Before the bookings, the recognition, and the near-nonstop wedding shoots, Oscar Ntege was just a young photographer with passion but little direction, and then a single Facebook message changed everything.
“I got a message from someone called Steve Jean,” Oscar recalls. “He told me, ‘Hey Oscar, you have very nice pictures. Can you come to Fenon Records?’”
At the time, Oscar didn’t even know where Fenon Records was. But he followed the lead, and that decision would mark the beginning of a complete turnaround.
Steve Jean, proprietor of Fenon Records, didn’t just offer him a job. He offered him a wake-up call.
Oscar landed a deal worth Shs 1.5 million, money he used to buy his very first computer. That purchase became a turning point. With a new tool in hand, he started sharing his work online more consistently.
But Steve saw what Oscar couldn’t.
“Your work is good,” he told him, “but everything else?” Needs fixing.
His social media presence was messy. Captions lacked capital letters. Punctuation was off. Even names were misspelled. Worse still, his page read “Weeding Photograpy” instead of “Wedding Photography,” a small mistake with a big impact.
Oscar had talent, but his presentation was holding him back.
Then came the boldest move.
Steve asked Oscar if he had a Visa card. He did, with just some little money on it. Steve took it, swiped $50 (about Shs185,000), and ran a promotion.
Oscar didn’t fully understand what was happening. But the results spoke louder than any explanation.
In 2013 alone, Oscar booked 97 weddings.
From struggling creative to fully booked photographer, all in one year.