Vestina Kalisa always loved posing for the camera, but later, she turned her hobby into a career in photography, which also satisfied her goal to be self employed. With a colleague, Alexander Tushabe, they own a photography studio called NIB Studio whose clientele list ranges from celebrities to ordinary people. They have worked with Miss Rwanda, various conferences, several fashion shows and wedding events.

The 26-year-old spoke to Women Today’s Sharon Kantengwa about her career.

Why photography and how did you start?

First of all, I didn’t want to be employed by someone else because I have always wanted to manage and monitor myself. I was lucky to meet my colleague who had the same vision, and because he already had the skills, he was able to teach me a few things. I was initially interested in being in front of the camera and taking pictures but I changed that to taking pictures instead. In the beginning, it was hard, as friends always discouraged me but if you are determined to pursue your goal, nothing can set you back.

I did not have enough money in the beginning and so we would hire cameras and save the money until we were able to buy our own cameras. We worked very hard to please our clients so we could get more and we invested the money into our business.

Did you receive any training for this kind of job?

I do online studies in photography but my colleague keeps training me because he pursued a course in photography and has the skills. Photography is a skill that is learnt everyday by practice, as new software, materials, and cameras keep coming up every day.

Would you recommend girls to join this line of work?

One of the advantages of working for yourself is that you can programme yourself. I go to school in the morning and in the afternoon I’m at work, and also have hours at night to rest. I have events to cover from Thursdays to Sundays and so sometimes I miss classes but I cover up for the lost time on Mondays. Photography is an art that should be learned every day. Girls shouldn’t be scared of anything as long as they want to achieve it. There isn’t any job that a man can do that a woman cannot; being a girl or woman shouldn’t scare them away.

How were you able to deal with competition within the market?

There are many misconceptions about photography. They think that photographers are always late and have no agenda. We have, however, been able to beat all that as we ensure that we keep time for any of our tasks. Even if it is out of this country, we make sure we are there on time. We also emphasise creativity to the maximum satisfaction of our clients. There are so many studios and photographers and so we have to make sure we do something different and better always. We also give our work enough time so as to give clients quality products.

We sometimes get so many bookings but we can only take up one in a day. It is better than having many clients for money’s sake and giving them poor quality.

What are some of your achievements so far?

For the four years since we started this business, we have managed to set up our own studio and buy the necessary equipment. We have also challenged the way people think about us here in Rwanda as there are people who look up to us for quality photography. On average, we take up to 10 clients a week. We were also able to open up a branch in the US.

Have you encountered any obstacles?

Yes we have. When we have weddings to cover it’s a bit difficult for us to do our work on our own pace. People want to teach us what to do because they do not trust our work and think that photography is a profession for men. However, if you’re focused on pursuing your passion, don’t mind them. Marketing is also a challenge as most people assume that we only work with celebrities.

What future plans do you have for your company?

We want to expand our business and employ more people, as well as have branches country wide and in neighbouring countries.

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PROFILE

Name: Vestina Kalisa

Age: 26

Profession: Co-owner and photographer at NIB Studio. 3rd year student at University of Kigali, pursuing Information Technology.

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