[cellphone ringing]
JIDE: Hello?
MARIA: Hi! It's Maria from B&H.
Hi Maria are you doing? MARIA: Good, how are you?
I heard you were getting ready for a shoot and I was wondering if you had time for 21 questions?
Yeah, definitely! Always have time for you!
MARIA: Awesome! So, what are you shooting today?
JIDE: Um, it's such a beautiful day here in Brooklyn.
And since I'm home a lot more these days,
I thought I might as well go outside and take some nice landscapes.
Beautiful clouds, everything looks really beautiful, so I'm gonna go to my rooftop to do that.
MARIA: Awesome, can I come with?
JIDE: Yeah, definitely! MARIA: Awesome.
JIDE: Let's go. MARIA: Let's do it!
Wow, what a beautiful day!
MARIA: So, can you tell the audience what kind of photography you normally shoot?
JIDE: I like to call myself an anthropological documentarian, let's put it that way.
Which generally is photographing anything that has to do with people.
MARIA: And, since you are having to be with people, and that's usually what you focus on,
has COVID affected your workflow at all?
It definitely has affected me because I'm spending a lot of time at home now.
I'm not seeing as many people to photograph, but I'm sort of learning other ways to keep myself creative.
MARIA: Yeah, that's really important!
And, a little birdie told me that you are Nikon's newest ambassador.
Can you tell me more about that, and congratulations!
Thank you so much! Thank you
Yes, I am a new Nikon ambassador.
And it's definitely an exhilarating experience that I'm looking forward to.
Um, it's also one that--not just for the fact that I get to represent a brand that I solely love --
but also a brand that backs me up in the things
and all the different projects that I am sort of looking forward to.
MARIA: Sure, yeah, that's really important.
And so, what's your go-to camera and lens?
I'm actually holding it right now!
This is a--well, I always say "Nick-on"-- [both chuckle]
but a "Nick-on" or "Nigh-kon" D750.
I've had this camera, or at least these cameras, for the last six years, or five, six years.
And this a 24-70. This lens goes with me everywhere I go to in the world.
MARIA: So, what got you started in photography in general?
I was actually a student. I was a mechanical engineering research student.
And while I was writing my PhD thesis, I had a lot of time on my hands
and decided to take on a project of creating a website for photographers.
We didn't have any social media at the time, so I decided to take
up photography to sort of get more people interested in to putting their photographs onto the site.
And through that, that's how I became photographer.
I found that I had so much more freedom to do the things that I love, which is meeting people and traveling.
MARIA: And so, what drew you to portraits and even weddings today?
Wedding photography came because I found, at the time, I started running out of money.
And I needed something to pay the bills and keep me going.
Little did I know that it would be something that would introduce me into another thing
which I absolutely love which is people, as doing a PhD thesis, you spend very little time interacting with people.
One of the great things about, sort of, going to weddings is meeting people.
Portraiture just seemed to be the natural thing because it allowed me to express myself
in a way that I could sort of tell stories and communicate in a way, you know, that was purely mine.
Not just sort of photographing a wedding of two people getting married,
but actually telling a story through a portrait.
MARIA: So, now you do so many different styles of photography.
You do wedding, you do street photography, portraits and it's all about storytelling.
But what's your favorite type of photography?
I would say street photography.
Um, street photography mixed with a bit of fine art. I would say that is my favorite.
It gives you the opportunity to be creative.
And I also love the fact that I, as a curious person, I am sort of...
Should I say, um... [clicks tongue]
Impacted, or sort of, surprised with all the different things that the street has to offer.
So I would say that is my favorite genre of photography right now.
MARIA: And you just mentioned you have a little bit of a passion for art as well.
JIDE: That is true! MARIA: So can you tell me about Tafeta & Partners
MARIA: Am I saying that right? JIDE: Tafeta & Partners--
That is correct! You are correct. [Maria laughs]
Tafeta & Partners is an art dealership and an art representation based in London.
It was started by my really good friend Ayo Adeyinka,
and we sort of got together and saw a need to represent West African artists in the world's sphere.
And essentially, we have sort of created this platform that represents these artists commercially.
So, some of the things that we do is we just essentially sell West African art.
And introducing them to different people around the world
to kind of give them some sort of idea of what it's all about.
MARIA: Yeah, that's great!
And giving back to the community and teaching other people seems to be a big part of what you do.
JIDE: Exactly MARIA: Education is a big part of what you do as your career.
JIDE: Right. MARIA: Why bother taking the time?
Because of my background.
I'm ethnically Nigerian. I was born in England, but I grew up a good chunk of my life in Nigeria.
And, unfortunately, in a place like that, we don't have enough education
enough inspiration to, sort of, push very, very, very good talent.
And sort of me having the privilege of obviously living a beautiful country like the United States,
I have the contact and the opportunity to get as much information as I can.
And, for those people who don't have very much,
I feel like it's my own duty to inspire and to help them as best as I can.
So this is essentially what's kinda driven this passion that I have for teaching and educating.
MARIA: And you mentioned before there never was social media
to really promote yourself as a photographer, but now social media has become such a huge business tool.
How has it helped you?
Social media, I think, is the one thing that has kind of propelled me.
It's given me a voice.
It's given me a platform.
And I was quite lucky and blessed to sort of start,
to get on the social media bandwagon or train really early when it started.
When I sort of put my work out there, it introduced me to a lot more careers,
including "Nick-on," "Nigh-kon," whatever you call it... [Maria laughs]
[Jide laughs]
Who have essentially have carried me.
And there are other brands and well, brands as well, including B&H for instance.
Now, without social media, I don't think I would have had this same sort of exposure.
And that is just, you know, one aspect.
There's also the other aspect of representation to my clients.
And nowadays people have very, very quick access to creators like myself through social media.
So yeah, it's definitely been a big, big addition,
or should I say proponent to how far I've come, or gone, as a brand.
MARIA: Sure! And as...
So when you started in your career,
is there a specific photo or project that really helped you get noticed in the industry?
Yes, there was!
I have a very, very, sort of, famous photograph--as far as people who know me.
It's called "No More Lights."
It's very, very sort of prominent photograph of two kids covering their faces.
And it's one that really speaks to the hearts of many.
Every time they see it, they always want to relate to it, have a copy of it, share with it.
They ask me questions about it. I've actually sold copies of it to different galleries and different people.
So, that's one thing I would say has kind of put me on the map, as far as fine art photography is concerned.
MARIA: That's great! And, as you kind of mentioned, you're all about storytelling.
And there's the famous phrase of "a photo says 1,000 words."
What are some tips for somebody looking to capture photos like that?
I would say that, if you are very, very much about, sort of, capturing something that's impactful,
really listen to your heart and find a way to filter out what it is saying.
I know it seems very cliche, sometimes, when people always say "listen to your heart. listen to your heart."
But it's so true, because who you are is a very strong representation of what that voice is,
and if you are able to sort of translate that voice into a visual image,
and one that is impactful to you and those around you, it could be very powerful.
MARIA: And you've traveled all over the world for photography.
JIDE: Right. MARIA: What has been your favorite location to shoot?
My favorite location? Oh my god! You know, this is such a hard question.
because there's so many great locations!
One of the greatest places that I've been to to date has been India.
Um, India has provided me with almost everything.
It's provided me with people, provided me with character,
provided me with, you know, with smells, with color,
with everything a photographer could dream...
Light! Anything you can think about.
And it's one place that I'm looking forward to going back when this is all over.
When we have the ability to travel freely as we did before.
MARIA: Yeah. And then, once we are able to travel again,
is there a country that's on your bucket list?
Indeed!
There's a country next door to India called Bangladesh.
I'm very much looking forward to actually crossing the border between India and Bangladesh.
There's a pretty amazing ceremony--is it Bangladesh or Pakistan?
Anyway, there's a really interesting ceremony that happens at the border
where you have the guards sort of doing some sort of ceremony between themselves.
And I want to sort of see if I can photograph that,
and then go into Bangladesh and see if I can get some sort of contrast between the countries.
Um, you know, one of the things that I love so much about India is its personality.
I wanna see if that same personality exists in Bangladesh as well.
MARIA: That's really cool. JIDE: Or, if anything, something different.
Right!
MARIA: And, speaking of ceremonies,
what has been one of the coolest weddings or ceremonies that you've ever shot?
I recently got the opportunity of photographing the great rapper J. Cole.
And I really, really enjoyed not just photographing the ceremony,
but the actual ceremony itself.
It was one ceremony I was very nervous about because, you know, he's a celebrity and everything.
But it was just that whole feeling of being around people who just could be your best friends.
And then just having the freedom to do pretty much anything that you wanted to do.
That's one of the coolest and best ceremonies I've ever had to photograph.
MARIA: Yeah, that's amazing!
MARIA: And, what has been some of the most challenging shoots you ever had to do?
One of the most challenging shoots, and in fact it always is challenging,
whenever I have to shoot a wedding in Nigeria.
Um, it's, in Nigeria... If you ever have a look at a Nigerian wedding,
you can have in excess of about five, six thousand people attending the ceremony.
MARIA: Wow!
And yeah, it's quite a lot of people.
And you have to somehow navigate your way, be creative
and of course, with that many people there are many other photographers
who are out there to photograph the same ceremony.
Everyone's trying to get in your way. Everyone's trying to get their own shots.
It's like photographing the Queen or, you know, a huge dignitary, for instance.
Now, that's essentially what their ceremonies are like.
And they happen every single weekend. MARIA: Wow.
So yeah. So, it's not just one particular ceremony or one particular shoot.
It happens all the time, but it's very, very, very challenging each time.
MARIA: That's amazing.
And this is probably a hard question to even answer at this point,
but if you weren't a photographer, what would you be?
That's always something I ask myself every single time. [Maria laughs]
If it wasn't a photographer...
And it the thing is, I go back in time and I ask myself,
"What if I didn't have the opportunity that I have right now? What would I have done?"
"Would I have been a researcher?" since that was kind of the line I was going in.
"Would I have been a banker?"
And I think I would have probably--It would definitely have been something creative.
Maybe something along the lines of architectural design.
Because I think I have some sort of attraction to things that are very visual.
So it would definitely be in that arena.
MARIA: Yeah...
And, what's some of the best piece of advice you've ever received, career or even just life-wise?
The best advice, I could say to this day, is something somebody--a really good friend of mine--
said to me about ten years ago.
And what she said to me was "Today, you can do anything you want to do."
And I know it sounds very strange,
but every time I've always kind of hit a block with any sort of adventure that I set myself to do,
I always hear that word, that this is actually possible.
I can do anything. Whatever I set my mind to do, I can definitely do it.
So I just kind of keep that at the back of my head.
And sort of set goal, a set a target and just kind of keep believing that it is possible.
And that kind of keeps me going each time.
MARIA: And aside from your camera, what's your favorite piece of gear?
I'm gonna be really, really sad if I tell you, it's my iPhone. [both laugh]
MARIA: You wouldn't be the first to say that!
No, because I think about it like, "What is the thing that I can't live without right now?"
And then, I'm one of those people who actually doesn't like people on their phones all the time.
But I actually realize that my phone is the one thing that I could do the most things with,
and I can't do anything without.
So, that is my favorite gear at the moment.
MARIA: And, if there were to be a movie about your life, who would play you?
Who would play me? [Maria laughs]
I would say Sidney Poitier.
Sidney Poitier really just because--
I mean, he was the first black man to win an Oscar, so that was some sort of anomaly.
And I'd like to view myself as some sort of anomaly,
somebody who's trying to break ground and do different things,
and again, as a black person, I want to sort of represent things that are new.
And I think his character definitely would fit me.
MARIA: That's amazing. That's perfect!
And last question: who should we interview next?
I want you to interview Christy Odom. She's been one of the most inspirational people for me.
She's also a fellow Nikon ambassador.
She has shot some amazing, amazing wildlife photography.
And I'm not a wildlife photographer but I certainly learn a lot just from looking at her work.
And then, finally, she has an engineering background just like me!
So, we have so many parallels.
And I'll be very, very interested to see an interview of her. MARIA: Cool!
Yeah, absolutely, we'll definitely call her up!
But thank you so much for answering all my questions.
And I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Thank you so much! I'm gonna go back shooting right now!
MARIA: Perfect, thank you!