Picture Editor Nura Abdela is a young mover and shaker from London living the dream in fashion. Organising photo shoots with celebrities for magazines such as Closer and New!, rubbing shoulders with the fash pack and travelling to exotic ends of the earth, Nura is every woman and we caught up with this boss to get her top tips on working in the industry.
1. How did you know what you wanted to do?
I remember not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but once I left university early I knew I had to decide quickly. Design, and being creative has always been my passion and I love celebrity news culture so magazines sounded like a perfect fit. Working on the picture desk meant I could combine my celebrity knowledge with my creativity and love for fashion on shoots. I love a challenge and a fast paced life so working on a weekly magazine is great for keeping me on my toes.
2. How would you describe your job?
There are a lot of moving parts of my job – day-to-day roles include daily picture research, organising photo shoots and negotiating prices and deals for pics. Everything usually runs like a well oiled machine, but you always have to be ready for the unexpected, like last minute things going wrong on shoots, or a big news story coming in on press day. You have to be pretty organised in this role, and it also helps hugely to be on top of all celebrity news stories.
3. What advice with you give to a girl that wants to follow in your footsteps?
It can be a lot of hard work sometimes, and it’s no where near as glamorous as it might look from the outside, but it can be a really fun role and always a light hearted atmosphere in the office, even during stressful times. Be prepared to work hard for very little money in the beginning, and you have to be thick skinned – not everyone is going to like your ideas or opinions all the time, and you have to be prepared for things that you’ve worked hard on to being dropped last minute. You have to remember that it’s nothing personal, it’s just what’s best for the magazine.
4. There are many misconceptions with such a glamorous job – what would you say are the three things people don’t see?
There’s a lot of leg work that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of boring back and forth emails that sometimes amount to nothing. Magazines sound glamorous but you have to remember it is still a desk job. There are perks like fun celebrity events that you might see online, but only very few get to go on them. There are also the occasional early starts and late nights, and you might have to travel across England for a shoot in the middle of winter but there’s no saying ‘no’ in this job.
5. What does the MS CAMPBELL brand represent to you?
I love the simplicity of the Ms Campbell brand. You can mix and match anything from the collection together so it’s a great staple to have in your closet. It’s good for the busy professional woman on the go, giving her a sleek but comfortable look which is always key.
We salute you girl!
