We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eric Nwokocha a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Eric thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I first had an interest in photography when I was a senior in high school, because I was on the yearbook staff and got my first mini extra tiny taste of photojournalism.

I had always been interested since then, but never put in enough effort to improve beyond taking pictures with my phone, until last year. Our church, the Faith Filled Church, was getting back into form post-pandemic, and one of the needs we had was new pictures of our pastors and services, which I took. From there, I had just been going to any local concert, show, or photo walk, and taking, editing, and delivering pictures of anyone and anything that was willing. I would go to concerts where I didn’t even know the artists performing, just because I wanted the experience to improve at concert photography. I’d take my friends to selfie museums and take pictures of them, and I’d volunteer to do any headshot, birthday shoot, or event available.

I was literally super scared at first – I remember the day I posted my Instagram flyer that I was accepting my first bookings, I deleted the entire app the moment someone liked the post. I couldn’t believe that someone could trust me with whatever their vision was. At some point, I had to really forgo my own perception of my work with actual reality, that I did actually have the ability to do this and improve and build this into something bigger, and that moment when I decided to change perspectives really allow me to thrive in the space I was in.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a photographer, and I have been doing photography professionally for just over a year, and specialize in portraiture, concerts/live music, landscape/street photography, and real estate.

I started out taking pictures and creating media for my church, and was encouraged to really put all of my effort and energy into making photography, among other things, a career I could pursue.

Slowly but surely I started to improve in the quality of my work, developed relationships with musicians, keep myself available, and it just started to grow from there, and now I take pictures of a whole bunch of things, from people, to landscapes, to real estate, to concerts, and I get to make visions real for a lot of people, including myself.

What sets me apart from my peers in the space is the thing that sets all of us apart from each other, which is the fact that I’m 100% myself. When you work with me, you’re not just working with someone who can take pictures well, but working with my entire visionary and creative flow. I bring myself to everything I do, and that allows the people I work with to have a real person to connect with, that can materialize their vision.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience on social media by literally posting everything I had. I think people started to seriously associate me as a photographer in part because every piece of work I had I posted. I posted even the things that didn’t fit my view of perfection, because ultimately someone somewhere would appreciate it still.

Every photoshoot, every graphic, every concert, every event, post it and market it, and desire to make what you want to make, not just what’s trending.
Aspire to connect with people with your posts, and your stuff will grow.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is definitely seeing yourself improve in whatever you’re doing in real time. I can see the progress I’ve made in the quality of my photography even from two months ago, and it’s always rewarding when you “unlock” a new level.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ericnwokocha.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/nwokocha__
• Twitter: Twitter.com/nwokocha__
• Other: Linktr.ee/nwokocha

Image Credits
Jaye Hill Eric Nwokocha