Meet Uchenna Ofobuzo | Photographer & creative director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Uchenna Ofobuzo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Uchenna, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I created the Sophomore Magazine I had just dropped out of college for one semester. I knew once I got home I had more free time so I needed to tap into my creative side that I used to suppress because I was in school. The Sophomore is almost like my baby. It’s the beginning of Uche tapping into who I always knew I would be.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart from others is that I almost wasn’t a photographer. There are so many obstacles that if I start listing each one I will end up writing a whole novel. But my hope in myself is what kept me going. I never gave up even when the world wanted me to. I had big dreams of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do, so I worked very hard and will never quit, I might take healthy breaks here and there, but I will never give up on my craft.

To get to where I am now I had to really humble myself. You see, photography is not an easy job, in it of itself, it’s almost like having a sales job. You have to prove WHY clients should book you. Even if you take the best photos in the world, it doesn’t matter, it’s not everyday you are going to get a client. And doing strictly creative work doesn’t pay the bills. So you have to creatively market yourself and humble yourself to know that sometimes you have to take the boring photos before you can get large opportunities to take the very creative photos for big brands. I think being humble as a photographer will get you places.

I wish people knew that as a female and black photographer, the industry really doesn’t want us to win. And with the huge egos that often many creative artisans have, it’s hard to grow or blow up on this space. But if people knew how hard I worked to make myself get this far and how much I genuinely love photographer and the dreams I have for myself, I feel like they would appreciate it so much more, and I would get the flowers that I deserve.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I actually genuinely don’t go out that much in Houston because I’m pretty introverted. But I would say my favorite place to eat is gyro republic. If you are reading this and you get anything out of this whole article please go to the felini cafe and get a strawberry mango smoothie, it is the best smoothie I’ve ever had in my life. My favorite boba place is Kim’s tea house. My favorite place to thrift is family thrift. My favorite place to hang out is downtown because it’s fun to walk around and the scenery is pretty. I’m always at White oak or House of Blues for concerts.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly shoutout to three amazing people in my life. CAMERON REED is an amazing mentor and friend, he doesn’t realize how much he has impacted my life but ever since he came in my life, he has changed my mindset on so many things. Secondly IFEWINZ. This girl has been my number supporter. Her words of encouragement is so beautiful and seeing how hard she works and how much she supports her friends is amazing. Lastly OZZYMADEIT on Instagram. If I can pick any one to work with me for the rest of my life it will be Ozzy. He’s such a goat with the camera, the way his mind works is amazing. He always gets bts for me for my shoots, helps with lighting, is a great photographer. Watch out everyone, one day he will be on the come up!

Website: https://thesophomore.mypixieset.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/photosbyuche?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==