Amateur Photographer’s Festival of Photography is taking place at the University of Greenwich in London on January 31st, and it promises to be another stimulating and enjoying day for photographers of all levels.
While there is a broad range of speakers at the festival, there is a particular emphasis on documentary and portrait photography, and making photography and videography a career (or at the very least, a useful and satisfying revenue stream).
Some particularly good career advice and insight will come from top fashion, portrait and commercial photographer, Amanda Akokhia, who is one of our star speakers. Amanda will be reflecting on her successful career, from being self taught to working with top brands and clients.
Fortune favours the brave
Amanda, who is of Nigerian heritage, excelled in art and photography at college, but the ingrained Nigerian cultural view that creative careers such as photography were somehow inferior to a ‘serious’ profession meant she initially chose a safer, academic path, studying English Law.
Growing up, she recalls that ‘never in a million years’ did she think would actually get paid to do photography. Despite entering the corporate world, photography remained a constant passion, so Amanda bravely decided to give up her unfulfilling job and opened a studio in London, aged just 24.
‘All I knew is that I had rent to pay, and I had a dream that my image would be on a billboard in London,’ Amanda tells AP. Within a year she achieved that dream and went on to open her second studio in West London during the pandemic.
Cover star
Five years on and she is nowhere close to slowing down, with an impressive roster of clients that’s included Jared Leto, Chris Eubank Jr. and Jodie Turner-Smith. Amanda’s work has also graced the covers of British Vogue, Harpers’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan.
Amanda found success through consistency, networking and and as she puts it, ‘making as much noise as possible in London’ – she’ll be expanding on this during her talk at our festival, so book your tickets today as they are selling fast!
Learn more about Amanda in an in-depth interview in the January 6th issue of Amateur Photographer. Subscribe here – it will make a great Xmas present, either for yourself or a loved one who shares your passion for photography.
Other must-hear speakers at our Festival of Photography include celebrity portrait shooter Harry Borden, lifestyle and music photographer Dean Chalkley, innovative portrait photographer Drew Gardner, film photographer and social media star Miles Myerscough-Harris, all-rounder and photography mentor Denise Maxwell, and more. Book your tickets here.
