Á: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

WU: I am a photographer and director. I have been shooting for a while, but as far as approaching it professionally, I’ve been doing it for about two and a half years. I was born and raised in Nigeria but live in Canada, Toronto now. I initially moved here for school and then slowly found my way into this world of photography and art.

Á: What type of photography do you do?

WU: It’s mainly fashion photography. That’s what I’m mostly interested in, but within that I cover editorials, commercials, and portraits. I have tried to cover a scope of genres within the fashion space. It allows more flexibility with my expression.

Á: How long have you been taking photographs for?

WU: It’s hard to say specifically how long. In high school I was the unofficial designated photographer, but back then I was taking pictures based on my interest in taking pictures for documentary purposes. There weren’t any thoughts behind the compositions or anything of that sort. Fast forward to 2012/13, that’s when I started taking pictures in a more conscious way. However, professionally, I’ve been doing this for the past two years.

Á: Are you self-taught?

WU: Yes. I actually ended up going to school for film. I was happy with that because I don’t think I wanted to learn photography in a school setting. I ended up taking one photography course, a lighting course, and that wasn’t a good experience because it was very structured. It’s been nice just going through that process of learning and discovering things on my own.

Á: Do you shoot with a digital camera?

WU: I use a digital camera. I like being able to see the results immediately and being able to adjust. With film, you need a high level of patience that I don’t think I’m ready for right now.

Á: Have you changed cameras during the course of your work so far?

WU: When I first started, my first camera was a Sony Alpha A300. It was an average size DSLR camera. I moved onto another Sony (of the same size) after that, but I realised I stopped taking pictures as frequently simply because of how bulky the camera was to carry around. From there, I made a drastic shift to my next camera: Fujifilm X100. I used the Fuji for my professional shoots as well as everyday photography because it was light. It reignited my interest in photography.

Since then, I’ve stuck with the Fujifilm line of cameras. Mainly for two reasons; the quality of the images and the colours produced. I’ve been using the Fujifilm X-T4 for some time now.

Á: How do you think social media has impacted your work?  

WU: I would say it’s mixed; both positive and negative. Prior to Instagram, I was taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures. After being on Instagram for a while you start consciously, or unconsciously, taking pictures to fit a certain mould. It gets you to start thinking about pictures in a format and that could close you off to other possibilities of what that image might look like. The positive side is that it has helped me develop my work overtime. It’s been nice to see the progression from when I started posting on Instagram to now.

Á: What inspires you to create the style of imagery that you make?

WU: I realise that I use photography as a way of self-reflection. I pull from recent or childhood experiences, and that informs my work.

My style and approach to creating backgrounds actually began in 2014. That was the first year I went back to Nigeria as a conscious photographer. I was very inspired by all the colours I saw. It stirred something up in me and when I came back to Toronto, I was met with this grey landscape. That was a very stark difference to Nigeria. I was trying to figure out how to merge those two worlds or at least bring back that feeling that I felt in Nigeria. Initially I started with a collage style where I found different images that served the purpose of the story and I would try to create a background from that. Over time, that slowly evolved into more complex compositions and finally to where I am now, which is experimenting with 3D to help build those backgrounds. With 3D, I am able to create the exact background that I want.

Á: How did you get into 3D work?

WU: It was during the Pandemic. I knew I wanted to approach my backgrounds in this way for a long time but I never had the time to take it on. When I first started, I was researching free programs. I came across some software called Blender. I started watching a handful of tutorials and eventually got the courage to start practising on my own.

From there, it was just about asking myself what I wanted to use the platform for. At the time, and still now, I was driven towards landscape and architecture. I was able to focus in on that and then improve as I went on.

Á: Would you like to continue doing more 3D work in the future?

WU: For sure! I’m just at the start of this journey, and I know there is a lot of room to grow, and techniques to explore. Each project allows me to build on past lessons while simultaneously acquiring new skills. It’s definitely something I’ll be doing more of.

Á: Could you walk us through your creative process, from ideation to execution?

WU: The process usually differs between personal projects and commercial jobs.

With commercial jobs, I find that the client already has a brief and usually there is an art director on their team. In that case, my job is to come in and give my interpretation of the said brief. Something that I learned early on in this two-and-a-half-year journey is to separate what I want, from what the clients want. I was so used to doing creative projects that were all personal projects. At the end of the day, I’m there to serve the needs of the clients. There is usually a nice back and forth (nothing that deters the progress of the shoots or anything) that allows everyone to be involved in certain capacity. It helps to elevate the final image. Ultimately, that is the most important aspect. My happiness is important in that scenario, but it’s not a priority. I always approach it as a transactional relationship.

For my own creative projects, there is more involved because I have more time. The inspiration for them usually comes from personal experiences. It might be through conversations that I’m having at the time or by reflecting on the state of the world. It triggers a certain line of thinking and I’m focused on that. Sometimes the personal projects that I end up doing bleed into some of the commercial work. I speak to people and then I find a way to connect myself to that concept or idea, whatever it is.

Whether I’m working on a personal or commercial project, my main creative philosophy is that form follows function. What I mean by this, is that throughout the process of creating the image, I remain focused on the ultimate purpose of it. 

Á: Do you have any favourite bodies of work from your portfolio?

WU: I did a project at the end of 2020: SUNDAY IN THE STRAND OF 4C.  It was about hair care and self-care and it’s a favourite because there are only very few moments where my completed projects do exactly what I intended it to do. I didn’t really know this until I was able to do an installation for a project last year and exactly what I imagined in my head, as far as how people interacted with it, is what happened. That was a different kind of high.

Another one of my favourites is a project I worked on last year. I had the opportunity to build a set and direct a fashion show for a Nigerian brand called Andrea Iyamah. We built a massive set on the beach. We planned and executed that within the span of a month. The amount of work we did, along with the number of revisions, made the final product feel very rewarding.

I also did a project on the commercial side and the featured artist was Mustafa. I was able to use the 3D skills and set building skills that I acquired working on the Andrea project.

Á: What do you enjoy most about photography?

WU: Right now, I’d say I enjoy the process more than anything because it involves conceptualisation, collaboration with other creatives and the execution on the day. I try not to focus too much on the final product and just enjoy the process of actually creating something. I always challenge myself to get that final image to be as close to what was in my head at the start. One thing that I’ve picked up, is the ability to speak up early on in the process and throughout the process too. As soon as there is something that doesn’t feel right, you need to have the courage to speak up.

Á: Could you explain what directing is in the context of creating an image?

WU: My definition will most likely differ from other definitions, just because of the way I approach image making.

From a photography standpoint, I would say directing is all the stuff that happens prior to the day and also the stuff that happens on the day of the shoot. Simply put, it’s giving the model directions of how you want them to pose or sometimes letting them just express themselves based on the story that you’re trying to create. It could also be getting the stylist, hair, makeup artists on the same page as the vision that you had set. It’s constant communication with every member of the team.

For me, directing is communicating on every level, big picture and small picture, to make sure that everyone on my team understands the vision I’m trying to create. The reason why I said my definition might differ, is because my approach to photography is from a documentary perspective. Because of that, I want things on set to feel as natural as possible.

Á: How has being a person of colour impacted your experience as a photographer and director?

WU: It’s a bit hard to say because I don’t know how I can judge how people are receiving my work based off Instagram interactions. I don’t know what the true perspectives are on my work, but I would say that being a Nigerian in Toronto gives me a different perspective.

Whether I like it or not, my experiences are just different, and I try to have that be present in my work. From a commercial standpoint – in 2020 there was that period where a lot of Black artists and people of colour were in a spotlight. I’m sure I benefited from that, and I fully embraced that when it happened but outside of that, I focus on making my perspective as unique to me.

Coming into this space as a Nigerian, my perspectives on race and equality were already different. Starting out, it wasn’t my focus. It wasn’t a concept I was familiar with coming from Nigeria but rather one that I’ve definitely become more accustomed to, having been in Toronto for a really long time now. It’s helped me navigate this space from a tunnel-vision approach: I am focused on what I’m creating and letting everything else fall into place.

Á: Are there any other artists that you look up to in particular?

WU: I would say the person I collaborated with on a recent installation: Raquel Da Silva. She’s a multidisciplinary artist; she paints, does sculpture, set design and has a very playful approach to her work, which I appreciate because it challenges my own approach.

Growing up in Nigeria, fashion photography was not a thing and so one of the photographers I looked up to was Inez and Vinoodh. They’re a Dutch duo and when I first started, they were very experimental and dramatic in the poses and their compositions.

Á: What would you say has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned on your photography journey?

WU: The most recent one is the one I mentioned about speaking up. There have been projects where I know I could have spoken up and changed the course of the final image, yet for some reason I didn’t, either because I was timid or just didn’t have the courage at the time. That’s something I’m actively pushing myself to do more of now, speak up when I need to.

For commercial work, as I mentioned earlier, the first thing I learned about being a service to the client and the product is to remove myself emotionally from what I’m shooting. I don’t approach it in the same way that I approach a personal project.

Á: What tips would you give to someone who is looking to get into photography?

WU: Be honest. My whole strategy has always been to focus on myself and the stories that I want to tell, being as honest as possible with those stories in the way I tell them. I like to believe that people connect with that level of honesty in the responses they give.

I would also say to take time with your creative projects. I invest a lot of time in my personal projects and that is the reason why I don’t do so many of them, because I want each one to have meaning.

It’s important to collaborate with people that you feel can elevate your work. That’s also a form of networking because you never know who you’re going to end up meeting and where your name is going to come up.

Outside of that, I would say the most important thing for me is to always be spiritually grounded.

Á: What advice would you give to your high school self?

WU: Just keep going and know that it’s not always going to be like this.

Á: What do you enjoy doing for fun?

WU: I enjoy having thought provoking conversations. It usually brings a lot of joy, especially when they’re conversations that can help me discover more about myself.

Á: What are you hoping to achieve in the future? 

WU: The ultimate goal is to be in a position where I get to work for a couple months on a nice handful of jobs and then have the freedom to work on personal projects. I would also like to shoot more consistently for brands like Gucci, Prada, and Chanel.

Á: Do you have any final words for our audience?

WU: Balance is key for everything. With work, having something that you do for fun will help prevent you from being burned out so quickly. Within the work that you do itself, from project to project, always find some element of balance in whatever you do.

That’s my main theme for the year, balance. I’m trying to explore that in its different forms.