David Wanjohi says he has ventured into street photography to earn his daily bread.
"After finishing high school in 2020, I attained a mean grade of C minus and since there were no resources to take me to college, I decided to take an online short course in photography," said Wanjohi.
This he said included videography and content creation where he paid for a subscription for the course that amounted to about Sh15,000.
Wanjohi said it took him three months to complete the course.
The young entrepreneur said that in October 2022 he started casual jobs in Nairobi and saved to buy a camera to practice what he had been learning.
"Luckily in January 2023, I bought my first camera worth Sh50,000. I started freelancing where I approach customers in the street and charge them Sh100 per photo," Wanjohi said.
He slowly gained confidence as a street photographer in Nairobi aiming to buy all the equipment including set up stand for Sh14,000, a softbox for Sh12,00, a strobeSh60,000 and one lens for Sh18,000 to enable him do photograph any time of day.
Additionally, he urged the county government to support talents and make the business environment favourable for youth who are using skills learned in school to solve day-to-day problems.
Challenges
Although street photography has gained popularity in major towns, Wanjohi says in Nyeri, it is a new kid in the bloc and many residents are still skeptical about it.
He says majority of senior residents in the town are yet to embrace the idea and most of them occasionally take photographs and not on the streets.
His sentiments are echoed by 60-year-old Elijah Kimani who says at his age, he does not fancy the idea of photography.
Kimani who operates a hardware within Nyeri town said the idea only favours Gen Z's and millennials who have several social media platforms.
"At my age am not comfortable sitting there on the street and taking a photo, we take photos on occasion or with my phone, but maybe my children and grandchildren can," Kimani said.
Wanjohi says unpredictable weather conditions are a major challenge to his work.
"Sometimes it is too hot and people cannot walk in the hot sun. On other days it rains too much and we spend the day indoors. With such unpredictability, it becomes hard to fully depend on street photography," he said.
Additionally, they face harassment from county government officials who view them as hawkers.
As a result, Wanjohi is forced to operate in the evening after attending to other duties.