Le Fahts Fotografa
The idea was meant to serve as a stop-gap for two restless secondary school leavers seeking an opportunity to get themselves busy pending when they will proceed to higher institution. But almost three decades later, that idea, Le Faht fotografa Ltd, has turned into the yardstick with which the success of photography is measured in the country.
Indeed, among the photography studios most patronised by Lagosians between the middle 80s and 90s was Le Fahts Fotografa, located in the mainland area of the city. Perhaps one unique aspect of Le Faht’s story is that it appeared on the scene when the business of photography was not really as lucrative and attractive as it is today.
The two brothers, Abdul Fatai Alao Thomas and Segun Bada, chairman and director respectively, started business in June, 1986 in a small flat, after having learnt the tricks from an elder ‘brother’ and owner of Studio De Best, one of the frontline photographers of the period.
Speaking with The Nation, one of the then two young men whose dreams have now snowballed into a multi-branch photo studio that offers several young Nigerians employment, Segun Bada said the success has surpassed their expectations.
He said: “Le Fahts Fotografa came into existence at a time photography was not considered lucrative and profitable. It was a bumpy start, as we had almost nothing to start with. At that time, no young man wanted to go near photography. But the standard set by this big uncle drew us close to him. It was like after secondary school, while we were waiting to progress, we just felt like doing something pending when we would go further in our education. But photography later took the better part of us, and that was it.”
The first few months were tough for the two young men. There were days that nobody would knock on their doors to have his photograph taken. “It was simply rough at the beginning. We had only one camera, which we got on credit. After paying the rent, we had nothing left to do any other thing, not even to buy a fan. And there were days that we had nothing to do.”
Their fortune changed for the better in December of that year. But it came as a result of a bit of ingenuity by the two. With only one camera and virtually no studio light or effect, they had to bring out the genius in them to ensure that they didn’t go out of business soon after they came into it.
Bada explained: “We didn’t have what it takes to start at the time. We didn’t have a studio light. All we had were one flash and a camera. We had to find a way of doing something unique. What we did was to do some tricks on the lens in order to make it look as if we had studio light. If you looked at our photos then, they looked soft. That was how we started. “
Whatever little money they made was quickly reinvested into the business. To acquire more sophisticated knowledge, they became avid readers of foreign magazines, from where they picked new ideas, settings and different backgrounds for photographs.
One major thing that contributed to their breakthrough was the location of the studio a few metres away from Methodist Girls’ High School and the popular All Saints’ Anglican Church. Le Fahts Fotografa offered a unique opportunity for young men and women seeking adventure to dash in and have a feel of the new studio.
Realising this unique opportunity, the two young men altered their mode of operation by opening their studio on Sundays. “We suddenly realised that we were wasting Sundays doing nothing. So we started to open between noon and 6 pm every Sunday. The December of that year was the breakthrough. People started coming with suitcases of clothes just to book photo sessions with families and loved ones.”
With the money came new innovations. A business that started a few months back without a fan could now boast brand new air conditioners and a new look office and studio. At a time, the two could no longer cope with the influx of customers, and had to give tally numbers to them.
Three years after their rough beginning, Le Fahts Fotografa took another giant step when it acquired a whole building a few streets away from the Yaba office. Not done with that, they opened another office on the popular Allen Avenue, then Ikoyi, before finally arriving in Abuja.
“After the customer base had grown, there was a need for expansion. So we got another office at Maye Street in Yaba. Other branches were later opened at Allen Avenue and Ikoyi to meet the demands of clients from those parts of Lagos.”
With the business base firmly assured, Alao Thomas took time off to study Law in the UK, leaving the running of the business to Segun Bada. After completing his studies, Alao Thomas came back to Nigeria, while Bada now went on a ‘Sabbatical’ to London.
His stay availed the two the opportunity to establish an office in London. “I went to London and stayed there for some time. I was there for about nine years. I have a studio there. As a matter of fact, my family members live in London,” Bada said.
A little less than three decades after the two brothers sought a way to drive their energies, what they thought would be a short romance with photography had grown into a huge company, with a clients’ base that include the crème-de-la-crème in the society.
Their clients include the Emir of Ilorin; PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; former governor of Kwara State, Mohhamed Lawal; former governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore; PDP chieftain, Bode George; Gani Fawehinmi; Godwin Abe; the Ibrus; Andy Uba and Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Kuforiji.
Sunmi Smart-Cole
Ace photographer, Sunmi Smart-Cole, was born on September 25, 1941, in Port Harcourt, to Nigerian-Sierra Leonean parents. He is well-known for his versatility. Although he is famous as a photographer, his love of music and fashion and other varied experience, including photo journalism, is acknowledged by the public.
Smart-Cole held his first solo exhibition at Stanford University, Stanford, California, in 1978. In December 1978, he was invited by the National Council for Arts and Culture to mount an exhibition at the National Arts Theatre, Lagos.
His love for photography came to the fore when at 17, he started training as an architectural draughtsman. The buildings he subsequently designed included the country home of Sierra Leone’s late Prime Minister, Sir Albert Margai.
Sunmi is also an accomplished soul music drummer and jazz percussionist. He taught himself to play trap-drums in 1964, by watching the then Fela Ransome-Kuti and his mother, Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti convert highlife drummer, John Okoh, into a jazz drummer. Smart-Cole used his laps as a drum.
He organised the first Nigerian Jazz Festival in 1964 at King’s College Hall in Lagos. In 1967, his barber shop, Sunmi’s Place in Yaba, was a trend-setting centre for the fashionable Lagos elite. In 1972, he went to the United States, where he worked as an electronic drafter and technical illustrator. His strong visual sense led him to embark on a photography course in 1976, at Foothill College in Los Altos, California.
In 1983, he became the first photo editor of the newly-established The Guardian newspaper, where his works were always a must-viewed by readers. Sunmi Smart-Cole has trained more than 30 photographers (free of charge).
His first book, The Photography of Sunmi Smart-Cole, with foreword by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was published by Bookcraft Ltd in collaboration with Daily Times of Nigeria in 1991.
TY Bello
Toyin Shokefun came into limelight as a member of the popular musical group, KUSH. Other members of the group were Lara Bajomo and Emem Ema. They were indeed Nigeria’s darling trio who took gospel music out of the church and into the mainstream in the early 2000s.
Today, the girls have become women and gone their different ways. Toyin Shokefun has metamorphosed into TY Bello and is now an internationally-acclaimed portrait photographer. The colours, shades and textures she captures in her photographs are all expressed in the way she handles the arts.
According to her, “art is about collecting experiences and expressing them. For me, music and photography are similar art forms. I collect experiences, stir them in myself and express them in my own language. Just like photography, music is my language.”
TY has proved that she is indeed a multifaceted young woman. She stages an annual photography exhibition to raise funds for orphans across the country. She is also a Director of Link-a-child; an NGO dedicated to propagating information on orphanages in Nigeria and soliciting sponsorship on their behalf.
As a photographer, TY Bello has captured presidents, governors, celebrities and socialites on the lenses of her camera.
Yetunde Babaeko
Born in 1978, Yetunde Babaeko studied art and design at Osnabruck, Germany. She currently lives and works in Lagos with her photo studio being one of the most professional in the region. Her work is emotional and touching, projecting women the way she sees them; strong, frightening and still elegant.
Kelechi Amadi-Obi
Kelechi Amadi-Obi is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kelechi Amadi-Obi Studios. He went into full-time photography and studio art shortly after obtaining a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and his call to bar in 1993.
The renowned professional photographer has earned respect of the international community with his outstanding photography and artworks.
His unique style and mastery of aesthetics and creative lighting in his paintings were reinvented in his photography to create dynamic and result-oriented imagery for his clients.
His clientele include Samsung, Guinness Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc, Globacom, Etisalat, The Ford Foundation, Forbes, Nokia, Diamond Bank, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, PZ Nigeria Plc,British American Tobacco, UBA, PrimaGarnet Ogilvy, SO&U, InsightGrey, Orange Drugs Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria Flour Mills, ex-international, Austin.J.J Okocha, music stars such as PSquare,DBanj,Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, to mention a few.
These include; “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium-2003, he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography- 2004, “Lagos” Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany- 2004, “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK- 2005, International Centre of Photography, New York, USA- 2005, “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography- 2006and “The Progress of LOVE”-Menil Collection, Houston 2012.
Amadi-Obi has over the years made a gradual transition from painting to photography and equally built a brand with his paintings through several exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. These include: “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium-2003; he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography- 2004; “Lagos” Ifa Gallery; Stuttgart, Germany- 2004; “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK- 2005; International Centre of Photography, New York, USA- 2005; “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography- 2006 and “The Progress of LOVE”- Menil Collection, Houston 2012.
In 2010, Kelechi established a publishing company, Mania Productions Limited, which publishes a fashion magazine, StyleMania. This magazine has become one of Nigeria’s top fashion magazines telling the stories of African women with style and creativity.
Udeme Robbin
Arguably one of the most successful entertainment photographers around, Udeme, popularly called Debbin in the Nollywood circle, started as an apprentice photographer with a Lagos-based photography outfit, USA Photo. He was introduced into entertainment photography by actor cum movie producer, Ikechukwu Ogunjiofor, in 1995. The thirst for education encouraged him to study photography at Yaba College of Technology. Apart from handling the location photography shoot for Nneka the Pretty Serpent and several other movie projects, his clients include top Nollywood actors and producers.
