Plaisir Muzogeye is the chief executive of Plaisir Pictures and a photojournalist whose love for photography can be traced from childhood. The 28-year-old had a chat with Sunday Magazine’s Sharon Kantengwa on his passion for photography.

When did you realise your passion for photography?

I can’t remember exactly, but as a kid, whenever I landed on a small camera I would try taking pictures. You know how kids tend to play with everything they get ahold of? I think my childhood obsessions were cameras.

What are some of the achievements you have had in this field?

Let me see… photography is the only job I do. It has enabled me to be who I am today; it puts food on my table, clothing in my wardrobe and small money for upkeep and to pay a few bills here and there. I don’t want to go into details regarding possessions and riches; I have a good job with KT Press, I am still working my way to where God wants me to be. But I am grateful with what I have already.

What are some of the bad experiences that you have had in this field?

Photography is really fun, but let me take you back few years when it was difficult for a photographer to carry a camera in public. I think, due to our history, people didn’t trust photographers and journalists in general. But the trust is growing. I remember being chased out of conference rooms a couple times with my camera. Thanks to media professionalism and access to information law, things have changed.

Another challenge is that our media is still growing, hence there were issues to do with professionalism in terms of practice and employment principles. But slowly, these issues are growing ‘weaker’ to stand the wave of professionalism.

What is the secret behind your creative photography?

I read a lot. I tend to follow a few concepts of renowned photographers to understand how they mastered their creativity to improve my skills. Truth is, before I leave for any event to shoot photos, I try to inform myself about that event and do some research on how best I can bring out the best of photos in that particular event. Wedding, showbiz, photography is totally different from news photography and other categories of photography. Therefore, this requires a lot of reading to help you bring out good angles and tell a good story. 

Who are some of the photographers that you look up to in this country?

I would say every photographer is unique in their own way and I like diversity.

Like I said, photography is broad and I want to learn every bit of it. This makes me look up to almost all senior photojournalists we have in Rwanda, really.

Why do you think we have few female photographers and what can be done to change that?

Like several other domains, girls have been playing catch-up; Historically, girls thought that men were meant to work and girls are just meant to grow and get married. But things have changed now and this is why we need more women in photography too. I think girls can thrive in this career because they have that natural ability to pay attention to details unlike men.

What are your future plans as regards your career?

Photography is my life and I’m so proud to say this wherever I go. This is the only job I intend to spend the rest of my life doing. I want to keep growing my skills, I want to keep discovering new things and improving. In so doing, I will be able to inspire a passionate generation of future photographers.

What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

Passion is the main pathway to success in whatever we do. When you have passion, then you are open to new things, you want to read and learn every day. Photography is a good career but you have to be practice patience and professionalism too.