Nairobi Hustle: How I danced my way into photography – VIDEO
When Madjid Musellem first came into Kenya, he started earning a living through his dancing talent and slowly developed an interest in photography.
He would ask for training from event photographers who covered the gigs he used to dance in and one day he made an attempt to pull off a professional shoot with hired equipment.
Madjid volunteered to take professional photos of Miss Tanzania during her trip in Mombasa and the beauty queen agreed.
His first camera was a gift to him by the beauty queen who said she felt obliged to help the budding photographer start off his career.
That marked the start of Empire Photography Kenya, a company he has used to reach out to other young photographers.
BUDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
“I don’t see Empire as a local company. When I was recruiting for the first time, I went after budding photographers who needed an avenue and told them we needed to grow this empire together,” he told Nairobi News Hustle.
Madjid has managed to convince music promoters to allow him to be the official photographer during artists’ concerts and music tours.
“I have used Instagram in the past to reach out to event organisers and send them my portfolio. I have so far covered Diamond’s Naivasha Chrome Invasion party, Davido’s music concert and other big events that I got through Instagram,” he says.
As an avid social media user, he advertises his works online and even when he had saved enough to buy his first camera he sourced it via the internet.
“I am very daring and I believe in myself so whenever I hear an event is coming up I look for the organiser and send them my work. Even my individual clients find me through social media and so I live and eat on the internet,” he says.
Madjid, who has grown his company with no formal training armed with just a talent and a hustling spirit, urges young entrepreneurs to keep doing a good job and people will recognize their effort.
“It may take a long time before one can get those corporate clients but in the end those many proposals will bear fruit,” he says.