MCM: VISIONARY PHOTOGRAPHER , JAMES EMMANUEL

Hola mi Familia! Hows everyone doing? Today we have an amazing photographer who is one of the three founders of 'Ordinary and Art', a creative  establishment that aims at uniting fashion and photography. *Drumroll* Our man crush is the one and only James Emmanuel.

Oh by the way the first three words in this post mean 'Hello my family' but you probably figured that out already. Enjoy :)

Hi James!

1)      Why did you choose photography as a career path and is there any other career path you wish to follow in future?
JE: I choose photography because it feels good to capture moments and tell stories with your photographs and getting paid to do what you love is just a cruise. For the future, i plan on delving into full media, from photography to videography.

2)      Tell us about one of the most inspiring moments you've ever had (what happened and why it inspired you?)
JE: One of my most inspiring moment was when one of my mentors commended my works and told me his story of where he started from, what he had to do to get to where he is. It made me realise that there is a process and you have to endure through the process to attain the height you have set for yourself.

3)      If you could remove one thing from the photography (creative) industry, what would it be?
JE: What I would remove is the lack of diversity. This has affected a lot of creatives; they have mentors and they want their works to look exactly like them. Now everyone has their own style so every creative should strive to achieve his/her particular style to make them stand out.

4)      What's one thing you hope to have done in the next five years?
JE: In the next 5 years, I hope to have completed my masters degree in photography and would have began my media agency. oh and yeah gotten married *winks

5)      Roughly, how many hours do you work for daily?
JE: It depends on the workload, some days I have jobs that take the whole day, sometimes I have a truckload of pictures to edit, and some days I am just chilling *smiles

6)      Tell us a  very important lesson you’ve learnt from photography that actually applies to real life.

JE: One lesson I have learnt in photography is valuing yourself. No one would value you as much as you value yourself. If you have a strong value system, you tend to be more respected.

7)      One quality you admire about yourself? 
JE: One thing I admire about myself is being able to meet people and make them feel good about themselves. I hear people say I have a sanguine personality.

 8) A typical fun day for you   would be made up of what? 
JE: A typical fun day would be having an open studio session with friends, playing videos games and eating pizza and icecream.

9)     What's on your mind this Monday?

JE: Whats on my mind? planning to make this new week very productive.

Stay Inspired!

(Is there anyone you'll like me to interview? Comment below and you can be sure I'll be working on it soon.)


A FEW PHOTOS BY Ordinary &Art

WCW: TV HOST, IDIA AISIEN

Hi guys, It's a bright and awesome Wednesday here on the blog hehe. Today's interview will be of great importance to anyone trying to make it in the media industry as our woman crush  is someone who has made it in that industry and also at a relatively young age.

I'm glad I could have a chat with her and even happier that she opened up so warmly. You guys will get to know more about her story, her motivation and even funny camera moments she's had.

Our WCW is the delectable Idia Aisien!!! (I'm too excited) 

1) You are a TV presenter and a model, how did you know that this was a career path you wanted to take? 

IA: I have a lot of experience in the corporate sector, but everything I've done has always brought me back to TV and fashion--that's how I know it was meant to be. I dreamed about walking on the runway since I was 15 years old, but I didn’t think it was possible, because immediately after being signed to Beth Models I moved to the US to start uni. One day, I was at a job interview in Brooklyn, New York, when a friend called and asked me to come straight to Jovani Headquarters in Midtown. This friend had told a buyer –who was one of Jovani’s biggest retailers in Nigeria—that a girl she knows wants to model more than anything in the world, and the buyer asked her to invite me. When I met the buyer, she asked me to try on a red dress, and I hesitated, but she insisted. A talent scout also objected, because I was not a professional model. When I walked out of the changing room with that dress on, I was hired on the spot. And the rest is history. I went on to model with them for over a year, and the amount of exposure I got allowed me to book a lot of other fashion jobs concurrently.

As for television, I eventually started working for an investment bank in NYC for over a year before deciding to make a short trip to Lagos with my job. Within two weeks of being here, a TV producer approached me with an idea for a show, called You Got Issues – which caters to working through people’s career, love and relationship issues—and within a month, I was asked to start hosting Style 101. Everything was surreal to me until I got back from the Investment Bank one day (six months later) and I saw You Got Issues airing-I knew that it was destiny and I was meant to work on television. Everything.

 

2) What has the media journey been like so far for you?

IA: My journey has been such a blessed one, and I didn't think I'd come this far in such a short time. I don't go on roller coasters, but I imagine this is what it feels like! 

3) Please tell us about one of the lowest points in your life and how

you dealt with it?

IA: When I started out in the media two years ago, I was very open, but quickly had to realize that in this industry there are very few friends, and being in the media makes me more accessible for criticism. I've simply dealt with that by being more withdrawn from the "fluff" and by pouring my heart into my work.

4) What one motto/Philosophy do you live by?

IA: Never wait for people to help you become successful, because when you are successful everyone will want to help you.

5) Tell us some of the funniest things that have happened to you on set?

IA: I had made a blooper once and my team thought it was funny to create a meme and Krackstv-type video on it. I never recovered and I make fewer grammatical errors while presenting now (LOL)

6) What’s the sweetest thing a fan has ever done for you?

IA: I know a girl called Nonye who literally prays for me, checks on me all the time, posts so many uplifting things about me. Sometimes I have no strength and she doesn't realize that her kindness carries me-- she is the sweetest and most selfless person I have ever met.

7) What moment would you describe as that breakthrough moment in your career?

IA: There have been too many! My Genevieve editorial that went viral, My exclusive with India Arie, my odd but interesting fashion moments.

8) What advice will you give to someone out there trying to pursue a

career in media?

IA: Just go for it, head on!! But it's always good to have a solid plan and substance, because that's the only way to stay relevant.

9) What’s on your mind this Wednesday.

IA: well, I just heard a motivational speaker say that you must "Always shift your focus from pain to purpose." Good vibes only! Anything is possible!!

You can reach Idia here:

Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/doctoridia/?hl=en

Twitter-https://twitter.com/idiaaisien?lang=en

That's it guys!

Stay inspired.

How I Went Back to School on Friday courtesy the British Council

What is school without a face beat? Face beat by Makeup By Mogizzie

On Friday the 3rd of November, I went back to school, all thanks to the British Council.

I eagerly applied for the Media Workshop organised by the British Council when I found out about it and was happy to have been accepted. It was a Capacity Building Workshop that held at Radisson Blu between 9a.m and 4pm. We started on time... that was impressive. And not only that but the facilitators ensured each course was covered within the time frame allotted to it. It meant we were able to wrap at 4pm as planned.

The workshop covered various courses including Conflict Sensitive Journalism (Lauratu Umar Abdusalami), Collaborations in the Media Space, (Peter Okwoche), Online Content Optimisation for Journalists (Abasiama Idaresit), and my personal favourite- Personal Branding for Journalists.
The course on personal branding was taken by Lampe Omoyele from 141 Worldwide and Lucent Consulting Company and touched on what a brand was, why it is important to brand yourself, and things to consider when doing so. I asked a question about how to brand yourself when you have different interests and he advised me on that directly.

With Lampe Omoyele

During the full workshop session, we also took a test and worked the room asking people questions like, "Do you sing in the shower?" and "Have you ever stroked a lion?"
(Yes and No for me in case you are wondering). Harry Itie of TVC and Emeka Okocha of NothingToDoInLagos were also at the event and we caught up on what we had been up to.

After tea-breaks, classes, networking, lunch, questions, answers and pictures, we received our certificates.

It was a great learning experience with the opportunity to learn something new (especially for Child Protection and Coverage in the media), and also to re-learn things I knew before (like effective use of Social Media as a Journalist).