Dr. Saleh El-Rifai is a photographer, visual artist, and educator whose career spans more than four decades across conflict coverage, editorial leadership, and arts education. Beginning his photojournalism in the mid-1970s amid the Lebanese Civil War, he went on to work with Gamma (France) and the Associated Press (AP), first as a staff photographer and later as AP’s photo editor in Beirut—publishing widely in international outlets and contributing to landmark books on the region.
A committed teacher and mentor, he served for over three decades as a professor of photography at the Lebanese University – Faculty of Fine Arts, and also taught at Beirut Arab University (BAU). Beyond academia, he has trained journalists and image-makers across the Arab world through programs with Al Jazeera Training Center (Qatar), the Dubai Press Club, the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA), and An-Nahar newspaper. His academic formation includes a Master’s and Bachelor’s in the Art of Photography and a Bachelor in Electronic & Photographic Media.
An influential voice in the field, Dr. El-Rifai is the author of Photojournalism (Al Jazeera Training Center, 2013), co-author of The Search for Truth (Photo Manipulation) (2017), and author of Who Makes the Leader Portrait? (2022). He founded the Association of Photography in Lebanon (2004), co-founded the Syndicate of Press Photographers (1980), and established the Lebanese University Photography Club (1986). His work has appeared in 40+ exhibitions, with pieces acquired by Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture.
At the Fine Art Photography Academy (FAPA), Dr. El-Rifai teaches Photojournalism and Analog Photography. His courses integrate ethics, visual literacy, and darkroom craft, guiding students to treat photographs not only as records of events but as enduring documents—images built with intention, integrity, and historical awareness.