Behind the LENS: Discussions on Photography: Recent Episodes
Savannah Kagiri
Savannah Kagiri goes deeper with photographers on life, growth, and the business of photography.
Behind the LENS focuses on demystifying the growth process of the photographer through candid conversations on the start, highs, lows, and goals of people at different stages of this journey.
Join us every week for these conversations.
Paul Otieno, a.k.a Paulshinski, is a commercial and advertising photographer with experience in food, drinks, and product photography. He is the creative director at Silverball Africa, and a director of the Kenya Film Classification Board.
In this first part, of a two-part conversation, Paul shares the backstory of the different mediums he used to learn photography, including the mentors that guided him through his learning journey. He shares tips on what an upcoming photographer should do to push forward their photography career or body of work. Additionally, he discusses the importance of finding your niche.
Find out more about Paul here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paushinski/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-otieno-bb28921b2/
Derrick Milimo is an indepenent portrait and documentary photographer. He is focused on social, environmental and cultural issues in Kenya.
In this episode, Derrick shares with us the story of how he transitioned from his job as an accountant to being a full-time creative entrepreneur. He breaks down what led him to this shift, as well as the ups and downs of plunging into creative work. He also guides us through what inspired his works portraying daily life in the Kenyan world.
You can find out more about Derrick here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derrick_milimo/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-milimo-446904a8/
Website: https://www.derrickmilimo.com/
Aisha Wanjiku is a Kenyan still and wildlife photographer. An entrepreneur who started her business at the age of 7, Aisha spends her time creating beautiful jewellery and beautiful images. She is also the founder of Kingdom Business Solutions - Youth. In this conversation, Aisha shares what sparked the entrepreneur in her and what got her into photography at the very beginning. She shares with us her photography growth journey, which she attributes both to passion and being able to learn from more experienced creatives. Over time, she's explored different kinds of photography, which includes her work Mwili Wangu Sio Pole (My Body is Not an Apology). You can check out Aisha here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaa_ciku/
In this episode, Marvin Mwaura shares with Savannah how he got into portrait photography and what it took to grow himself as a freelancer. He shares on networking with people and maintaing the right impression with them, as well as why you should take on free jobs and how to choose which kind is right for you. Marvin shares tips on techniques he implements in his photography, including directing models. He also shares his experiences and the in-and-outs of what it takes to grow a portrait photography career in real life.
You can see his work on:
Instagram - @Marvinmwaura - https://www.instagram.com/marvinmwaura/
Background Music By: Baraka Munene
This episode is with Biko Macoins, also known as @slumphotography on Instagram. He is a photographer who captures the stories of the people living within the Kibra community. He is committed to respectfully capturing their experiences and lives in a true to life manner, outside the preconceived narrative that many have towards the Kibra community.
Biko is also an award-winner, having won Most Influential Personality (2014) and Best Photographer in Africa (2015). He shares his thoughts on finding inspiration in other's work, appreciating the space you're in, and viewing photography as an ongoing learning process. Additionally, he shares on his initiative "Piga Picha Mtoi Asome" (Take a picture, Educate a child), which is focused on ensuring that children are able to complete their secondary education. He hopes that he can enable young people to have a voice, outside the shadows of others.
You can check out his work on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slumphotography/
Background Music By: Baraka Munene
Big News!
We've changed our podcast title to "On the LENS: Discussion on Photography".
To kickstart our second season, Savannah sits with Margaret Njeri, aka Sherie. She is an award winning photographer, having won the pan-African Mask Prize in creativity in 2019. She is also a filmmaker and an all around artist, who is passionate about communicating important messages with the art that she creates.
In this conversation, they discuss how Sherie creates awareness on mental health and explores the struggles women deal with through her photography. Sherie also shares on how she got started in photography, as well as how the other art forms she applies have influenced her photography.
You can check out more of her work on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherie_margaret_ngigi/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-njeri-ngigi-29861a153/
Siva Balendra shares on his experiences travelling around the world, taking beautiful photos.
In this episode, David dishes to Savannah all the details about his journey into the world of food photography. Though David didn't start out as a photographer, his passion for food pushed him into it. His blog, House of Tasty by DK, inspired him to learn how to showcase his own food creations in fresh and creative ways. He shares with us some of the creatives that influenced his work and what the photography learning journey looked like for him. Using what was easily available to him, David courageously stepped into the unfamiliar world of photography.
* This episode was recorded in March, 2021.
You can check David's work out on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkinyanjuii/
House of Tasty by DK: https://davidkinyanjui.com/
In this episode, Savannah and Jik get into implementing the concepts we come up with once we've got that great idea. What then? How do you make your idea a reality? He shares a story of one of his projects and how he implemented it. (You can check that project out here: https://www.jikreubenvisuals.com/blog/behinditallherjourney) In this conversation, there are also tips on how to do portrait photography, including how to help your clients get comfortable in a photography session. Jik also shares some of the highlights and low points in his life and career and how he navigated each of those points in his life. Listen in on the conclusion of this two-part series with Jik-Reuben Pringle!
You can check Jik-Reuben and his work out on the following links. Website- http://www.jikreubenvisuals.com/ Instagram- http://www.instagram.com/jikreuben
Jik-Reuben Pringle is an experienced photographer based in Kingston, Jamaica. His expertise branches across portraiture, event, and food photography, to name a few. He has also lectured on photography at the University of Technology, Jamaica, and has spent 9 years documenting artistes in the reggae music industry. As you can imagine, this conversation has a lot of great learning points! For this reason, there are two parts to it. Each one covering his story and a wide range of other topics. In this episode, Savannah and Jik-Reuben discuss how idea creation for concept shoots, finding the balance between the art and science of photography, and the process of implementing your concepts.
You can check Jik-Reuben and his work out on the following links. Website- http://www.jikreubenvisuals.com/ Instagram- http://www.instagram.com/jikreuben
In this episode, Savannah sits down with Robert Opiyo, an experienced photographer and videographer, whose work has been featured on major platforms such as BBC and ESPN, to name a few. In this conversation, Robert gives us tips on how to deal with clients, how to get your photography work out there for people to see, and the challenges of being a creative.
You can check him out on:
Instagram: @robertopiyocreatives and @drink.co.ke
In this conversation, Simbolei shared with us about starting out on photography, his most challenging moments, and how his love for sports translates in his photography.
You can follow him on:
Instagram- @sim_jesse
Listen in on this conversation with Meshak Mwangi, who's been in photography for more than 10 years. He is an event photographer and passionate about the arts. In this talk, he shared with us his story, tips on how to start out as photographer, including why you shouldn't call yourself a freelancer, and how to ask the right questions when talking with a client. This episode is jam-packed with valuable information.
You can check him out on:
Facebook and Youtube- The EventsGuru
Samora shares on her journey and her experience as an infant photographer.
To check out her work, you can look her up:
Facebook and Instagram- @cuddlecaptures
LinkedIn- @Samora Michelle
Behind the LENS is a podcast focused on discussing the life of the photographer. In these conversations, we will unwrap the process of growing in photography, the how-to of business, and so much more. Episodes will be premiering every week.