
By Lakhram Bhagirat
Success is the product of hard work, determination and dedication and these are the ingredients that Salim Mohamed most values. It led him to use his struggles as a campaign to fuel his lifelong passion of entering the creative industry.
The 26-year-old hails from the village of Hague Jib on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) and has been a professional photographer for almost three years. The journey to get there has been one filled with bumps along the way. However, those lumps are what fuels the burning desire for him to be among the greats of the world.
“Life has improved, but despite the various challenges, I can definitely say that I have succeeded. I can remember the most heartbreaking moment of my life growing up was when I lost my grandmother who was very dear to me. That’s when I realize what life is like. Here today and gone tomorrow. There will always be challenges in life but I learned to overcome them by staying strong and understanding that it will pass. It’s only a matter of time, ”he said.
Due to a number of factors, Mohamed was unable to formally complete his education. However, it did not prevent him from pursuing trade courses such as electrical installation, IT technician, car engineering and graphics. His drive to continually improve his skills led him to discover his talent in photography.
“I can remind growing up. I got interested in photo editing. I downloaded many editing apps like lightroom, snapseed, canva, etc. on my phone and had my friends send me their photos to edit. I enjoyed editing and from there I developed my passion for photography.
“I was also inspired by Saajid Husani’s work. I really admire his work and hope that one day I will produce as good a work as his. The thing about photography that I love is that we can capture the best moments of our lives that we don’t want to forget. I am always excited to share my clients special moments with them. It’s been years since I did photography as a full-time profession and not one day did it feel like work.
“The first picture I took and edited was views of the Soesdyke Highway. Because of my passion for photography, I put 100 percent of my efforts into it. My intention has always been to make it a full-time profession for me. I had the full support of my family and friends and I thank them for their continued support, ”he said.
When he first got into photography, the first challenge was getting people to recognize his work as a photographer. At first, the jobs only came from family and friends but he knew that in order for them to do them, he would have to put himself out there for the world to see.
That’s how he started marketing his service on social media.
“I worked tirelessly to gain that trust and so most of my work was from family members. I used Facebook as a conduit to get my work out there and when I saw my work that was when I started getting calls from outsiders to shoot weddings, birthdays and other special events. Building my brand was a challenge in itself because there were so many other photographers, and I used to ask myself why people would choose a freshman in photography over someone with more experience. That, I overcame and trusted myself and my work. Another challenge recently is that the pandemic work is not available as it used to be because of the pandemic work. Most marriages already booked were canceled along with so many other events, ”said Mohamed.
To this day he continues to work on building his brand.
“Within the next five years I hope to build my studio so I can start my indoor photo sessions. As well as capturing still images, I also aspire to videography. With my photography experience, one of my dreams is to travel the world capturing different sceneries and working with people from different cultures building friendly relationships. I love meeting and interacting with different people and with photography, it allows me to do that.
“My advice to young people hoping to chase their dreams is to keep working despite the many challenges that come their way and yes, there will be many challenges. Don’t be put off by what other people think, feel or say about your work. Keep going, keep working and you’ll get there one day. Never forget to put God first and trust his timings. ”
To contact Mohamed you can visit his Facebook page – Salim Mohamed Photography or call him at 688-2779.