His mother wished he grew up to become a medical
doctor, but Benjamin Amening - a computer science graduate from NIIT in Accra, followed
his passion for photos and has ended up as a photographer. He is well-known in
Tema and its environs as the youngest professional photographer.
Benjamin’s desire for photos forced him to sleep in
his mum’s kitchen and transformed the sitting room into a photo studio. He started
operating in the sitting room (photo studio) as an amateur photographer with a black
curtain as the backdrop and just an ordinary camera.
“I didn’t have to go to school to study how to use
the camera. I loved pictures and every time a picture is being taken I see a
different view of how the pictures should have been captured. One time, I had a
camera and whiles I played around with it for a long time I begun to understand
how the camera worked” Benjamin added.
Benjamin’s struggle to achievement started in 2005 after
he completed his Senior High and had wanted to make ends meet since he lost his
dad at a tender age and mummy was not financially sound enough to continue his
education.
He worked diversely to make his mummy proud; pupils’
teacher, graphic designer and web developer but then again was still doing his photography
as and when it comes. His mum, brothers and aunties never supported his idea of
becoming a photographer.
From the little jobs he did, Benjamin was able to
gather some money to continue his education into the tertiary stage with
support from his mum. He also relocated from his mum’s house to a single room apartment
to carry on with his passion. At his new apartment, he again used his sitting
room as a photo studio.
“Through recommendations, my clients increased and I
started to receive phone calls from people all over Ghana to cover their
weddings, parties, naming ceremonies and all the events you can think of. They liked
my photos and motivated me to go into full time photography”
In 2014, when Benjamin completed his tertiary
education, he decided to go into full time photography when his relatives expected
him to do his national service and work in a government sector.
Despite the challenges he went through, the Tema
based photographer was not discouraged, “the challenges I encountered forced
me to pursue things that where even bigger than me just to reach my dreams.” Through
the hard work, Benjamin gathered a lot of money and realised the need to
acquire a photo studio.
At a point when he had acquired his new photo
studio, more ladies begun to fall in love with his pictures and wanted to
become his photo model, he thought of establishing a modelling agency.
Today Benjamin Amening can brag as the Chief
Executive Officer of One Click Modelling Agency and One Click Photography located
in Tema which has all the equipment necessary for professional photography.
28yrs of age, Benjamin’s uniqueness in his field of
work has won the hearts of some well-known people in the country including,
Opanka, Ephriam, Stacy Amoateng, Samira Adams, Helen Asante and many others.
 |
| Opanka |
 |
| Stacy |
After the adverse opposition he faced from his
relatives, they have finally lent him their support and are now a major source
of encouragement for him.
Benjamin believes that working on his own has really
shaped him in many directions as he’s learnt to manage people especially as
emotions are involved in this field. He recalls how some clients can be
‘troublesome’ but with time he’s developed a special skill in talking to them
and making them understand him from a professionally angle.
 |
| Ephriam |
He looks forward to building his clientele base and
expanding his modelling agency. Benjamin advised young people to follow their
passion and break barriers to actualise their dreams. He also added that the
odds will not always be in their favour but if they press on, they will
definitely have a success story to share someday.
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