She is beautiful by creation and even more attractive with her camera hanging on her left arm as she walked into the event of the Marriott International Day celebrations Worldwide with graceful confidence. Stunned by this image of God that arrested my attention, I was completely taken away from my thoughts of the beautiful art gallery right in front of me and to the awestruck privilege of seeing the capturing of the master's thought. She was my very first special amazement and largely part of the gallant thrills that day.
Miss Lara Tiamiyu, is the creative director La'Royal Studios. A photography and make up studio. In this interview with Godfrey Times she takes us into the know of creative photography and beauty transformation .
I want to begin by having you know you are the first female photographer I've ever seen in Nigeria and I enjoyed the experience of watching you do your job but it took me to the sphere of questions and one of them was, is she the first in Nigeria or among few others before her?
The thing is I am not the first female photographer neither am I the only one. There are so many female photographers in Nigeria and there were so many before me but not so much actually. So many doing great stuff. I guess your part haven't crossed with them that's why you haven't met them on field or something. So for me being the only one you have seen so far, I think its a good one and shows there are not so many female photographers in event or so.
How did you come about the business of capturing the master's thoughts?
I care about the capturing of the master's thought in nature, in God that created nature and the universe. God, Himself is the master. He is the master of beauty because I just imagine how he created the world itself, out of nothing, He created the heaven and the earth. And they are so beautiful and He made everything so perfect. We have moments, we have nature, we have people in it creating these moments and as it is said; we were created by Him in his image and its so beautiful that am sure we think like him in so many ways. Photography for me is caption, is art, like capturing His creation. That is, what He created that you know, is so beautiful.
I find your services are not limited to that, could you interest us with what La'Royal Studios is entirely all about?
La'Royal studios is all about creating beauty, making women beautiful, bringing out the essence of the beauty in them. So its a photography and make up studio. That's what we do for now. It's all about creating the moment for people, creating moments with their environment, with people that surrounds them or family they love the most. Just creating the magic. I think the moment is actually key for us that's why we don't joke with it. We try to create that bond to show the bond between people and what they love.
The entertainment industry is verse with many possibilities and opportunities...from your profession's perspective, how do you find this thriving industry?
Yea, there's a lot of possibilities and opportunities in the entertainment industry and I see that photography and entertainment relate. In such a way, if there's entertainment there's photography. Everything in entertainment has to do with photography. It is what captures the entertainment, it interprets, you are able to see it in an image because they work hand in hand so close. Photography makes entertainment more interesting and very well appreciated, so they really do work hand in hand and go on together. And, its really thriving and so many things are happening and I think that's why we find it more interesting like everyday. Every year by year things are happening and all that, its really so interesting.
Passion is encouragingly much more than a vital push in whatever we find ourselves doing and evidently that you surely do possess...could you tell us about it?
To my understanding, passion is what drives me, it pushes me to do more despite the challenges of being a female photographer. I realize that my passion has really kept me going, in all the tough situations and longsuffering. It really made me to have the longsuffering and how to be able to strive harder, you know, keep working, I find out that my passion kills laziness in me. I think because I love photography generally, so it really made the whole thing great. I realize passion is not enough, still have to bring somethings into it like credibility, competence. You know, just to keep things going, keep going really. In any profession, passion is so important. When am on the field my passion just grows, like when am with my camera, I never get tired and I also feel am not alone, it gives me that strength to want to go on, to want to face life itself and it's challenges. So for the past few years, it's been so interesting. Somethings I never knew I had strength in me, I find myself conquering these challenges and I think that's a good thing for me.
What is your perspective on the business of creativity with photography and beauty transformation?
Creativity in photography is important because photography is creative on it's own and it's also beauty. Photography is light. The transformation in it is not to make people look like what they are not. People should be able to still see their images and are able to relate them with the people around them. Like you are trying to find the person in the picture and the person standing and you can't just relate the two of them, I think that is going to be like a disaster. When you are talking about beauty transformation , you are talking about make up. You just don't want people to look totally different really, I think we have a lot of stuff happening like that. Where you see somebody after being made up you are just looking for the person like, where are you? What happened to you? Oh, ok it's you, you look totally different from you without a make up. So my perspective is, photography is creativity, like you have to be creative when it comes to photography and the transformation shouldn't be that crazy-like. Yea, you transform people to be better than who they are but not totally different from who they really are.
As you well know, we just celebrated Lagos@50 with celebrities and renowned politicians declaring Lagos as their success story. What is La'Royal's story concerning Lagos@50.?
My story concerning Lagos@50 is, I think because I was born and brought up in Lagos I can relate my success story to the state but despite that, am not close to the success I want or where I want to be, am not close to it at all, like at all! So I can't really relate it for now, maybe when I get everything I want, maybe achieved, then I will see the success in it and I will be able to relate it with Lagos, having been behind the story concerning my success.
What challenges have you experienced?
I've had so many challenges, as a female photographer. Like in few years back it can be really tough on field, people like you when they see a female photographer, the camera looks good on you, they will appreciate you but to an extent some women just make is so difficult. They make it look like hmmm as if you are coming to compete with them somewhere and I really don't get that. I usually get so confuse when they put up some act and attitude. They are always challenges because they use to see it as a man's profession and now women are finding themselves in it so there's a lot towards it and how to also do the business part of it. I've had several challenges but the one that really touched me most, was a male client of ours that called us for a job. He was going to have a surprise birthday for his wife, though I was a bit younger than what I am now. And later on, when it got down on the woman that hmmm its a young girl taking my picture like a pretty young girl, she just stopped smiling at my camera (laughs) oh my God! She stopped smiling, started frowning and giving attitudes. In a little while she called the husband in and I don't understand what she was thinking even if she doesn't trust her husband about having an affair outside, it shouldn't be that day. She shouldn't have taken out the aggression, just show everything and transfer them on me. I guess she thought the husband was having an affair with me? I don't know, I really don't know the issue they had in their house before me coming to the house for the first time, and really the man was my client. The situation was really so funny, it got to a point the man had to call me and say: oh please am so sorry you just have to go. You know, my wife is er, but I actually understood the whole thing. I heard the part where she was saying how can you call a young girl to come take my picture? Haha! It sounded like, see up till today I still can't relate it because I have had many experiences but this one really got to me like come on! Am sure if it was a guy that came she won't react that way so because am a female, should I be a stigma, for being a female photographer?
So many issues, we will go to a client's house and they are just thinking their husband is dating this vendor. It's just so funny, seriously. And, you will see them they will show it all over. So does it mean because we are going to a client's place then as a female photographer, we should dress down and look dirty? We shouldn't take care of our hair? Like we shouldn't even rob powder like white powder? As in "hissed". Its just so funny, really.
I wish I could say more but majorly, those are the challenges and am sure some female photographers are facing that, yea, am sure about that. But it's interesting at the same time because it makes people feel...I don't know, it just shows the weakness in them but it means they are suppose to work on it and not making it a hell for a guest or a visitor coming to your house for the first time and you are just showing it and putting it into their face, uh, some women can really you know, get so bad like that.
Godfrey Times
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