I’m about to head back to London after spending so long in Lagos, Nigeria. I think in one stretch this is the longest time I’ve ever spent here. It’s been a very good and fruitful time away from base. I’ve met some very interesting people and made some very good contacts. I will miss them all.
Below are images from a recent Yoruba Engagement Ceremony I photographed in Atlanta, Georgia last year. This was one of the first events where I employed multiple speedlites at the venue.
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First of all, Happy New Year to all you loyal observers, fans, subscribers, sitters, photographers, curators, supporters, friends and family. This blog has been running successfully for the past 2+ years. Up to this point, Alakija & Co Photography has had so many awesome opportunities and features: from the weddings we have covered, portraits we have created and events we have documented. NONE of this would ever have happened without YOUR continual support and we sincerely thank you for sticking with us as we go into 2012.
The plan this year is NOT to lose momentum but to continue breaking ground in our storytelling using photography, video, social media, etc. Hopefully we will also explore other channels to present your stories and share our ideas.
To start off the year on the right foot, below you will find a sample set of images from a very successful portrait session of an outstanding radio personality, Aderonke Adebanjo. You can check out her show on Smooth 98.1 FM in Lagos, Nigeria or on iTunes. And many thanks to BM Pro Studios for the impeccable make up artistry. Enjoy!
Photographers Notes
Camera : EOS Canon 5D Mark II
Lenses : Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS
Lighting : Manfrotto 9′ Quick Stack lighstands x3, Canon Speedlite 580 EX II x 3
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9 comments
Awww… One of my Fav OAPs… I love the pictures… She had fun
Great work as usual
beautiful captures. beautiful woman.
Nice work Jids!
love the pictures
Every single shot was beautiful … Radiant skin, professional makeup, minimal accessories … Lovely!
You have a nice delivery style, I’m yet to see a picture you took that i don’t like, this is wonderful-a strong picture very well taken. Happy new year to you, keep on inspiring.
lovely pictures; love the contrast on them, Nice job!
Natural beauty exposed by a skilled photographer. Great job.
While spending Thanksgiving with my family in Chicago I had the opportunity of using my brother in laws Nikon D80 camera to do some portraits of my sister in law. Initially I struggled as the functions on the Nikon camera are frustratingly different from that on my usual Canon cameras. I started the shoot lighting Dami, with an external SB-600 with a radio rigger (I can’t remember the make and model). I found myself really struggling to get the right kind of light on the right parts of her person. I think I was learning to run before crawling at that point. I then resorted to using a desk lamp at the corner of the room to light her up in all the shots.
Below are some of the images we were able to work out together during the shoot.
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2 comments
Liking this shoot the warm feel, Yet another great shoot Mr Alakija.
Natural and classy. Good job
I just returned to the UK yesterday. I’m not in the UK for very long so I decided to put up an early post of a wedding I shot earlier this year. The betrothed couple featured in today’s images are from Zimbabwe. In the past, I have shot a hybrid of a Zimbabwean/Nigerian/Jamaican/Brazilian wedding but not anything where I’ve not been able to predict what was going on. This however was very new territory for me. I found it quite exciting to cover something different for a change, and it definitely tested my resolve on many fronts.
On the technical side, I decided to shoot this using a set of Speedlites off camera mounted on tripods and triggered using an ST-E2 wireless trigger. It was the only way I could capture the emotion and the display at the reception dinner and dance (the dancing in particular, as there was so much fast movement).
Shooting weddings from the southern part of Africa is very different from shooting West African weddings. For one, Aso-Ebi is not worn at their events and therefore it’s a bit more difficult to distinguish who is who at the wedding as it would be in most West African weddings. Also I must say that the guests are relatively laidback in comparison, so I found it a little easier to work with them (not that it’s difficult working with my W.African brothers and sisters, it just requires a more aggressive approach in that case). Overall, documenting this wedding was a very interesting and enlightening experience!
This event was shot by one photographer. Enjoy!
6 comments
I love the “”Grief is the Price we pay for Love” part…I was at the party through this post!..Lovely!
Lovely wedding – lovely coverage!
my goodness. these girls are dropping it loooooow on the dance floor. wonder if they played nigerian music? would love to hear zimbabwean pop music.
Very Nice Wedding.. Great work
another lovely coverage. half time it almost seemed like you weren’t there. a true journalistic approach. great job my friend.
Yet again, you have shown your consistency in excellence through this photo journal. I like the Bridal (groom’s men) shoot in the park. Well done. Thank you for sharing.
Below are images from the Christian wedding of the same couple from the previous post. Again Andrew Esiebo was second shooter in this one and he massively helped me here in providing a second camera body for me to use (after my back up camera developed a fault during the course of the day).
2 comments
HMMM e ku ise. Love your work as always. I am proud of your consistency in creativity and excellence. Andrew Esiebo thanks for the camera. What a great team!! JAA thanks for sharing.
You are one of the best story tellers out there. Keep it up bro!
4 comments
Awwww…love love love!
Beautiful!
Lovely pictures. See different phases of gele tying and the aftermath … Congratulations to the couple!
awesome