Blanck Magazine 5 | Page 80

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