AbdurRaheem: Making Strong Impact In Photography Industry

Olayinka Sodiq AbdurRaheem is the founder of Yinka Da Image Studio. Yinka Day Image Studio is into photography, filming, framing, branding, printing, live streaming of events, and training people to become professionals in the photography industry.

AbdurRaheem believes his journey into the industry was not an accident. “It’s a natural gift. I loved to sketch and draw as a child, and it whetted my appetite for photography even before I had an opportunity to hold my dad’s gear, the camera.”

Motivation

“What motivated me to go into this business was the camera I held. That experience sparked the desire to know more about photography. And I saw it as a career path to follow, along with my inquisitiveness, so I enrolled at Yaba College of Education and the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) to pursue a photography career,” he said.

Lucrativity

AbdurRaheem believes that the business is lucrative. “One, there is a huge market for it more than ever before, with different areas to focus on such as interviews, sports, conferences, comedy skits, weddings, and even working with the movie industry. So when you have large clients depending on you for their events, believe me, it’s lucrative.”

Challenges

To him, “every business has its peculiar challenges. In the visual industry, equipment is costly. From lighting to the camera, A lens on its own is a challenge. Also, we have different clients, each with their own opinion. Electricity is also an issue; most of the time, we had to provide power ourselves because we had to meet client deadlines.

“Another issue we face is a lack of access to funding. You have to carry your cross, except you are fortunate to have someone supporting you.”

Advice

To anyone coming into this profession, he urged them to “ensure you evolve and be willing to learn new things because the more you invest in the knowledge of photography, the more you create a craft, and the greater your reward. Always criticise your work for better performance. Look at other photographers’ work and learn how to do it best. Attend exhibitions and exhibit your work too.”

Biography

Olayinka Sodiq AbdurRaheem is a Nigerian professional wedding, lifestyle, and documentary photographer and videographer.

Born in the Agege area of Lagos, AbdurRaheem began his education at CAC primary school, Agege, and Dairy Farm Secondary School, Agege. He then proceeded to Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, to study photography, and later to the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, to study photojournalism.

He founded Yinka Da Image Studio some years ago and has handled many events in and outside Lagos. As an inquisitive person, he has attended several trainings, seminars, and conferences on photography, both in and outside Lagos, and has trained over 500 people in photography.