When passion meets creativity, the results are worthwhile. 25-year-old Sam Asiimwe Ruhindi, commonly known as Samie, relates to this. His enthusiasm and commitment for what he does has made him start up his own company in photography, a profession he taught himself. Growing up with the zeal to try out new things, he took to taking pictures in Primary School. Asiimwe after covering a graduation ceremony earlier this year. To him, freezing moments seemed like magic and occupied him a lot, especially after school. He yearned to one day own a camera of his own. The fact that he couldn’t have a camera to practice, somehow decremented his love for photography. “I can’t forget one time when we had a family vacation that one of my relatives handed me a camera to take photos, this seemed like a dream come true, I did a perfect job that he gifted me with a camera after sometime,” he said. Ever since then, his relationship with photography grew. He would borrow cameras from friends and take photos of anything he came across, from the landscape, trees, objects among others. He had no doubt that photography was something that brightened him up even in his sad moments. He improved his skills through YouTube tutorials, where he gained key insights to ensure that all elements within the trade for instance; the lighting, composition, subject, and delivery of the vision and messaging. After learning the necessary requirements of photography, in 2017, from his little savings, he embarked on turning photography into a business. He started a Kicukiro based local firm, known as “Samie Images.” The company deals in covering events like weddings, conferences, events such as like baby showers, bridal showers, and birthday parties. His prices vary depending on the clients’ requirements, for example, venue and time spent shooting. “The company didn’t have an office or any equipment at the start, I used to borrow cameras from friends whenever I had an event to cover. Some never charged me, while others charged me about Rwf 25,000 per day for each camera borrowed. I employed five part-time workers, who I gave some training,” he noted. The student of Business and Information Technology from University of Tourism Technology and Business Studies, Kicukiro, didn’t have it smooth at the start because he had to prove himself to his clients. He said, he could even go months without getting any client but he was not ready to give up yet. He could advertise his services on his social media platforms. On the fifth month he got one client and slowly the tide began to change over time. Word of mouth was probably the best tool to reach out to clients. Some of his clients that appreciated his services, recommended him to other customers. By the end of 2017, He had more clients and he had saved enough money that he used to purchase all office cameras and other equipment. Ruhindi noted, he kept the prices fair, delivered on time, which won him customers’ trust and opened doors to more customers. He explained that, for small events, he could charge between Rwf 25,000 to Rwf 100,000. Weddings and other big events could cost about Rwf 350,000 to 1.6 M, depending on what the client wanted and the location. “As a photographer, some challenges kick in, some clients tend to give less value to photography and often try to pay us less, yet they need quality and quantity. Some clients don’t pay after delivery, this puts us under losses,” the photographer stressed. However, he stated that for one to venture in to photography, they must be patient and passionate about it. Asiimwe poses for a photo with his camera after work. He emphasized that, what gives him great joy is knowing that he has invested his money somewhere, and he can cater for all his financial needs, and has an opportunity to learn from his job every day. Apart from photography, Ruhindi is also an award winning poet and spoken word artist who does theater performances under Isoko performing arts, which is a theatre troupe that’s been operating since 2016. “I started giving a life to poetry back in 2012 when I was still in high school and ever since then, I have been to different platforms showcasing my talent in spoken word, however, our society haven’t got into it yet. I get gigs to write and perform poetry on weddings and also for newly born babies. Life is about using all one’s talents, creativity and experience to be able to put food on the table,” he stated. The camera person said, his level of professionalism has been boosted, given him connections to different people. He is also involved in web designing and graphics, as a side job. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
