Zaidi’s studio - a 100 year old photo studio
Zaidi Photographers is a family owned business started by two brothers who had studied portrait painting at the Mayo School of Arts at the turn of the century. Syed Wazir Ali Zaidi went to Banaras while Syed Nazir Ali Zaidi went to Allahabad, where they started their portrait painting and photography studios in 1904. Syed Mohammad Ali Zaidi, the eldest son of Syed Nazir Ali, learnt his skills working with his father in Allahabad and migrated back to Lahore in 1928. Here, he set up his studio on the Mall in 1930, where it still stands as a landmark of Lahore. The studio in its history of ninety years has photographed thousands of people including many distinguished personalities. Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah came for his portrait to the studio, as did Liaquat Ali Khan, Miss Fatima Jinnah and the list goes on. Rajas, Governors and even Her Majesty Queen Zein al-Sharaf of Jordan were photographed by Zaidis. Zaidi’s archive is probably one of its kind in the sub-continent which consists of a database of around 500,000 negatives which they are planning to digitize and make it available to the public.
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