Interviews

Vendor Interview: Get to Know Klala Photography & Films

Klala is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, in the business when it comes to photography plus marketing that you’ll find in Nigeria. We have observed his work for sometime now, and we can certainly say so. If you are a bride or a photographer/videographer, you can benefit greatly from our interview with Klala and get great tips/lessons.

Tell us about yourself and your business

My name is Adebusoye Kunle. I hail from Ondo West local government area in Ondo State. I read accounting in University of Ado-Ekiti and served as a teacher in Adamawa State. Three months after my service year, I got my first job with aviation logistics of Virgin Atlantic at the international airport, Lagos and worked there for 2 years. I resigned and joined Virgin Nigeria’s ticketing department, when Virgin Nigeria started, and worked there for another 2 years. I resigned again to study photography in the US and then came back to Nigeria to start my business. I later went to London School of Photography to study advanced editing.

How did you start? What inspired you to get into the industry?

I didn’t just start now; I started a long time ago. I remember when I was in secondary school, my cousin wanted to have a party and I wanted to be the DJ, MC and photographer. I looked for a free camera to take the pictures and document the event. I couldn’t find one anywhere. Eventually, I used the money meant for my JAMB exam to buy a Fuji camera. I took all the pictures, printed them and they all came out good. My father was pissed when he found out that I didn’t enroll for JAMB that year. I thought I could raise the money through friends and family but I wasn’t able to.

In university, I was the social director of the student union government and my office organized Jambites Fiesta, Mr & Mrs Campus, Award Night, Most Beautiful Girl in Ekiti State and saw to the affairs of the campus social life. We also worked with the State indirectly. I remember when I won the election, my brother in the US who was coming back home had asked what I wanted and I said a digital camera. Then I had only heard about it, but haven’t touched it. He bought me a digital camera that uses a memory card. I documented all the events that I organized and took the pictures. So that was how I started and cultivated the idea of taking photos.

While working with Virgin at the International Airport and on night duty, I got someone in Texas to teach me how to edit videos on Adobe Premiere. I’ll spend two hours online with free internet. At a point in 2007, I went to London and got a Canon 7D camera. I then started shooting musical videos and learned editing from DJ T.

Would you start Klala Photography & Films if you were to do it all over again? What would you do differently?

Yeah, I would do it over and over again. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t have gone to school. Why didn’t someone just tell me to do this business. Going to school actually has contributed a lot to my business. While I was in school, I was well known and contested the first time for social director of the student union government and I lost gallantly. In my final year, I contested again and won unopposed. That process of campaigning, winning hearts and having people vote for you, made a lot of people to know me. It is the same name Klala that I answered then. Some people just call now and say “Oh Klala, are you from University of Ado-Ekiti?” and I say “yes”. Then, they say “Oh wow! You are the one that will cover my wedding”. The name still resonates and has been spreading for so long. If I have to do any business, it has to be this same business. It has been awesome.

What has been your greatest motivation?

It is my staff. I started as a business man and see myself as a business man. A business man will always care about the interest of the company, want to maximize profits and have the interest of his clients at heart. So I treat my clients with courtesy, respect and empathy. This keeps us going. I have a wonderful staff that works with me. My crew is number 1. I train them and they deliver well. This keeps me going and we are one family.

What do you think of the Nigerian/Ghanaian wedding industry? Has it changed over the years and how?

The wedding industry to me is the largest and fastest growing industry. Nigeria is always ahead of every country in Africa when it comes to social activities, entertainment and events. We’ve flown to different parts of Africa for events. They see us as a stakeholder, and always look forward to us and our trends.

What do you like about your business and working in the industry?

I like the fact that we do both photography and videography. I equally love videography and photography. We started shooting videos like documentaries, because I started with musical videos and then launched into wedding videos. It therefore has an influence in our wedding videos. We trim a lovely song and lay it in the background, and then get short clips aligned to make a story. I get inspired when I see great comments on social media platforms.

What differentiates Klala Photography & Films from others in your line of business and location? What are your greatest strengths?

The fact that I’m a business man. As the CEO, I love customer service. At Virgin, we went out every 3 months for customer service training. We did a lot of training. There, I learnt that if a customer mistreats you, you still have to apologize. If a customer complains, you look into it and fix it. For photographers who don’t have that background, it might be a problem. Great customer service is what I have passed on to my team and has helped the business.

What do you expect from your clients (brides and grooms)? What don’t you expect?

Every client can’t be the same. Some are rich, some are average and others are not. We have different packages that meet their demands and budgets. We are not meant for the wealthy, but for everyone.

We expect our clients to know that there is a lot that constitutes great pictures, like the cloth you wear and the makeup which transforms and makes one more beautiful especially on her wedding day. We expect you to get a good makeup artist. We expect you to look your best on your wedding or event day. We expect great ambiance for the venue. It all comes together to create good pictures. So we expect our clients to at least strive to make things work.

We don’t expect our clients to schedule us ahead of time as Nigerians are used to coming late. For example, your makeup starts at 8 am but you tell us to be there at 6 am. For us, when you say 6 am that is 6 am. We work like foreigners. When you give us a time of arrival, we make sure we arrive before that time.

You can imagine a wedding we had recently. We asked for the expected time of arrival, and the bride said 7 o’clock. For an engagement ceremony, I told her that it was too early. She said it wasn’t early and later agreed for 8:30 am. We got there before 8:30 am and the makeup didn’t start until 1:30 pm. That is terrible. Your photographer is already tired, hungry and can’t think. He is going to work till the event ends. So we don’t expect you to give us a wrong time.

What is/are the most rewarding aspect of providing your service? What is/are the most frustrating aspects?

The most rewarding is when we get calls from different parts of the world and the potential clients are so excited. There is also excitement when they check for availability and we tell them that we are available. When we deliver their jobs, the smile on their faces and the feedback that we get is always awesome.

The most frustrating aspect is when you are not ready and we have to wait for hours before we start shooting.

What advice can you give to brides/grooms?

It is very important to book your best photographer. It is very important to book not just your best photographer, but a professional photographer. It is very important to book not just a professional photographer, but a professional wedding photographer. The only thing you have to walk away with after your wedding, is your wedding album and videos after you have spent a lot on venue, decoration, makeup which you have to wash away, etc. You also keep your wedding ring. Your wedding pictures and videos will bring a lasting memory. From the pictures and videos you can tell who attended your wedding, especially since you won’t know all who did. My advice is to go for a professional wedding photographer and videographer because they capture great moments.

What advice can you give to up-and-coming businesses in your line of business?

You must have passion for what you are doing. When you have passion, then you will surely get it right. The beginning is always very tough. Before you are accepted by the social media people, bloggers and other vendors, it might take a while. Make sure you always do great jobs and be consistent. Never give up. It’s always tough at the beginning. Keep pushing hard. Never rush to become a millionaire. Build your brand and make sure you deliver quality jobs. It’s going to speak for you in the future.

What awards, if any, have you received?

I haven’t received any award but I was a panelist for the first and largest wedding event planned by Baileys and Bella Naija. I was also a panelist for Wed Expo, the largest wedding exhibition.

What else would you like to share with our readers?

It took me so many years to study in school. I graduated, got a job and was well paid. I went for my dream career. While studying accounting in University of Ado-Ekiti, I never really saw myself as an accountant. I dropped my work to study photography abroad, because I believe in myself and that I would make it in this life. My advice for those that think they have a passion for something, is it is not late and can never be late. Start building interests, make inquiries, and start building your profile. Start something. We are going to be great and make our country great. Thanks.

VISIT Klala Photography & Films on Iludio

Related Posts