Abuja’s paparazzi fast money business

[SunNews]

By Kemi Yesufu

They might not wait at the doorsteps of celebrities like their Western counterparts do. But Abuja's army of photographers is always at doorsteps of event venues and they look every inch like the paparazzi.

They are neatly dressed with comfortable footwear that allows them move swiftly and, yes, they are armed with powerful cameras.

Maybe, you are new in Abuja or old but have been admiring these cameramen/women and you decide to give it a try for a living. You would be wrong. You don't just pick a camera across the shelf in a shop and head to a big event centre in the city and start clicking away. These paparazzi have their cliques, unions and rules to ward off gatecrashers and keep their business lucrative.

Creating the market

Thanks to the new found celebrity mentality, these days, no major event is complete without the presence of a barrage of photographers. In fact, many guests headed for events dress up nicely in order to take pictures, which most of them treat as memorabilia. "I hardly attend events without taking one or two pictures to remind me of where I went," said Ify Okeke, who spoke to Abuja Metro.

You won't find the paparazzi in the suburbs or at little known venues; rather, they have made topnotch event centers their workshops and galleries. It is quite noticeable; it is places like the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, the ball room of Nicon Luxury Hotel, Sheraton Hotel's Ladi Kwali Hall, the International Conference Centre (ICC) the NUC Secretariat, etc. that these photographers love to ply their trade. They also are a common sight at recreational centres, such as the Millennium Park and the Jabi Lake Park.

A nose for big events

It is quite amazing how the men and women of the camera know that big event would hit town, even when they aren't the official photographers. The secret to being at the right place has a lot to do with arriving early to work, said one of ICC's most trusted photographers, Chinonso Iwuji. "In order to get the clients when they are willing to take photographs, it is important that you arrive early. I come to ICC as early as I can because if I don't come on time people would have taken photographs and it won't make sense taking it over again," he said.

It is encouraging that with about 30 photographers registered at the ICC, the atmosphere among the men of the camera is quite decorous.

They are orderly, even when they jostle for customers. Despite this, Iwuji agrees that like in all human endeavours in which individuals compete for scarce resources, rivalries crop up. "Of course, there is rivalry among us. The only kind of business where you won't find rivalry is one that isn't yet created," the witty photographer posited.

Lucrative

According to Iwuji, photography business is lucrative. From the simple 5×7 sized pictures that go for N200 to framed photos that fetch up to N5000 to jumbo-size canvass portraits that cost as much as N50,000, operatives like our respondent have sold them all. They have also taken photographs of most of the famous and powerful individuals in the country and even a few international celebrities. But to succeed in this profitable trade, you have to be smart and quick witted. First you have to be one who sights the big fish, take a good shot, rush to the studio to get is printed and return just in time to convince the client to pay.

Making up for losses

Sometimes people refuse to pay for pictures. Some others remember they have a picture to collect when they are already gone home. But photographers have mastered the art of limiting their loss. "First, you don't print too many pictures and you chose those you make framed portraits for. It is from those framed or bigger sized photos, you cover for the losses. Then if you are lucky to see someone who orders for a canvass portrait, it will totally write off any loss even more and still return some good profit" Iwuji disclosed. He further noted that unsold photos are destroyed after some time.

Content with paparazzi

The hassles of the trade notwithstanding, Iwuji has no plans to look for another job. "I have no plans to go back to office jobs. I was paid N20,000 monthly in the first job I got as a fresh graduate, coming to Abuja. Each month, I spent N15 thousand on transportation. So, I resigned and got a job with a large departmental store. They paid me N50,000 monthly, yet I couldn't live comfortably on that salary. I remembered how much I made as photographer while in the university and I decided to go back to it. I have never regretted my decision to quit my second job, even when my bosses begged me not to because I make enough money to live a good life."

Just big boys

Iwuji has no time for those who look down on photographers. "Most of us here are big boys. We can afford to buy anything we want and we contribute to the welfare of our families. I was one of the best graduating students in my set but if I let that achievement guide my thinking, I won't be here today.  I don't know how you see it, but I don't believe that youths should wait on government to give them jobs.

We should be more innovative. We should learn to use our talents instead of looking for readymade jobs.  I feel bad when I see youths remain a burden to those who suffered to send them to school in the guise of looking for suitable jobs."

Women too

The guys aren't the only ones turning their talent into gold.

Innocentia Osang, one of Abuja's sought after event photographers, is a lady on a mission. Osang picked up photography when she couldn't find a job after graduating from the University of Calabar with a B.Sc. degree in Environmental Protection and Resource Management. "We did a lot of field work and we had to use pictures for our assignments. Again, my project had a lot to do with tourism and I took pictures as part of my project. That was how I got in contact with photography."

"When I finished school, I relocated to Abuja and after searching for job for some time, I thought of what I could do and I picked up photography when I realised that I could earn an income doing it. But before I started, I went for a three-month formal training," she said.

Osang has since convinced her parents that photography isn't for losers. But in the beginning, they didn't give their blessing. "My parents weren't disposed to my being a photographer.  To them, photographers are people,who hang around parties to snap people for a token. They wondered why a graduate would finish from school only to pick a career in freelance photography. But now, they have come around because they see that I am doing well and I have benefited a lot from what I do."

Indeed, Osang has travelled all round Nigeria just as she has been overseas, courtesy of her work as a photographer. "This business has exposed me internationally and locally. There is hardly any state I haven't been to in Nigeria. I have also covered events abroad," she said. The smiling lady is lucky to have a man, who is comfortable with her many travels. "I am fortunate that the person I am dating supports my career. He understands what my job entails, so he is always supportive. Sometimes when I meet with my male colleagues at events outside Abuja, they tease me that they wouldn't have supported my career if they were my partner."

Raising a family is on the cards for the lady photographer and she will still be doing her thing with the camera. "I will continue with this business when I marry. In fact, I would love to do it till I am grey."

Some people have accused top photographers like Osang of charging so much. She explained why such complaints arise. "Sometimes, when you go for a photo-shoot, the client can keep you working for hours and that is likely to affect how you bill him/her. Then you have to print and work on the format the photograph will be presented to the client."

Thanks to print technology

Despite her small stature Osang battles the boys for the good spots from where she can take pictures at events. But she confessed that she doesn't have any battle wounds because the guys have been nice. "Thank God that I have a smallish stature, so I just get space in front of the guys and I take shots. But most of the time, they treat me kindly because I am a woman." Things are even better at the labs where her work is processed. "At the photo lab, nobody is bothered about your gender. Once you drop your request, they work on it to ensure that they are ready when you come for collection."

But most of all, the reason the brand of photography booms is the technology advantage that make you get prints in colour just in hours. Some of them even come to the spots with mini printers that roll out Polaroid kind of print copies for immediate collection.

Via: Sun News Online