Expert Interview: Lola Akinmade

Transcription

1 Laurence: Welcome to the Superstar Blogging Photography Course with myself, Laurence Norah, from the website findingtheuniverse.com. Today I'm thrilled to be interviewing Lola Akinmade Ãkerström. Lola is a professional photographer and travel writer whose work is featured in, and this is a very long list, National Geographic Traveler, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel and Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Lonely Planet, Fodor's, National Geographic Channel, a whole pile of inflight magazines, New York Times, and it goes on from there. Lola has also taught photography and won numerous awards for her work. Lola, in your own words, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? And also thanks very much for joining us. Lola: Well, thanks for having me. I am a self-taught travel photographer based in Stockholm, Sweden. As you said, I also work as a travel writer. One of the things I focus on is I do a lot of kind of environmental portraits. I choose to focus on people, their cultures, their lifestyles, as well as their relationship with food and their environment. That's kind of where I focus my work mostly on. Laurence: That's brilliant for my point of view because so far I've interviewed people who focus more on landscape stuff or architecture. Having that perspective is really interesting. How did you get started if you're self-taught? How did that journey go? Lola: Well, I think I actually remember the precise moment and this was in So a long time ago, but I was volunteering with an expedition where you set a time called the Eco Challenge. One of my tasks was to write stories about what was going on during this expedition race in Fiji. I had my little 35mm Kodak camera with me. I was running around Fiji taking pictures and when I developed them there was something that I felt at that moment and I knew that this was what I really wanted to do. I wanted to explore the world and tell stories through photography. So coming back home, that's when I kind of started that track towards where I am now.

2 Laurence: Where would you identify yourself now? Where are you now? From 2002 to today, what's changed? Where are you now? Lola: So where I am now is I am grateful to be a working travel photographer. So what I've done is from then to now have evolved in terms of figuring out my own style because again, that's very important. And it's very important to start trying to figure it out early on. When I first started out I wanted to be everything to everyone because I thought that's what you had to be as a travel photographer. You have to go and shoot everything and anything you see. Over time I realized I wasn't being true to what drew me about a place. About why I really like to travel. And like I said, for me it's more like the people and culture and listening to their stories and learning about their lifestyles. So what I did was I started focusing my photography around that realm and then was able to tell stories, the stories I wanted to tell, through my work and that kind of lead me to the right publications that fit my own style as well as the right forums for sharing my own style of photography. So that focus is kind of what has helped me come this far along from being a generalist to actually saying, you know what, this is not going to work, just being a general photographer, but actually finding a niche, on focusing and specializing is what has helped me come to this point. Laurence: Absolutely. I've been to a few conferences on both travel blogging and photography and certainly one of the things people talk about, when it comes to writing, is the importance of finding a niche. I guess what you're saying is it's the same in photography? Lola: Yeah, it really is and of course it doesn't mean you can't shoot anything and everything. You know that, you're a professional photographer, but I think it's, once you start figuring out what it is you're trying to say through your photography, it's usually not general. It's actually a specific type of message you're trying to communicate. So it's really important for photographers to start finding that out, figuring it out early on. Of course it's going to change over time as you evolve, as you become more experienced, as you're open to more environments. But for the most part, knowing what it is that naturally draws you is important. [ superstarblogging.com ] 2

3 Laurence: Okay. So for those people who are listening who might be thinking, how do you tell a story with a photo? Could you maybe elaborate, maybe with an example or what you mean by that? Lola: Okay. So, and again, I'm going to take this back to people photography because that's what I really love to do. So I love being around people and I love listening to their stories and for me it's very important to portray the person first so you as a viewer connect with the person. So it s maybe through their eyes, through their disposition. But what I want is for people to connect with the person first before judging them by their environment in the photo. A way you could tell a story in a photo and this is what I always say is, there are five kinds of questions a photo needs to answer. What is it about? Who is it? Where is it? Any details? And the context. The more of those answers a single photo can answer; the more you're telling a story in that photo. What I mean is, for example, if I had a photo of, maybe, female fishmongers, carrying fish across a jetty. The element I put or choose to put in that photo can tell the story. It puts them in a place. It puts them in a context. It puts them in a time of day. It just tells a lot. So if your photo can answer those questions, the more of those five questions your photo can answer, the more of a story you can tell. It's a really strong photo, if you get what I mean. Laurence: I do, yes. I think actually one of my favorite series of photos that you've done is you went to the Seychelles. Which, I'm from the Seychelles, people may not realize this, but I really loved how you captured the people of the islands. I thought that was a really fantastic series of photos you did. Lola: Thank you. Laurence: What would you say your biggest struggle is - or has been - in your photography journey? [ superstarblogging.com ] 3

4 Lola: Well, the biggest thing is, because you know it is a shifting landscape from print to digital to social media. What has been a struggle is, nowadays success as a photographer is often been being defined by your following. How big your social media following is or how many...and so that can be challenging for someone like me who actually got on those social media channels like Instagram and Pinterest a little bit later in the go. But at the same time, on the flip side, it's also been very important for photographers to build their own individual brands to use social media, to build their followings because the traditional media outlets are getting squeezed. It's getting harder and harder to place photography in a print magazine. So that's kind of the challenge in that landscape because it's shifting and what you want to do is, you don't want to lose your individual voice in that shifty landscape, but at the same time you don't want to be left behind by trends, in terms of what mediums or platforms people are using to share their work and their photography. Laurence: Speaking of social media, there seems to be a new platform launching every day. Which platforms do you focus on and think are most important for people to focus on as a photographer? Lola: I think the two most important ones right now are Instagram and Pinterest, because they're just very visual. Of course there are other more niche platforms like 500px, PhotoShelter, that are more designed to photography or professional photographers, but Instagram and Pinterest are the ones photographers need to start looking at because a lot of photo editors regularly scan these forums for new talent. So that's a way for you to actually be noticed or be picked up. Again, these platforms allow you to build your own brand as well as develop your own independent community. I think those are the ones that people need to focus on. For example, I know a few talented photographers who I used to teach in a previous online program and are now very, very successful on Instagram with thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. Again, using those platforms to build your brand, that's where you should be looking. [ superstarblogging.com ] 4

5 Laurence: And how do suggest people go about doing that? Lola: For me, like I said, I got onto Instagram train pretty late and as of this conversation have maybe 2,000 followers. I'm not the best authority on Instagram. I would say just, there are so many resources out there that show you how to use Instagram creatively and smartly to promote your work, to build your profile. For me right now, I actually use my own Instagram account as a creative test bed. What I do is I do a lot of picture puzzles and that's for me to teach me and to keep me sharpening my composition skills because breaking up one photo into six different photos means each of those six photos has to be able to stand on its own. For me, you have to figure out how you want to use Instagram for your own brand. For me, I use it mostly for testing out composition and just a creative platform. Others use it to just to showcase their very best work. Again, you as a photographer you need to start figuring out how you want to present your brand to the world. Laurence: And how can people find you on Instagram? Lola: I Laurence: Okay, we'll go through all your social media handles at end of your interview as well. Maybe you'll get a few more followers from here. People can see you testing out your creativity. Which, I think you deserve a lot more followers than that, definitely. Lola: Thank you. Laurence: So you used to teach photography. Is that something you still do? [ superstarblogging.com ] 5

6 Lola: No, I don't. I do get s once in a while, people asking for advice and I do mentor, but it's not something I actively do now. It's something that I would love to do as part of the many projects I'm working on. I would love to do more workshops. Maybe lead some travel photography tours. So there, it's something I would love to do a lot more down the road. Laurence: Okay. I think what people are probably going to be most interested in from this is your association with National Geographic, which is, in many people s minds, the pinnacle of photography these days. Can you sort of elaborate a little bit on that and what sort of work you do for them? Lola: Yes. I am currently represented by National Geographic Creative. National Geographic Creative is the commercial photo agency of the brand. So what they do is they're representative of 360, 380 photographers around the world who are scouted and recommended. So there isn't an application process unfortunately. One of the requirements is that those photographers that they represent have already contributed to the brand in some way in the past to be considered. One of the things that we do with the agency is, what the agency does is, in addition to selling our images from their archives, they also pair us up with commercial brands for innovative partnerships. I just have a little bit more. How I got in was I'd already at that time contributed several photos to Traveler magazine in the US and the UK and right now I am a contributing photographer for Travel in the UK. I received an one day out of the blue from a producer who was working on this collaboration on South African tourism and National Geographic Channel. He had seen one of my photos in the magazine and had tracked me down. Long story short I got signed up to film this commercial partnership to promote South African tourism on the National Geographic Channel. And that aired across the globe. And then after the assignment they were the ones, National Geographic Channel that recommended me to National Geographic Creative to get signed on. So that's kind of how I got in. Laurence: If we could just go back a step. How did you get those photos into National Geographic Traveler in the first place? [ superstarblogging.com ] 6

7 Lola: Yes. By being tenacious. I'm just pitching and pitching and pitching. One of the things I realized early on is we are all scared of rejection, right? Once you get that first rejection that kind of sucked the wind out of me. But one thing I realized is, what's that worst that could happen? Even when I felt like I wasn't ready I still pitched because I felt I had a strong conviction in what I was doing. I really believed in my work. And what was the worst that could happen? Either they could just ignore my or they say no, right? What's the best that can happen? Exactly, so I think that's my advice. People should not worry about rejection. Don't take rejection personally because sometimes it's usually not you, it's just maybe not a right fit at the moment. But just keep pitching tenaciously. Especially if it's something you believe in. Laurence: What would you say makes for a good pitch that someone is going to accept and publish in National Geographic Traveler? Lola: That's the thing, because one thing I see now a days is going back to not being a generalist. You can't really send a portfolio of beautiful images to National Geographic because they have to be good photographers that shoot the most amazing beautiful things in the world. What you want to show them is a story. A story that you're personally invested in, and that's why it's really important for people to work on personal projects. Those kind of long term personal projects that you actually are passionate about, that you would still do if nobody else was watching because most of the, many professional photographers that have been discovered and are quote-unquote successful today, are those ones whose personal projects are discovered. And their personal projects were talked about. And then these personal projects won awards and that's what got the attention of photo editors. So a pitch to National Geographic has to be something that you're truly passionately invested in, in terms of a project you're working on. No, you don't have to travel all the way to Nepal or be Mongolian to find a story, it could actually be in your backyard. A lot of those stories, the most personal stories are the ones that are right under your noses, that you can work on and that you care about. That would be my [ superstarblogging.com ] 7

8 advice in terms of what to pitch. It has to be a story and it has to be something you really deeply care about. Laurence: Let's talk a little bit about that. Because this is something I know that you're also passionate about, is the importance of backyard travel. Something that I think that a lot of people might think if they look at your work or my work or anyone else's, as a travel photographer, we're always going to see these amazing places and we're kind of lucky in that we have amazing things to photograph all the time and not everyone has that luxury. How do you keep motivated when you're not traveling all the time, to keep learning, to keep developing your photography? Lola: I'll kind of start with a quote because one of the things that a well-known photographer said was, and I admired this guy, he said, "You have to place yourself in front of something beautiful to create something beautiful." While I agree with what he's saying in terms of within the context of travel photography and scenery, what you actually have to do as a photographer is place yourself in front of something very ordinary and try to make it beautiful, that's the challenge. For a photographer, something that may be very ordinary, maybe just the city you live in, your everyday routes to work or to school, or trying to stop and find the beauty in that ordinary, that's the challenge. And that challenge is what photographers always chase. They're always on the challenge to see something in a new way. To chase light in a different way. That's what you, as a travel photographer, need to be doing. The next challenge. And for me, because personally my own challenge is making something that's the most boring appear beautiful in its simplicity. In it's ordinary-ness. I don't know if this answers your question, but I think that's what photographers need to do, is to start looking in their background for things that they may normally miss every day and start trying to look at it from a different set of eyes. Laurence: Yep. No, that's great. I guess a lot of people start out with the hope of becoming a photographer and not that many people make it to the level that you've succeeded in making it to. Why do you think so many new people fail and what advice would you give to people to avoid failure? [ superstarblogging.com ] 8

9 Lola: I want to kind of put this in context. Most photographers I know also do something else. That's either teaching photography or a consultant in photography business. They're not just 100%, I'm a photographer, that's all I do. Because they also, they started treating their photography as a full business, right? A couple of things I will give as advice will be, first of all most, don't try to be everything to everyone. It's going to get exhausting very quickly and that's the quickest way to failure. Because the thing is there are so many talented photographers out there who can set up the most technical shots, beautiful stuff, but honestly I actually can't tell if it's their photo or the other talented photographer who can also shoot a technical shot, right? Well, one thing that makes you different is your own style, your own voice. Staying true to that style that will naturally set you apart because you're not trying to be like everybody else. So start with that. And then what you want to do is you also want to be as visible as you can be. You want to make sure you have your portfolio online. Be active on social media within reason. You want to enter contests that you can afford and within reason because people need to be able to find you. You could be the next, we say this about artists where they're eating in the basement painting the most amazing oil paintings, but if they never show their faces outside of the basement, will not take that painting out, nobody will ever know they're there, right? So you want to be visible, as visible as you can. Then another thing is just going back to this personal projects because there are a ton of photography grants out there that can actually fund your personal projects and just a quick Google search can get to hundreds of people willing to give you money just to work on your personal projects. Sometimes people chase a brand or chase a publication first, that's the long route. I know that's the hard route. Sometimes the quickest way is actually working on that personal project you care about and elevating it through social media, through photographic grants that will catch the attention of the brands you're chasing. So that's some of the advice I'll give and of course, like I said, many photographers keep doing other things because they want to keep funding this project, their projects, this lifestyle. So they wear many hats. There's nothing wrong with that. They wear many hats. [ superstarblogging.com ] 9

10 Laurence: I entirely agree. Speaking of photographers doing different things, how do you compete in what is essentially a freelance market? How do you compete? Lola: It's a very tough industry to compete with because there are people selling photographs for $1 or even just giving it away for free and for those of us trying to make a living from this, it is challenging, but it can be done. There are kind of five different routes I use for selling my photography. Because I focus mostly on travel and travel lifestyle many destinations are in tourism boards. They do have image banks and they often commission or buy existing photographs and so that's one way of selling your photography if you've been to a destination. Get in touch with the tourism board of that destination; show them your portfolio. They could be interested in them and they want to buy some from you. I do that for Sweden. I contributed to their image bank. I also try to sell photography with my writing. I am a travel writer as well and many publications have a separate budget for photography to illustrate the articles they're publishing. What I try to do is try to get in on that pie. Almost selfishly say, "Look, I'm not only going to write it for you, but look I've got the photos as well so give me that money as well." That's one way of getting my photos in publications. Once in a while I still do some commercial projects. Sometimes maybe if there are a couple clients I go in and maybe take some portraits of their employees, maybe more relaxed lifestyle shots. I do that once in a while. I don't do wedding photography. I really respect that, wedding photographers and what they do, it's amazing. Laurence: It is, but I don't do it either. I agree with you. It looks a lot of hard work. Lola: It is a lot of, I think for me to just be mostly, it will boil down to creative differences with the bride. So I try and stay away from that. Also, just gallery representation. So if there are fine art galleries around you could try introducing yourself to them, seeing if they can sign you on so you can sell your fine art photography through them. Because like I said, I do mostly people and lifestyle. I do have a lot of kind of moss scenery as well and those can go on to finance and I can sell that to a gallery. I recently signed with a gallery in Sweden so I am hoping to make some sales through them. [ superstarblogging.com ] 10

11 Laurence: That's great news. Lola: Thank you, and of course, my partnership with National Geographic Creative, I sell photography through them as well. Again, these are just some of the avenues where you can sell your work. Even though it's a very saturated industry I still feel like the sky is big enough for all birds to fly without colliding, right? So you have to be creative. You have to find ways to get your work out there. I think that answers the question. Laurence: Yes, it does. I think you've covered a lot there in terms of how you make money. You obviously have a lot of different avenues. One of the questions I certainly get asked a lot and I know Daniel, who I also interviewed for this series, gets asked a lot is the question of pricing. How do you go about setting up your pricing model? Lola: So now that's different because most of the time it depends on the client. What I do is I usually ask them right out, "What's your budget and how much do you pay, normally pay for this?" Now many clients still come back with lower than what they may actually pay just to have you sign it, but I think for a photographer it's what you feel you're comfortable selling your work for without undercutting or undermining the entire industry, right? It's very difficult. It's a lot of responsibility. But sometimes it may be easy to just say; you know what, no I'm not going to sell that photo to you because at that rate, I keep it. Because I know you're paying me nothing for it. So instead of taking nothing for it, I'd rather just keep it. Or choose to give it for free to a cause I want to. You see what I'm saying? It's still a very mucky area in terms of pricing. I know Getty has an online calculator that tries to help photographers out, but again, those numbers can be just so inflated compared to what the market is ready to pay. So it's a really challenging situation in terms of pricing exactly and that's why a lot of travel photographers kind of move into more commercial travel photography which pays more than editorial. So destination brands will probably pay me more for photos than if I try to sell them to a print magazine. [ superstarblogging.com ] 11

12 Laurence: Let's just go back to people developing their photography skills. When you were teaching people photography how did people learn? What was a good process for them to go through to actually develop their photography skills? Lola: During that course, one of the things, I am self-taught so I am still learning myself, right? Laurence: I think we all are. Lola: Exactly. I'm still learning every day. But one of the things we do is, again, give assignments, of course, but push people outside of their comfort zones. So even though, and again this may sound counterintuitive to focusing on what you are good at, right? But what we try to do is push them out. If you focus mostly on landscapes, you know, what I'm going to do is send you to the kitchen and you're going to be shooting food photography. And moving people out of their comfort zone is going to help them change the way they see, so when they get back to their comfort zone they can probably look at more details as well and kind of improve the way they shoot. So they're different and everybody has different styles. There are some that are very technical. I just want to play with gadgets and figure out every technical composition. There are some that are more intuitive and look for moments and anticipate when a scene is going to happen. But above all we also try to teach patience because travel photography is all about capturing moments. And that requires patience and that patience comes from sitting and observing. So that by the time you do this many times you can almost anticipate the next scene. I'm sure you can relate to this. Traveling a lot and spending hours upon hours waiting and observing because after a while you might be able to anticipate the next shift of light or the next gesture somebody might make. So that comes with time and with experience. [ superstarblogging.com ] 12

13 Laurence: And I would definitely add on to that that you make sure you're traveling with someone who is either a photographer or has a good book. Otherwise it's never going to work. Lola: Exactly. Or somebody who likes to wake up early in the morning as well. Laurence: That's also very important. So you obviously, you've taught photography and you are at a pretty great level, but are there any photographers out there who inspire you and why? Lola: There are so many of them. It's like, I can't even start listing everyone. I recently saw an exhibition by Martin Schoeller and he's an amazing portrait photographer. You know who I'm talking about? Laurence: I don't think so. Lola: He used to. He's known for his really close up shots of famous people. So he does a real kind of tight shots. Your eyes connecting to maybe actors or presidents or just people you know. The reason why I really enjoyed that exhibition is because when I saw those portraits, the way he showed those portraits, confirmed something I currently working on in a personal project, right? I have a personal project that, it's a long time project called The Intimacy Project and what it is, is the way you position a person's eyes in a photo can quickly change the connection in a photo and it's very slight. If you as the photographer elevate the subject by like, even if it's a quarter of an inch and their eyes are kind of looking downwards towards you, there's a quicker connection. And so when I was looking at his portraits I noticed this. So for me it was great and fascinating to see this because he's an amazing well known photographer, but something that a lot of portrait photographers probably know, maybe don't communicate publicly all the time, but I saw it in his work and for me that was great to see that at that level that, yes, I think I'm on the right path. I see it, too, I'm not crazy. [ superstarblogging.com ] 13

14 So that was good, but there are just many photographers. Steve McCurry that did the Afghan Girl. I connect to the Afghan girl. There are just so many photographers. New, upcoming, old, to start listing them all is like insanity. Laurence: No, I absolutely agree. I just thought it's nice for you to share some of the ones who inspire you. People might go out and look at those ones as well. I think it's really important to keep following other photographers even if every now and again you just think; oh I'm never going to be that good. But it's great to get inspired. It always inspires me. Lola: Yes, absolutely. Laurence: We're coming towards the end here. If you were going to sort of give us three things that someone needs to do to be a successful photographer what would those things be? Lola: I think some of these I think I've already mentioned so I am going to reiterate them again. First thing is you can't be a generalist. You can't be everything to everyone. You're going to have to start with a track and stick with that track for a while and focus. And I'll go back to Steve McCurry. He's known worldwide for his portraits. I'm pretty sure he can shoot a really decent landscape shot, right? He doesn't have to prove to anybody that he can do it, but he focuses mostly on portraits and people. Environmental portraits. So I guess what I'm saying is start out with what naturally draws you. If you're a landscape photographer start out with that. If you are drawn to people or food just start with that and start building your portfolio that way. Then the next step is trying to get your portfolio out in front of people. One of the things I did kind of early on in my career was I was entering a lot of contests, little ones. And it wasn't to boost my ego, that wasn't the reason. Because contests are the most subjective things in the world. But it was for me to see if my photos could stack up. Because sometimes it's very difficult for a travel photographer to know if their photos can actually stack up professionally, right? You can't get feedback from [ superstarblogging.com ] 14

15 your colleagues, they're like, oh my photos are the best and dadada. Your mom loves all your work. But until you put it next to somebody else's work, contests are really good for that. So early on I did that. So that's one way. Then the third one I would say is, I'm sorry I'm just looking through my notes again to try to find it. Again, just working on more personal projects. There are a ton of photographic grants out there that would help you find your projects so work on those because that's what I truly honestly believe what's going to open the door for you. And those could be travel related projects. I am working on a project called Fishmongers, which is spending time with people that buy and sell fish around the world in markets. Again, it's travel related and I've been to so many different scenarios where even with fishermen as well. Going out with fishermen. Coming in with them. Following them to markets. Seeing how they sell fish and that is a personal project for me. It's also travel related, but that's also something I'm truly interested in. I think that working on those kind of personal projects will help you get to where you want to go first as well. Laurence: Actually one of the threads that has come through very strongly in this interview series is the importance of passion. You're never going to succeed as a photographer unless you're passionate. Would you agree with that? Lola: Absolutely. Even though it sounds cliché, yes. You have to be passionate about what you do. And how can you be passionate about what you do? Because it has to be something that naturally interests you. Right? It really does have to be something that naturally gets you excited. Why do I like to travel? What type of photography do I like? Do I like to hang people? What kind of people? Is it locals, what? So once you find out what you really enjoy you're naturally going to be passionate about that. And that should be the base going into this. Otherwise it's going to get really tough. It's not an easy road. It can get tough along the way. Having that base passion is what's going to keep you true and keep you resilient all the way until the end. Laurence: Wow. Well thank you very much Lola. I have run out of questions. Do you have anything else you wanted to share? [ superstarblogging.com ] 15

16 Lola: No, I think we've covered a lot. Laurence: We have, I've learned some stuff there. I'm going to have to go away and make some notes. Could you just quickly go through all the places that people can find you online? Lola: Well, I think the quickest way will be just Googling Lola Akinmade takes you to my blog right away. And Lola Akinmade is one word. Most of my social media handles on there are the same. So Lola and Akinmade, A-K-I-N-M-A-D-E, and you should be able to find me that way. Laurence: Excellent. Thank you so much for your time talking to us. That was a real pleasure from my point of view as well. Lola: Thank you for having me. It's a huge honor to be here. Laurence: No problem at all. Thank you everyone for listening and remember you can find me online at the course and you can me anytime with your questions, it's laurence@findingtheuniverse.com. Until the next time, happy photographing. [ superstarblogging.com ] 16