[2] Although achieving professional goals and popularity at Al-Ahram, at a certain point Sonbol saw the need of leaving the newspaper in order to be recruited by the American Embassy's as official photographer.

[5] Later in life, Sonbol managed to combine his responsibilities as chief photographer in Al-Ahram Weekly [6][7][8][9] and in the Cairo Opera House [10][11] with other projects.

[12] His work has been displayed in various exhibits [13][14][15][16] worldwide and has been the subject of a doctoral thesis[17][18] Sonbol gave seminars at AFCA (Académie Francophone Cairote des Arts)[citation needed] and taught photography at the Ahram Canadian University.

But Sherif Sonbol’s stunning and revelatory dance photographs [show] a particularly agile eye… apt to shoot from a catwalk above the stage or from the wings, frequently abstracting shapes into dynamic and explosive bursts of color."

-Anna Kisselgoff, New York Times[13]"An artist has reached the pinnacle of his profession when his work can be recognised without his signature being written…" -Mounir Kenaan, leading Egyptian painter[24][25][26]