A picture speaks a thousand words, as the cliché goes.
These days, nowhere else could this prove to be true but in Dubai where thousands have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are now starting over with, yes, a curriculum vitae having a snappy headshot courtesy of an award-winning Filipino photographer, who tells Daily Bread News he is doing it to “return my blessings to the community.”
Chris Calumberan, known in the city’s photography circles for having been around since 2003, thought he’d pay it forward and recently launched his “100 Headshots Initiative,” which has already attracted several interested jobseekers looking to spruce up their CVs.
“I was blessed to have a very good client during the height of the pandemic in Dubai. I am just returning my blessings to the community,” said Calumberan, whose string of award includes being listed among the “Ilustrado Top 300” Filipino achievers in the UAE, organized by a publishing company based in Dubai; and a bronze medal at a Tokyo photography competition.
“I coach my subjects. I study them and work with them to bring out the best in them. With that, I’m certain they will get the job,” said the 40-year-old Calumberan runs his own photography business, is in to art photography and who’s from Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila.
Calumberan is an experienced model booker, location scout and production manager for print and TVCs and an ambassador for some of the leading photography brands.
He also represents Filipino photographers in major workshops and keynote speeches in Dubai.
According to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai, there are approximately 53,160 overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the city who were in a no-work-no-pay situation; while the number of those terminated was at 26,580.
The Daily Bread 