Did you guys know you would
eventually end up in this field?
ow does it feel working
together?
It’s actually a plus because
we both bring different things to the
table.
Ada: I was quite comfortable for
a while just doing what I loved
(photography) and wasn’t really
looking at the business side. Manre
was more of the proactive one when
it came to the business.... I became
more proactive because of him and
it’s been great. Of course it’s not all
peaches and gravy when people
work together, there are great and
challenging days.
Ada: well I knew I would be involved
in this field to some capacity. Now
that I think about it I’ve always known
although my major in University is a
stark contrast to photography. I feel
blessed to be able to pursue it full
time. Manre still has his own budding
career and also spear heads Avaloni
Studios when he isn’t working.
Photography is definitely something
we will be doing for a very, very long
time.
Tell us about Avaloni studios.
Lol. Anyone in the creative field knows
you are bound to butt heads once in a
while. We don’t always agree but we
manage to work around that. Avaloni Studios is a creative outfit
with different facets. Although it’s
mostly photography Ada has other
specialties which she provides
services for. She also delves into print
and graphic design and has a number
of clients. We’ve been up and running
for close to five years now. We also do
wedding photography and we have a
separate site for our wedding clients.
Tell us how it all started; your
background and growing up? How lucrative is this line of
business?
Ada: I’m the first and only daughter
of my parents, in addition to 4 siblings.
I grew up in Nigeria and spent a great
amount of time in boarding school
like most of my peers. I moved to
the United States in 2004. I attended
secondary school in Nigeria and came
to the U.S. for college. Fast forward to
a few years later I got interested in
photography and with time I decided
fashion and beauty photography was
more my speed. Although I also shoot
weddings.
Manre: I was born in London. I have
three siblings and didn’t quite grow
up in one set location. My family and I
moved around a lot due to the nature
of my father’s job at the time. But
once we moved to the United States
that seemed to be our final home.
I didn’t quite grow up in Nigeria.
Only spent a few years there before
moving again. Ada definitely has a
hand in me delving into photography.
Although I loved taking photos I never
really thought about the professional
aspect. Any business is as lucrative as how
muc