turning grit into pixels
About Nada Khalaf-Jones
Nada Khalaf-Jones is a professional photographer, filmmaker, drone pilot, storyteller, and advocate based in the Florida Keys. Through her company, Nada Khalaf-Jones Photo Film Drone LLC (and Florida Keys Drone Pros), she captures real life, real emotion, and real resilience with sharp eyes, technical mastery, and a heart for hope.
Born in England to refugee immigrant parents in a diverse household, Nada’s adventurous spirit took root early. She worked in her family’s optical business, illustrated children’s books, rode motorbikes, pursued freelance journalism, and dreamed of space travel—settling instead for worldwide adventures. For 27 years she taught scuba and free diving across Egypt and the UAE, often as one of the few women in those spaces, building unshakeable independence and resilience. It was there she met her husband, a Naval Aviator with “Tom Cruise Top Gun cool guy” energy, and followed him to the United States.
After moving to San Diego and then settling in the Florida Keys in 1999, Nada embraced American opportunity while raising four extraordinary daughters: a Marine biology PhD candidate, a Navy pilot in training, a youngest heading to UF on an NROTC scholarship, and Laila with Down syndrome—who continues to inspire through her own fierce determination and stage performances. The birth of Laila deepened Nada’s purpose, leading her to found the Florida Keys Down Syndrome Educational Trust (a pure charity for nine years) and champion inclusion, high expectations, and “different is luminous.”
When drones emerged in 2016, Nada became one of the first female drone pilots in South Florida—self-taught, fearless, and undeterred by skeptics or early industry hurdles. She turned this new perspective into a powerful storytelling tool, blending aerial cinematography with ground-level photography and video for weddings, real estate, events, families, environmental restoration projects, and more. Her work celebrates bravery, perspective shifts, portable-home mindsets from military life, and the strength found in everyday resilience.
A lifelong journalist and visual storyteller, Nada’s images and films weave pain with hope, authenticity with optimism. Whether documenting sunrise over the Keys, coastal restoration efforts, family milestones, or bold adventures, she reminds us to look up, speak up, seize opportunities, and create beauty from whatever life brings.
Today, Nada continues expanding her craft—pursuing business education, mentoring, creating accessible advocacy materials, and building fearless families through her Action Plan 2 content. She invites others to join the journey of resilience, inclusion, and meaningful impact.
“My writing, camera, and drone are tools for hope—reminding me and others that beauty and strength are always there if you’re willing to look up.”
Connect with Nada at nadakhalafjones.com, on Instagram @dronethefloridakeys or @nadajonesphotography, and explore her Vimeo/YouTube channels for her latest visual stories.
