Saving the Nigerian Photography Industry

The title sounds more like an assignment for Superman or Spiderman! But seriously, if you take some time out to chat with photographers or milling around in several online photography forums, you'll get a pretty desperate view of this professional industry.

Everywhere you look photographers are complaining that clients have smaller budgets, other clients are taking them for granted not appreciating their creativity, other photographers are stealing their business by shooting for free, moms with cameras are taking over!  The truth is - photographers need to learn how to evolve! Things have changed and you as a professional must learn to keep up with the pace.

The photography profession is undoubtedly rooted in tradition.  It is a craft that is both art and science - both creative and technical.  As such, there is no right way to do it. But there are special ways to express it and that's what BraveShooters do. They express differently and present specially in a breathtaking manner. You know those pictures that make you pause and ponder if the camera was made in heaven, or is this telepathic photography? That's what BraveShooters do. Turning the mundane to mystical. However, just as there are numerous ways to take a photo, there are numerous paths to pursuing it as a career.  You can go to school, you can assist another professional, you can read books to educate yourself on the technical aspects of photography but the hardest thing to learn is the business of photography.  This is where the rubber meets the road. You have learnt the art, you have mastered the science but you must develop and execute the strategy, differentiate and position your brand, market and serve your target customers, plan and cut costs...business is in a class of its own but you must pass through that class or else your art and science will just leave you half-baked.

Interestingly, because there is little or no  information on how to run a successful photography business people tend to copy or learn from those who have been successful in the past.  We look to other working photographers as a model on how to run our own business.  We set up studio, make flyers, send mailers, we run email campaigns, we network. This is how the industry perpetuates itself.  Each new generation learning from those who have blazed a path before them. Unfortunately, this is exactly why our industry has grown stale!

One thing we've learned at BraveMoments is just how quickly an entire industry can move. Undoubtedly, Lagos has been the birthplace and cradle of many of today's professional photographers and some of us have seen it grow, evolve, boom, bust and transform in the 20+ years we've lived here. Personally, I'm not sure why the entrepreneurial spirit here is so high - maybe it's because it was formerlly the federal capital state, the weather, or maybe it's because we have more Ibos than many other places in the country.  One thing is certain, Lagos never quits.  There is always some new idea, some new technology, some new college graduate thinking they can build the next Facebook!  You very rarely hear people complain about the competition, or blame their customers for the lack of business, or whine about technology moving too fast.  When business starts to slump they look internally, not externally, and will change their business strategies on a dime! (There are many who, though complain of the harsh realities of a place like Lagos, yet they never go back to set up shop in their villages)

Sincerely, if the photography industry is to survive, succeed and become significant in Nigeria of today, we need to adopt these types of business practices; the dogeddness, the creativity, the ingenuity of a typical Lagos entrepreneur. 

We need to stop clinging to business models that were created in the days of film.  We need to stop thinking that we are "owed" a successful business just because we know how to use a camera. We need not only stop comparing ourselves today to the photographers of yesterday, we must also stop thinking we are the all in all of Nigerian photography! Yes, the industry has changed. Yes, more professionals are coming to the scene. Yes, technology moves fast and photoshop may not always be trusted to deliver!  Yes, everybody can take great pictures now.  Yes, more 'wicked' cameras are being invented (like our 840mm that can see the future from now!). So look internally and ask yourself "What else can I bring to the table?",  "How else can I position and project my offering?"

If your clients aren't paying you what you think you deserve it's because they don't value what you offer.  And the honest truth is that you'll always get what people percieve you're worth!

Commercial photography is a service industry and you can either be a 2,000 Naira table massage or a 2, 000, 000 Naira spa treatment, the choice is up to you!

For more information and business advisory/brand management services, send us an email: thebraveshooter@gmail.com or call +234 802 324 4592 

What's the problem with these photographers?! Or is it the client?

Last week, my good friend Becky who is getting married in December sent me an email. After taking her permission, I decided to share her feelings which she expressed via the email with you. Below is an excerpt of her mail:

"Hi fife,

I have what I think is an odd situation. When I booked our wedding photographer months ago, I loved his style sooo much. He was dramatic, artsy, and did wonders with photo editing. After meeting him (first vendor we booked for the wedding o, not even thinking of cake yet!), I just had a weird feeling, he was very nice, but much different than his emails would suggest. I am very upbeat, high energy and fast moving. He seemed opposite of me. I just shrugged it off. But lately, his new images posted on his blog are just TOO artsy, too abstract almost. Instead of images of the bride and groom in beautiful poses and locals, I see blurred out silhouettes and shots that are lovely, but in my opinion belong in a fashion mag and not wedding album. While our mismatched personalities I could ignore before when I loved his images, now that I am wondering about getting the images I want, I am more worried about us being on different pages on the wedding day.  Long story short, I would like to cancel our contract (eat the deposit) and move on with another photographer lady we found last week friday. Although I have heard about her but have just been admiring from a distance since we had our own already.

I can let go of the NGN20,000 deposit, but I am not sure I will make the right choice. I will wait until next weekend when I can meet the new photographers (be sure we mesh) before making any moves."

However, I will like you to review her works for me. Check out her website at www............com"

Now, I'd been thinking of what to say to Becky or what the content of my response should be. I quite agrree that photographers evolve style to meet a certain niche and please a population of customers.  Just because he shot a few weddings with a different style doesn't mean he isn't capable of doing what he did in the past. I just wish I could discuss Becky's style with him.

But seriously, to me a bigger issue would be the personalities not meshing. When I book a photographer for a client (before 'The BraveShooters' prequalification), I usually talk with several over the phone especially if planning was long distance. Sometimes ago in 2010, I had a great phone conversation with this photographer, and I made up my mind to recommend him, but when we met in person (of course before allowing my client to pay any deposit) neither my assistant nor myself meshed with him. Afterwards, I sent him to the client who also had major complains, not just with his works but also with his personality. If she had hired him.....it probably would have been either of these stories: either bad images, or stress associated, some shots that were missed the day of the event, or the fact that it took 5 months to receive digital images.

Photographers sometimes feel the same way too... that perhaps they don't mesh well personality-wise... or perhaps their style doesn't match your expectations, you just don't appreciate creativity or that you wouldn't just pay up. But, being that this is their livelihood, it's very hard to say no to a bride who wants you to photograph their wedding.

So, you just never know... perhaps this photographer is thinking the exact same things as my friend, Becky, and will be slightly relieved when she cuts it off.  If you are a photographer and reading this or even if you are the client, just tell them that, after giving it a lot of thought, you don't think that their style matches what you hope for in your (wedding) photography. I think that's really the best thing you can say in a situation like this. You have to be diplomatic but straighforward. A stitch in time....

In my opinion, I think Becky should talk to her current photographer about her concerns-both with the artistic images and about the differences in personalities. If she is still uneasy, then she can look at booking a different photographer. Or just get a BraveShooter, period.

So Then, What Makes A Good Photographer and who is a BraveShooter?

This is a very subjective question as it’s mostly a matter of opinion more than anything, and it has little to do with your gadget because your gadget is only as useful as you, so someone I may think is awesome, you may think to be rubbish. You should only ever shoot for yourself, as trying to please everyone will prove itself to be completely pointless as it’s unlikely you’ll ever succeed. There’s popular opinion on who is a good photographer, but there’s no rule which you can follow to take you there – mostly it’s down to practice. But there are well defined paths to becoming a BraveShooter. We can tell you that for a fact.

“Your first 10,000 photos are your worst” – Henri Cartier Bresson

The quote above will ring true to anyone who actually uses their camera enough to take over 10,000 photos, as the improvement in this time is huge. There’s only so long you can go into photography ignorant to the elements, before you have to learn how to take better photos, and it’s likely that if you’ve reached that many photos, you’ll have learnt something by now. Practice really is the key to good photography, and when you compliment that with study of composition and photography, you’ll start to see your photography improving a big way.

As cameras get better and better, the quality of the images improve, and that’s something we’re all appreciative of because they begin to allow us to do stuff we couldn’t do before by providing features such as an improved dynamic range, but that’s still not what good photography is. The camera is just a tool; yur secondary tool. It’s your eyes and your mind that make the photos. If you want to become better at photography, I strongly suggest that you carry your camera around with you much more often, and before long, you’ll be thinking like a photographer.

It however takes more than thinking like a photographer to become a BraveShooter! Talent is not just enough. You will need an all-round skillset to be certified a BraveShooter. One thing is certain, while all BraveShooters are expert photographers, not all expert photographers are BraveShooters. So, who is a BraveShooter? That's the question we get asked most often! And now is the time to provide some insight but wait for it,....a braveshooter is most definitely worth the wait.

Watch out for the configuration of who is a BraveShooter in the next post titled: The BraveShooter Phenomenon.

The Art, the Science and the Practice

According to Wikipedia, Photography is the art, science and practice (ASP) of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film.

As far as can be ascertained, it was Sir John Herschel in a lecture before the Royal Society of London, on March 14, 1839 who made the word "photography" known to the world. But in an article published on February 25 of the same year in a German newspaper called the Vossische Zeitung, Johann von Maedler,

a Berlin astronomer, had used the word photography already. The word photography is based on the Greek φῶς (photos) "light" and γραφή (graphé) "representation by means of lines" or "drawing", together meaning "drawing with light".

Photography has many uses for business, science, manufacturing (e.g. Photolithography), art, and recreational purposes.

The BraveShooters Integrated Photography Resource Network is a corporate community of expert photographers licensed under the BraveShooters Network. We provide cutting edge technology, tips, training and technique that help community members master the art, the science and the practice of "drawing with light".

With access to a large tribe of other ASP Masters, braveshooters and fellow connoisseurs, there's plenty of insight to go around not to mention an endless resource pool to jump into. So whether you're getting the down low on the best photographers in Nigeria or asking fellow photography aficionados about current information, The BraveShooter will have you standing tall and aiming higher!

Pic: Courtesy Syam Asinar Radjam