Following a first part (last Sunday), which focused on the older generation of photographers, who have fallen by the wayside, Gboyega Alaka seeks out Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Yetunde Ayeni Babaeko and Ade Plumptre; three high-flyers, who have taken the profession to a whole different level.
The above are just two of the lamentations of some old-time photographers, who once bestrode the profession in their own little arena and made a living out of the camera lens. They still retain their old skills no doubt, but the world has no need for them anymore, hence they are like relics of old times now and struggling to survive.
But in the midst of all these, some very vibrant younger people are thriving and making fortunes from the same profession. The likes of Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Yetunde Ayeni Babaeko, Ade Plumptre, who are hot cakes amongst corporate organisations, advert agencies and super celebrities, definitely see no dark clouds and are not afraid they may run into any kind of cul-de-sac. Same for the likes of TY Bello, whose confidence with the camera can best be described as affective, and who not too long ago, was President Jonathan and family’s official photographer; and youthful Bayo Omoboriowo, who currently junkets the globe with President Muhammadu Buhari, as his official photographer.
These crop of photographers are in fact celebrities in their own rights and enjoy sizable media prominence that only add up as marketing for them. Some of them own palatial studios, with a retinue of staff; they ride exotic cars, have impressive studios in highbrow neighbourhoods and live in their “own house(s)” like Kelechi Amadi-Obi enthused in one of the interviews preparatory to this feature.
So then, what have they done differently? Why are they carrying on as if there are no qualms whatsoever? Yetunde Babaeko, the half-caste photographer, married to advertising whiz kid, Steve Babaeko says with childlike innocence, that “There is nothing wrong with photography. I’m surprised that you’re saying that photography is dying. I came to Nigeria in 2004, and since then, the number of photographers that I get to know on a daily basis is doubling and tripling.”
But Kelechi Amadi-Obi, the debonair photographer, who announces with relish that he “absolutely enjoy(s) fashion photography” said it is because they “were amenable to change,” and that “those whose business modules did not change or adapt quickly (inevitably had to) close down.”
Going down memory lane, Amadi-Obi says he spotted the advent of digital photography era, as it came on, first, slowly; and then at top speed. Like most other players in the analogue field of those days, he was cynical and contemplative. But he quickly saw it accelerate, when digital cameras that initially came in 1 mega pixel and 2 mega pixel, started coming in 400 mega pixel and 600 mega pixel. Quickly, he jumped on the bus, and that is the reason he wasn’t left stranded.
Bearded Ade Plumptre, who specialises as an events photographer but has done a bit of this and that in the industry, sort of concurs with Amadi-Obi. Whilst the weirdness of newer technology was breaking and the younger generations were embracing it, Plumptre says, “The older generation never bothered. They never tried to associate with us. Instead, they felt we were a threat, and it was like one camp on the one side and the other camp on the other side.”
The result of that face-off is that the older group lost grip of the job they thought they knew too well, and also lost relevance. He likened the situation to what is currently playing out in the entertainment industry, where if you’re not able to blend with the current trend, you’re dumped by the roadside, whilst the world moves on. That is where people like King Sunny Ade is different. You saw the way he blended with Whiz-Kid, despite the age difference? Except you are in that category, nobody is going to even do a collabo with you to bring you back.”
Plumptre concludes therefore that rather than dying, “photography is growing in leaps and bounds.”
He says a lot of people want to take pictures, even though they may not be willing to pay for it. “That everyone with a smartphone is always taking photographs proves this,” he said. It has also allowed a lot of younger women to understand about light, about how to pose and take pictures, he explained. So in a way, he says “It’s a crazy environment and generation in which we find ourselves; where even the clients are becoming more aware and looking for something extra.”
One could therefore forgive Yetunde Babaeko, for having no idea that photography was dying in some quarters. Coming back to the country in 2004 as an adult after years in Germany, where she studied photography, and operating almost entirely in the elite circles, where she has mostly shot for corporate organisations, top celebrities and glossy magazines, she definitely hasn’t had much chance at experiencing life in backstreet Lagos, Ibadan or any other city at that, where corner-shop photographers once dominated and eked a living.
Smartphones, no threat to photography
Interestingly, Amadi-Obi is on the same page with Plumptre on the smartphone issue. He says: “The fact that every smartpone now has a high resolution camera makes it more evident that it is not through the camera that spectacular or extraordinary images are made. Rather it is through the mind and the eye of the photographer, because now, everybody has a camera, yet they’re not able to come up with the same kind of picture.”
As an addition, Plumptre says “It’s not really a threat to the profession because you can’t really use cell phones to do certain things in photography. It’s not like the technology is not there; it’s not as if you can’t shoot the cover of a magazine or wedding with an S6, but there are some extras that some clients want, which you may not be able to achieve with a smartphone. It only helps to push us.”
Both photographers thus remind one of the lessons in the half-full and half-empty glass of water. While the older generation saw the advent of smartphones, iPad and co as a threat (half-empty), the likes of Amadi-Obi, Ade Plumptre and other saw it as half-full.
Dying culture of studio photography
On the argument that more people now take photographs of themselves and therefore hardly go to photo studios to take photographs like before, Plumptre says, “I don’t know whether I’d like to be quoted on that, but I think the era of studio photography is gradually disappearing. For instance, I have a studio, but it is by appointment, so you don’t just walk in and say you want to take a photograph like we used to do. Also, most of the time, my studio is for creative work. For families that want to do portraits, you also make more money by taking the studio to them. If you take the studio to their house, they take more shots, they’re more relaxed and the minimum you’ll collect will be in the region of N150,000/N300,000. Whereas if they come to the studio, the highest you may be able to charge will be N50,000. Of course you still have the normal walk-in studios like the Le Faghts and co, but for how long? Another indication is that studios are getting smaller.”
Babaeko corroborates this when she said, “Maybe it’s not just that they(photo studios) are dying; maybe they’re just not doing shops anymore, but are rather developing into something bigger. The photographers that I know have developed themselves, gone abroad, attended workshops and grown. You also have to look at the clientele. Our clients are well-travelled; they see what is happening in the developed countries and are demanding more and more. So you have to pick up as a photographer.”
This may be why she says her studio, Camara Studios, is not primed for studio works nor depends on it much. As an advertising photographer, the bulk of her works come from the corporate advertising world. Therefore, most of the shoots are done on locations, while the bulk of the creative works are done in the studios.
Amadi-Obi also agrees with this indirectly. “The percentage of income that I make through printing photograph is very minimal. The business model I have is for me to make images that people want to use for multimedia purposes. From going on the internet, to print, to TV; and you see, even motion picture has come into play, because the cameras that we’re using are shooting HP video. So now, you become a DOP (director of photography) and a director. You explore.”
Amadi-Obi’s museum analogy
The three photographers agree that professional photography, contrary to wider opinions, is a constantly evolving and demanding vocation. Amadi-Obi sort of puts it in dramatic perspective when he said, “As the tools of trade change, the means of dissemination also change, and one must adapt. We’re living in the information age and if you don’t, then you’re already a dinosaur. Although you may not know it, but people are already looking at you like some specimen inside the museum. So you need to know where the trend is going and be ready to adapt. For me, I enjoy and embrace change and I’m constantly searching for new ways of doing things.”
He quickly started experimenting and doing all he could to adapt, especially when it dawned on him that the process of the digital wasn’t as tedious as the film process. That, to him, was a clear indication that it was the way to go. Soon, he began to learn how to use the computer and its photo-shop programme.
“It was so novel,” he said, “but we knew we had to make the switch.”
Apart from being ready and able to make the switch, Amadi-Obi also says: “I do think that you will not survive if you do not innovate, not only in photography but anything that is related to creativity and technology.”
He stressed the fact that professional photography is a creative endeavour that demands constant creativity. “It is not a factory or like getting a formula like coca cola and you continue to make millions. When you do one thing and it is really nice and people embrace it, then you should be afraid and know that it has already gone. When you have a technique and clients really love it, for sure, younger ones will copy it and for sure, they will charge less. Will you then hold on to complaining about how the photography industry has gone bad? Two things, it’s either your work is not good or you’re not marketing it right. So there is no room for complaining. If you have value that you’re giving to your client, then it becomes a must-use. And in my line of business, there is no end to creativity. And that is the beauty of it. It is a journey that there is no arrival.”
For this reason, he is constantly experimenting. He does shots just for the sake of disrupting his usual routine, shoots upside down, tries out inspirations from literature, from movie; just so he could come up with something different and reinvent himself. “It’s not easy,” he says, “but if one enjoys the process, then one has already succeeded.”
Like Amadi-Obi, Babaeko also believes photography is hardwork. “It is not like the oil business or gas, where you sit at a desk and something happens and you sell five tankers and the millions roll in. Here, you really earn every kobo you make.
Threat of the up-comers
Interestingly, the repercussion Ade Plumptre worries about the most is the fear of the younger generations breezing past his likes like a comet. Just like his generation spotted the weakness of the older generation of photographers and guided against it, he is wary of the fact that they could also become ‘dinosaurs’.
“A lot of those who went into photography went in because they needed something to do and because they needed it to feed their families; not because they were passionate about it. Also, they did not understand the business of creativity. Now, that was what our generation saw. We wanted to be creative, make money, retain the passion and also be impactful.”
Plumptre believes the younger guys are more daring and actually better than his generation potentially. That is why he says, “I cannot learn anything from anybody over 50. People ask me why and I say that anybody above 50 can only lend me wisdom and teach me from experience, but they don’t have anything new to impart. A lot of the things we’re trying to emulate are coming from the younger guys, because they’re more daring. I tell people that I’m soon going to be 50, but I have to think like a 20-year-old to be relevant, to be able to speak the language they’re speaking and have my market share.
Lots of potentials ahead
Plumptre is thus convinced that photography has a lot of potentials and will continue to defy those who are predicting its demise; “the same way they thought music is for never-do-wells; and that actors, models and co had no potentials. The more educated people that are coming in, the more people that understand the business and the more viable it will become.”
Taking it from evolutionary angle, Babaeko opines that photography is undergoing a transformation. “Nobody is dying or going into extinction. I’d rather say we’re in a cocoon and developing to become a beautiful butterfly.”
She also believes there’s no alternative to going digital. “You also have to have good equipment and a lot of creativity; thinking outside the box and a lot of flexibility to be able to go out to meet with the client and get the job done.
While doffing her hat for legends like Sunmi Smart-Cole, Don barber and ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Babaeko says “Like now, photography has always required a lot of patience, passion and interest to thrive. With people like Ojeikere, who died two years ago, Nigerian photography also received (international) recognition.”
She also believes that with the younger generation like herself, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Ade Plumptre and Deji Alakija, who are jet-setting around the world photographing events, photography has and will always be a very important part of our lives. It’s just that some people, because they think some professions are far more important, overlook it. If you look at a big city like Lagos, with loads of weddings that you can’t even count in a week, you’d understand that photography has always being a big industry.
“You’re actually swarmed by our works everywhere you look; the advert billboards, posters, the colourful images on the internet and everywhere. As the market, especially the media, grows, so do we.” She reeled off.
Like Babaeko and Amadi-Obi, Plumptre also believes that a good photographer needs be patient and have an eye. He says he needs to be able to see, and be able to understand composition, study the environment and capture ‘that thing’ to tell a story.”
In addition, he says he also has to have a teachable spirit.
On challenges of the job, Babaeko says the greatest challenge is timing. “We could actually do two shoots a day, but because of traffic and people coming late; that becomes a bit difficult. Aside that, the business is up and down. There are times jobs are spilling in like Christmas season and co; and there are the down periods, like summer time, when everybody has travelled. But we find a balance.
She also does her marketing herself. she discovered that nobody could sell her business better that herself, so when she’s not shooting, she is calling people and socialising.
A tool for social change
Apart from booking a place as an eternal trade in society, both Plumptre and Amadi-Obi are of strong opinion that photography is a tool for social change.
Says Plumptre: “A lot of people don’t understand that photography is also a medium or source of social change; a medium where the images we’re taking could change the psyche of a whole generation. Over the centuries, we have had images being brought forth by photography, where people look at photography and ask themselves, ‘How can we change the course of history?’
Amadi-Obi on his part says ‘being a photographer is a very powerful place to be, as you’re engaged in social engineering, where you can set the trend and decide what is in and what is out. We as image-makers are the priests at the altar of story-telling, and we shape the way people feel about Omotola, about Genevieve, about P-Square and Nigeria as a whole.
“If we do not make fantastic images for Africa, then it is only left for the tourists and foreigners shooting documentaries to be seeking out only images of poverty and death.
On a certain threat by the younger generation, Amadi-Obi says “There is what is called the photographers eye, which matures with age. It is your ability to see things that other people cannot see. If you open your eyes, you will understand design and understand story-telling. And that is something everybody has that is unique to them. Some clients are looking for a photographer who will always make a spectacular image. So there’s a place for such a photographer and there’ll always be a place for him
Asked if he knew expected the kind of fame that has come with the job, Amadi-Obi says “At the early stage of my career, I made it a point to investigate what the standing of this profession is globally, and I realized that being a photographer was a very powerful place to be.”
On the financially successful the job has made them, the three respondents displayed the traditional Nigerian secretiveness.
Amadi Obi says “I can pay salaries of ten people, five of them married with children; I can pay the school fees of my children, have my own house and maintain a basic middle income lifestyle (laughs). But for me, it’s not really about the money, but the impact.
Plumptre says: “We’re comfortable. We’re feeding our wives and families and paying our bills. We’re doing good work and getting paid for it.
Even Babaeko with all her western background says “We’re doing well, let me put it that way.”
