Listening to Rema – Spaceship Jocelyn
APH – Hey Guys, we have with us here another amazing photographer, tell us what’s your name? where are you from? Where did you grow up?
Olawale Oladele – “Thank you for having me APH, I’m so happy to be here, My Name is Olawale Oladele, I’m from Abuja ,Nigeria , I grew up mostly in Abuja. Although i spent a few years of my childhood in Ibadan another city in southwestern Nigeria”.
APH – You grew up in Abuja? I also grew up in Abuja been here most of my life, but anyways, we can all see Photography is clearly a big part of your life. What were the steps you took to get you to where you are now in the world of photography?
Olawale Oladele – “Well I started out designing and animating photorealistic scenes in 3d using cinema 4d and Arnold because i was previously a 3d designer but i’ve always had a great love for photography and when i finally had the opportunity to start my photography career i had a lot of knowledge from my previous career that carried over perfectly into photography.
APH – Wow that’s so nice. How long have you been a photographer since you decided to switch career?.
Olawale Oladele – “I like to think that Ive been a photographer for the past seven years hahaha but to really answer your question, I’ve being a photographer for the past three years”.
APH – Three years? that’s something, Did you have it easy when you started?
Olawale Oladele– “Uhmm no i definitely didn’t have it easy on all fronts. When i first started, on the creative and technical front even though i had a lot of theoretical and a little bit of practical knowledge/experience from my previous career, i still had a lot of trouble translating that knowledge into this new medium of creativity and on the business front, figuring out a way to be creative and still appeal to commercial clients wasn’t easy and is still something i struggle with till this day”.
APH – I pray you figure out that part, are you self-taught? Or did you learn under someone? {If you were self-taught, how was the experience? If you learned under someone how was the experience}
Olawale Oladele – “I’m completely self taught, the experience was fun, messy and frustrating and ultimately i believe rewarding because i’ve been able to develop a style and sensibilities that i believe are relatively free of influence {Not that i would so arrogant as to say that my work is wholly unique, i just believe a part of me shows up in my work}”.
APH – What niche of photography are you into?
Olawale Oladele – “I always say i’m a Fashion, Commercial And Fine Art Photographer i believe this three niches complement each other well and i’ve always had an affinity towards them”.
APH – Why did you choose to pick that Niche?
Olawale Oladele – “I always knew i wanted to take pictures of people be it documentary or portrait and i settled on portrait, i also wanted to do work that i’ll allow me to be creative and the two niches; Fashion and Fine-art fulfill these desires really well and while i love commercial work too, a larger part of the motivation for this was economic
APH – Show us your 5 favorite pictures you have ever taken
Olawale Oladele – I wouldn’t say these are my absolute favorites but if i had to choose, I’ll choose these and Apologies for the unorthodox method.
APH – How do you come up with such amazing concepts for your photos? Is there a mood you to be in to achieve such concept?
Olawale Oladele – “I’m usually deeply inspired a lot by the works of photographers i look up to both the contemporary and the old masters and other times i have messages i like my work to pass along; ideas, concepts and messages that are important to me”
APH – Do you think gear matters in photography?
Olawale Oladele – “I think Gear matters to a certain point and not so much after that level, there are certain technical aspects of gear that can affect the quality of a photographers work but this should not be an excuse not to do, just an acknowledgement of the limitations so one can find the workarounds until one gets to the place where you have that well rounded knowledge that doesn’t let you down in any scenario”.
APH – What gear did you start with during the genesis of your photography journey ?
Olawale Oladele – “I started out with a sony A7ii and a kit lens which i still use now albeit with 24-70 f4 and a godox AD600 light which i still have today”.
APH – Where is your studio located or where are you based?
Olawale Oladele – “My Studio Is located in Abuja and i’m also based in Abuja”.
APH – Do you travel a lot because of work?
Olawale Oladele – “Yes although not so much in recent times because the majority of my clientele is within the city”.
APH – Do you have any influences? By that i mean do you have any artists, photographers, and people etc. that have really made an impact on your work?
Olawale Oladele – “I have a lot of influences from different fields of creativity though the most prominent are photographers and artists specifically painters, just to mention a few in photography Steven Klein, Annie Liebovitz, Lindsay Adler, Nadine Ijewere, Raphael Paverotti and from traditional art i always try and incorporate in my work the lighting style of caravaggio my favorite artist although i haven’t quite achieved it yet”.
APH – Do you ever get insecured or dissatisfied with a particular shoot?
Olawale Oladele – “After every shoot because I always feel it does not match the mood board I created for the shoot although I’m working on getting better at allowing my own vision to come through and being proud of it”.
APH – Do you have any bad experience or awesome moments you would love to share throughout your years as a photographer?
Olawale Oladele – “Uhm probably but i really cant pick one right now”.
APH – Is there something you really want to achieve in the world of photography?
Olawale Oladele – “Yes Right now i’m absolutely enthralled with photobooks and for now thats one thing i would be so happy to be able to able to do and i’m currently working towards it”.
APH – Do you ever turn down jobs? If yes, why?
Olawale Oladele – “Uhm I would like to especially when it doesn’t allow for creativity i.e when the clients are looking for a technician as opposed to a creative, though a more pragmatic and prudent look on my current stage in my career does not allow for that”.
APH – So far has it been easy being a photographer in your country?
Olawale Oladele – “Definitely hasn’t been easy and i could go on and on about it, cost of the gear is exorbitant, the industry in my country is way more network (who you know ) heavy than i believe in other countries though working through these challenges is something i’ve resolved to do long ago”.
APH – Do you have any advice to anyone starting out as a photographer?
Olawale Oladele – “Yes of course, keep going. I know it’s difficult and it’s challenging but there’s a reason why not everybody walks the path you’ve chosen and if you’ve determined that it means alot you then the key advice is to keep going”.
Then secondly Learn the fundamentals, the rules, when to break the rules, learn from masters, learn from photographers whose work inspires you, analyze their works and also seek out those photographers that are doing the work at the highest levels, all in all be a voracious consumer of knowledge both visual and theoretical.
And last but not least Practice, try things out experiment and see how things turn out.
The 54th 