Meet Emmanuel Okene | Entrepreneur & Creative

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

Hi Emmanuel, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My interest in photography sparked during my sophomore year of high school back in 2019, but I didn’t get into photography seriously until the start of the global pandemic. In March 2020 I had the opportunity to take my cousin’s birthday photos. Even though I didn’t fully know what I was doing, I still used it as an opportunity to practice and learn. The pictures I had taken at the time came out somewhat good and I decided to take a bold step and post them on Instagram. I posted these not knowing what to expect but I still took the leap of faith. When I posted these pictures I received so much love from everyone. So many people were impressed by these pictures. From here I decided that maybe I should take this more seriously because I truly enjoyed what I was doing. I used the next few months to practice and perfect my craft. After I truly understood my purpose and craft, I founded my photography business!

What should our readers know about your business?
First and foremost without God, I would not be where I am today. His grace over my life is what has been sustaining me since I entered this field. I can say I truly got to where I am today because of the community I had behind me the whole time. There is someone in particular I would like to honor. Her name is Cyni Dugars. She was my partner in crime when I started my photography journey. She was one of the first few people I took pictures of, and from there she became my partner in the creative world. I can honestly say this field has its trials. It was so easy to get lost and confused as to what my purpose was, and why I was even doing this. For a point, I was so discouraged because business was very slow and I was not getting any bookings. It is also very easy to compare yourself and. your work to other creatives, but I had to remember why I’m doing this. I got into this field because it was my outlet to express myself and bring my visions to real life. I had to be very intentional with myself and my craft.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had the opportunity to take my friends anywhere around the city, first I would take them to my favorite food spot which is Fusion Grill. This place is a locally owned business that has so much variety of food. Their wings are some of the best wings I have ever had in my life. Next, I would take them to a pet store called Petland to play with dogs. I truly love those furry little animals.

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?
I would like to shout out my mother! I can say that without her I wouldn’t be in the position I am in now. She was the one who truly invested in my business and bought me my first-ever camera. She took a leap of faith by investing in me not knowing what it is I would do with this, but she still had faith in me and supported me throughout my photography journey as well as my business.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emantheog?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuel-okene-8b1178265/

Image Credits
Charlton Nwachukwu Elohor Jackson Alphonso Jackson III Michael Ofoegbu, Cyni Dugars