Stretch your limits: Joshua

Photography has made it easier for me to talk to different people.

I like numbers. As an accountant at the Management Information & Expenses team here at Wholesale Banking in the UK, I can do what I love: drill down to the details, get to the bottom of things, do the investigative work. It’s never boring.

In 2016, I was looking for a challenge outside of work as well. I had already done charity runs, but wanted to do something totally new. My dad always had an interest in photography, so I decided to try that.

My approach was to first buy a camera and then teach myself how to use it. I sat for hours watching videos on YouTube to learn the technology of photography — things like aperture, shutter speed, bokeh. Eventually I started taking pictures of people – first of my family, then my friends. When I showed them what I made, they said they were quite good. That’s how I discovered my talent.

Gradually I developed my own style. My style of taking pictures is to work with different angles, preferably outdoors as you have more possibilities to compose an image. I prefer doing full-body portraits of urban fashion. I’ve even turned my photography hobby into a business that specializes in urban fashion. My clients are models who want to improve or expand their portfolio, and clothing brands. I have shoots almost every weekend and often in the evenings in summer time.

Express myself

Everyone has a complex personality. My work at ING and my photography each reflect a part of my complexity. Accountancy allows me to explore problem-solving and investigate certain issues. Photography gives me a way to explore another part of me: to express myself, be creative and artistic. Both activities complement each other too. Photography has made it easier for me to talk to different people at ING because I meet strangers all the time during my shoots. I now have more confidence dealing with colleagues from different departments, finding a common interest, and connecting.

Photography has gone beyond me just taking pictures. It’s now a passion. My ambition is to get my work published in a mainstream publication like GQ or Vogue. I also want to get in the studio more and start experimenting with concept photography. One concept that would interest me is Afrofuturism, which explores the traditional sense of what it means to be African and combines that with future images of western technology and western clothing. I’d like to put my own spin on that concept.

Stretch your limits

At ING, we like to challenge ourselves to continually develop and become the best we can be. In this series, employees talk about the interesting activities they take on outside their ‘regular’ job, and how these also help them grow in their role at ING.

Joshua’s website

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