Now CEO of Klala Film and Photography, Kunle Adebusoye was not a regular ‘village boy’ from Ondo West local government area in Ondo State. He showed incredible interest in show business and photography as a secondary school teenager.
In his attempt to pursue his passion for photography, he bought a Fuji camera—his first camera—with money meant for his JAMB exam. Though this decision did not sit well with his father at the time, he is today, one of the big names changing the photography business in Nigeria.
Starting out with a boy’s ambition, Adebusoye launched into the creative sector fully in 2010; focusing on weddings and events, and has since been successful in establishing himself as a go-to photographer for wedding shoots and event coverage.
With the introduction of digital photography, the photography business in Nigeria has become one of the most lucrative businesses today because digitalised pictures and videos are now in demand.
The business is constantly growing because more young Nigerians are trooping into the sector due to its relatively easy nature of starting.
The Digital Photography Global Market Outlook report put the value of the global digital photography market at $79.12 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $149.98 billion by 2026 growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4 percent during the forecast period.
While there is scant data on the size of the sector in Nigeria, there are thousands of photographers in Lagos alone, and around 20, 000 events take place in the city monthly.
Some of the key factors influencing the market growth include increasing demand for smartphone penetration and rising interest in photography. But sustainability is still a challenge.
Adebusoye said photographers go through a lot to sustain their businesses, adding that growing a business in Nigeria is tough.
To illustrate this point, he argues that many photographers whom he loved, look forward to meeting, and, when he came into the wedding and event industry have gone out of business.
“Today,” he said, “they are nowhere to be found and this is a source of concern.”
He listed government policies and bureaucracy as part of the problems associated with businesses being unable to thrive in Nigeria.
With increased interest in the sector, the photography and creative space is getting more saturated almost on a daily basis, hence to survive and be sustainable; photographers will need some technical and interpersonal skills.
He adds that they will need to learn more, and develop a culture of listing out things and face them squarely to get them done.
He also admonished photographers to pay attention to professional customer service, as this is one of the things that has helped his business and made him stand out.
“Because the photography business is a very lucrative one, many people just jump into it. [They need to] understand that customers are the backbone of any business and without them, the business might collapse,” he said.
Speaking on the significance of pursuing your passion, he emphasised the significance of education but said young Nigerians should find where their passions lie and start making profit from it.
In addition, he said they should start thinking of being entrepreneurs or owning a business while in school by learning a skill.
This counsel stems from his undergraduate days when, as social director, he organised events in the university including The Most Beautiful Girl in Ekiti State, sponsored by Cocacola, and received state-wide recognition.
After his first degree in Accounting from the University of Ado-Ekiti, he went to study photography in the US and then came back to Nigeria to start his business. He later went to London School of Photography to study advanced editing.
Admitting that photography is a very lucrative business, he advised starters to get the training from the best to avoid looking for where to train from the beginning again, noting that training from the best automatically makes them part of the best as they will likely emulate their tutors.
While also urging starters to have mentors who will help them evolve at various levels, he restated the need for excellent customer service.
“Have a good customer sense, understanding that customers are everything, they are the ones paying your bills and the more you treat them right, the more they tell others about the quality of your work and services. Learn more, do more research and you will thank me later,” he said.
