Rafig Ali oghlu Gambarov was born on 31 December 1947 in the city of Grozny. From 1966 to 1971 he studied camera operation at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, in the workshop of L.B. Kosmatov. For several years he worked at the Samara Newsreel Studio in Russia, and later as director of photography for feature and documentary films at the "Azerbaijanfilm" studio. He has also worked as a photographer-artist in several films. In 1998 he founded the Union of Photographers of Azerbaijan and headed this organisation until 2007. On 1 August 2018 he was awarded a personal pension by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
