The one job Kenya's most sought after photographer turned down despite paying top dollar
The 33yr old photographer has taken some of the most iconic and viral photos of Presidents and laymen alike some of which have broken the Internet.
The 33yr old photographer is one of the most sought after Photographers in the country, he has taken some of the most iconic and viral photos of Presidents and laymen alike some of which have broken the Internet as well as appeared on international media papers.
However even as one of the most sought after photographer in Kenya and now expanding to East Africa, Khateli there are certain jobs he won’t take.
He has had to disappoint some clients who have sought his services despite them offering top dollar as Business Insider SSA found out when it sat down with the celebrated photographer for an interview.
“(laughing) Yes, there is one client who approach me for a certain work”
Khateli who is now on the lips of every corporate company in the region and even state officials who routinely hire him to cover State events is also a budding blogger.
So whenever he is at any event locally or abroad Khateli normally takes photos of whatever he has been assigned to do but also takes his own side photos and content for his blog which he hopes to turn into a photo archive one day.
And that is how he came across a client whom unsuccessfully sought his photography services.
“She told me she had googled and my name came up, she was working in the adult industry (sex worker)”
“And she wanted my services as photography to show and advertised her work and she was paying well”
You see Khateli who now cover state functions and some of the biggest events in the country like the Pope Visit to Kenya, Barrack Obama visit to Kenya, Chris Brown concert in Mombasa to covering the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, started his career as boudoir photographer, he was actually the first Kenyan photographer to venture into this boudoir genre.
“The first time I ever got recognition is when I started boudoir photography but you know, (pauses) I don’t know the market was not ready and open then that much so guys didn’t really accept it, guys would say this is pornography” he discloused.
Boudoir photography which originates from French “Boudoir” and means a lady’s private dressing room or bedroom, is a photographic style featuring intimate, romantic, and sometimes erotic images of its subjects in a bedroom or private dressing room environment.
“So I remember I would get a few clients mostly couples but it was not consistent so I would sublimate it with other ordinary mainstream photography of events to survive”
The photos are tasteful and nudity is typically implied rather than explicit, they are sensual and sexy as well as classy and elegant.
“so I tried but it didn’t work people were scared, Kenyans are conservative and would say ooh this is porn and so on so I stopped and I stopped completely when I got married”
However despite Khateli having the skills to match the job and the client paying top dollar he turned it down.
“She told me what she want, she even told me the photos won’t be published locally but unfortunately I told her I can’t do it since I was already married, that is the only job I refused”
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