Eleanor Goodey is no stranger to the photography industry in Nigeria as her works and I’m a portrait photographer,
Paris trained Nigerian based portrait and commercial photographer, Eleanor Goodey is known to always create timeless memoirs with the lens of her camera. Her vintage and painting like style of capturing images and most especially her heart warming mother and daughter shots, sets her works apart. Eleanor Goodey through her skills and creativity has constantly created breathtaking pictures of her clients with the fairytale imagery which leaves people awed on social media. Her fascinating headshots, bridal shots and a whole lot more just further accentuates her creativity. According to her – I’m easy going and totally the girl next door. In this interview, Eleanor speaks on her paying passion and how she has managed to stay on top.
T & E – Why did you choose to venture into photography?
EG As a means of self expression, I’ve always loved to share my thoughts and feelings, i loved to write, everyone thought I would do something to do with writing, I thought so too, I went to Paris to study photojournalism, as I always thought I would eventually own a magazine, we were required to take studio classes and that’s where I fell in love with photography
T & E -Your social life is pretty much under the radar, is there any reason for this?
EG– Not really, I don’t have time to socialize, and truth be told, I like it, I’m very selfish with whatever time I have to myself, if I’m not working, I’m with my kids… not much time left for anything else
T & E -Can you take us through what a typical day is like for you?
EG– School runs, I head home and do some exercise, then I head to the studio, sessions can take up the whole day, I take a break in between to pick up my daughter from school then head back to the studio , I go back home, hang out with the family and then edit till about 2am… Some days, no studio but it gives me time to catch up on work
T & E -What do you do when you’re not working?
EG – I go to my favorite restaurants . I read a book, mostly Netflix and chill, I gist a lot on my phone with friends though
T & E -Is there a particular type of shoot that you prefer over others?
EG– I like glamour portraits, I love helping women look and feel beautiful
T & E -Do you take all the shots yourself or you sometimes have it delegated?
EG – For now I shoot and edit everything, Hopefully I can outsource editing at some point
T & E -What challenges do you face in your line of work?
EG – My work is a huge part of my life, It takes a huge chunk out of family time and my social life… I’m grateful to have as many clients as I do, however it takes its toll… I can’t draw the line, I’m up editing till early hours of the morning to meet up with deadlines, the business has grown organically over the years, the major challenge is how to take it to the level where I don’t have to be the one shooting and still maintain the quality of work I can be proud of.
T & E -Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
EG – That’s easy : Awesome!
T & E -Who do you look up to when it comes to photography?
EG– Tons of photographers: Sue Bryce, Joel Grimes, Henry Oji
T & E -In one sentence, to what do you most attribute your success?
EG – My drive to keep improving and reinventing
T & E -If you were not into photography, what would you have been doing ?
EG – Writing, probably be an Author, or coming up with fun and quirky phrases for greeting cards….