We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adedoyin Owoniyi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adedoyin below.

Alright, Adedoyin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Growth is exciting, but from what we’ve seen across thousands of conversations with entrepreneurs it’s also dangerous if costs aren’t watched closely – sometimes costs can grow out of control outpacing revenue growth and putting the viability of the entire business at risk. How have you managed to keep costs under control?

I would share two story paths which I have practiced in my journey being a portrait artist & photographer.

When I decided to start doing portrait photography for my customers, I researched how much it would cost me, and by extension my customers to rent studios for every shoot I had, even the “free” ones, and I knew in that instance, that it was a piece of cost I could cut out. What I decided to do was then to invest in the equipment that allowed me set up a studio on the fly at customer’s homes, or mine which still gave the studio experience. Since these items were inexpensive and reusable, over time, I was keeping increasing costs in check and actively growing revenue.

I also remember the first time I wanted to purchase a prime RF lens, those prices scared me so bad I never went back to the Canon website. What I decided to do instead, was look over on Ebay for EF lenses in mint condition, and purchase an adapter. This is because an EF lens (zoom or prime) + an adapter, is still more affordable than an RF lens out of the box. In this way, I have been able to keep cost for each new lens more manageable and increase my revenue actively.

In conclusion, don’t spend money just because you have it lying around, spend it if only necessary and there’s no cheaper quality alternative.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Doyin Owoniyi, a portrait artist & photographer based in Austin Texas. I am in my late twenties and have always being a creative. I started painting and drawing as early as 6yrs old and many years later, now, I create digitally distinct and satisfying portraits for my clients.

I actually never planned to be a portrait artist, in fact, I bought my Canon camera because I was/am a Youtuber and wanted better quality videos for my youtube channel. However, I started taking photos for my friends and I was also in the creative team in church, helping make and edit videos for our church services. The more I learnt about similarities between photos and videos, the more I knew I wanted in.

My interests are in Portraits, Fashion & lifestyle photography and very recently I worked with Nappy.com on digital portraitures to improve the representation of black & brown skin people for stock photos. What I provide to my clients are timeless, emotionally present and unique pieces, which comes from my deep and conscious extroverted personality. I try to make my clients as comfortable as possible, so I can capture a wide range of emotions and let them decide which of those they want to be projected as to the world.

I am most proud of the feedback I get from my clients. Many male photographers have bad PR, but I’ve been told how professional I am by all the people I’ve had the privilege to work with. I believe that a good name is indeed more valuable than riches, and I am working hard to build a stain free brand.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This is not a long winded story at all, but like I already mentioned, I am a Youtuber who got my camera because I wanted to improve the quality of my videos. I work a regular 9-5 during the week, so I had some money from my savings to start my business. Along the way, I have applied to some creativity grants and been privileged to get one, so that also helped provide funding to my business.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is hearing the feedback from people you work with and people that get to see and interact with the work. It takes time to carefully craft every image, so seeing people relate positively and willing to pay for it is a blessing for sure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thedoyinowoniyi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.o.doyin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuUFt8iL02JVlY7E9iTCNMw