ONGWEDIVA – Jonas Nghishihange embarked on photography at the age of 19 and is possibly Oshakati’s best photographer. Well-known as JFocus Media, the 25-year-old said it was not an easy climb up the ladder to success. Also known as ‘Jonas the Educator’, Nghishihange said he one day gathered enough confidence and approached his brother to borrow his camera that was just sitting at home doing nothing. “I started taking pictures of my friends at school for fun. The next thing people started asking me how much I charge per picture. At first, I used to capture for free until I started charging as little as N$5 per picture and this is how I gained my experience,” he recalled.
Nghishihange then started to be booked to shoot big events which generated him a lot of money; more than he expected. This pushed him to venture into photography full-time because he noticed how fast the industry was generating money. A teacher by profession, he puts his profession on hold to pursue a career in the photography industry. Nghishihange said that his business helps him take care of his family. “As I speak, I am taking care of my household in all aspects, be it buying food, paying water or electricity. I am also grateful I have parents who believe in God, and they always make sure they pray for my business to grow,” he added.
Asked about some of his challenges, Nghishihange said working with different people who have different understandings of how photography works. “Some clients expect pictures way sooner after the shoot was done not knowing they still have to go through the editing process,” he said. He is now looking into equipping someone who can fully take over his business before he moves back to what he specialised in – teaching. Nghishihange urged everyone sitting at home waiting to get a job to rise, take a leap of faith, and dive into business.
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