo studios. I've directed crews, managed teams, produced studio and on-location shoots, overseen and project managed thousands of creative projects, increased quality, defined roles and responsibilities, and improved industry standard processes for digital workflows, all with great results saving millions in annual budgets.
Commercial Photographer | Producer:
With the highest level of photographic knowledge and expertise, I’ve produced hundreds of assignments in studio and on-location, creating quality impactful imagery for clients and major studios worldwide; in-studio and on-location, pre production to set to post production, projects and campaigns from concept to delivery. My work has been published in hundreds of ads, books, catalogs, publications and sites worldwide including Amazon, American Express, Backpacker, California Tourism, Discovery, ESPN, Fuji Film, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, MTV Networks, National Geographic, Newsweek, The New York Times, The North Face, Nikon, REI, Sunset, Timex, The Travel Channel, Via, and Vogue. I’ve led live and online photo workshops, multi-media digital presentations with field sessions, lectured at large events for industry leading companies like Tamron and BetterPhoto, and appeared on various tv, radio, and podcast shows.
Work Experience
Photo Studio Director | Director of Photography | Digital Production Consultant
Arbabi Productions Inc.2022 – Present
SUMMARY: • From directing photo shoots to opening photo studios, with a strong skill set in creative ops, I’ve enjoyed piecing the intricate digital production puzzle together, helping teams succeed in their roles while improving quality, efficiency, lead times, budgets, overhead, KPIs, metrics, moral and work environment. DESCRIPTION | SKILLS: • Photography, Digital Production, Digital and Photographic Workflows, Art Direction, Creative Operations, Project Management, Leadership, KPI Driven Performance Improvement and Metrics Management, Creative Services Operational, Optimization, Staffing Strategy. SUCCESSES: • Having worked with major brands such as Pottery Barn and Men's Wearhouse, I lead and consult in digital and print production for high volume eCommerce photo studios. I've directed crews, managed teams, produced studio and on-location shoots, defined roles and responsibilities, delegated tasks, and improved industry standard processes for digital workflows. With great results our teams save millions in annual budgets.
Pottery Barn Kids | Pottery Barn Teen Post-Production Manager for Assets, Color, Print
Williams Sonoma | Pottery Barn2021 – 2022
WILLIAMS-SONOMA | POTTERY BARN, San Francisco | Richmond, CA – potterybarn.com
SUMMARY: • Overseeing all post-production imagery and retouching for digital and print, editorial and eCommerce, to produce high-quality final assets while delivering accurate and consistent product color-matching. DESCRIPTION: • Strategically partnering with Digital Production, Creative, Photo Studio, Digital Asset Management, Merchants, and Product Developers to oversee project timelines, style and lighting guides, production workflow, and supply chain efficiency. Supporting photography, editing, merch tracking, retouching, and digital asset management. • Maintaining, forecasting, balancing, and maximizing quarterly/ annual budgets. • Managing quarterly attestation for Digital Production and Photo Studio team system access. SUCCESSES: • Fine-tuned processes throughout production to maximize budgets, reduce lead times, increase quality, update KPIs, reduce customer returns, and improve overall efficiency for 16K+ assets annually
Photo Studio Director | eCommerce Producer for Mens Wearhouse, Jos A Bank, K&G, Moores
Tailored Brands | Mens Wearhouse2017 – 2021
SUMMARY: • Directing all operations for a multi-bay shared-services Photo Studio for various eCommerce and Editorial based shoots for multiple brands. DESCRIPTION: • Managing and hiring a team of 15 employees and 50+ freelance photographers, models, producers, stylists, digital artists, tailors, and assistants. • Maintaining and forecasting a multi-million-dollar annual budget (freelance, on-call, full-time payroll). Photo Studio purchase requirements. tracking costs, analytics, KPIs for studio production. • Strategically partnering with Merchants, Brand, Creative, Site Merch, Digital Asset Management, Engineering, Legal, Human Resources, to oversee project timelines, style | lighting guides, production workflow, and supply chain efficiency; supporting photography, merchandise tracking, and post-production. • Producer/Project manager of all E-commerce Stills and Fashion photo shoots SUCCESSES: • 94% production increase with just a 19% cost increase in four years. Increase in moral, efficiency, process, and image quality. Discovered various layers of inefficiencies through the product procurement and E-commerce processes, from Merchants to Site/Creative to Studio.
Commercial Photographer | Author | Producer | Art Director
Arbabi Imagery1991 – 2017
SUMMARY: • Produced hundreds of assignments creating photography and licensing imagery for various uses worldwide. Led crews in on-location, including models, stylists, assistants, art directors, and clients, photographing on-location in the US and internationally. Involved in pre-production planning and post-production preparation of all jobs. DESCRIPTION: • Growing a professional photography business from scratch to a successful well-known industry name. SUCCESSES: • Published with and completed assignments for numerous major clients worldwide (300 magazines,200 companies): o Amazon, American Express, California Tourism, Discovery, ESPN, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, National Geographic, The New York Times, The North Face, Nikon, Random House, Sunset, Timex, The Travel Channel, Vogue. • Photo editing and managing a million+ image stock collection from worldwide locations. • Authored and photographed numerous articles and two how-to books for Random House | Amphoto: o The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure (Jan 2009), The Complete Guide to Nature Photography (Dec 2011) • Led live and online photo workshops: Multi-media digital presentations with field photo sessions.
