In the Age of AI, Saida’s Studio Soussi Defies Photoshop in the 1950s

Did you know just how iconic Studio Soussi in Saida was?

Back in 2013, The Guardian published the work of Chafic Ahmad Soussi, a self-taught photographer whose career spanned decades on the streets of southern Lebanon.

One image immediately stands out of a father and his two sons, superimposed onto an airplane with mountains behind them. The whimsical shot was entirely handmade, long before Photoshop or AI could do it in seconds. In fact, Photoshop wasn’t created for another half-century after that photograph was taken.

Soussi didn’t rely on software or algorithms. He crafted every superimposed figure, every blended sky and landscape by hand, a testament to patience, skill, and imagination. Old-school photography relied entirely on skill, patience, and a deep understanding of lights and shadows.

It’s incredible that a self-taught photographer could pick up such a skill in an age where Photoshop wasn’t a thing yet. How cool is that?

About Chafic Ahmad Soussi

Soussi was born in Sidon in 1920, just as Lebanon emerged from Ottoman rule into the French mandate. As a teenager, he joined his older brother Anis to open Studio Soussi, the first photographic workshop in Lebanon’s south.

Chafic learned on the job, mastering techniques like tinting that would define the studio’s signature style. He captured Lebanon and its people through periods of change.

Though Soussi died in 2003, his work lives on as a testament to creativity, craft, and the stories only a photographer can tell.

Did you know about Studio Soussi in Saida? Make sure to check out the #Did You Know section for more content like this.