My first camera was a donation

Ben Kiruthi, you are arguably one of the finest wedding photographers in Kenya? How does that feel?

I am totally humbled by that statement. But it feels great. Well, it gets scary at times knowing that a lot of expectation gets tagged with being one of the best. Though we thank God all the same, it has been a wonderful journey and I thank Him for bringing me this far.

Tell us a little about your background?

I was born in 1983 to a Kenyan father and Ugandan mother. I was the last born in a family of three. I have an older sister Sheila and an older brother Brian. I went to Hospital Hill Primary School (1990-1997) then Moi Forces Academy (1998-2001) both in Nairobi, then pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Computer Engineering at Jomo Kenyatta University of Arts and Technology (2002-2008). I also have an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the Kenya Methodist University (2009-2010).

So you are an engineer. Why did you decide to branch into photography specifically weddings?

When I cleared campus, I got employed in one of the local telecom firms as a network engineer. At this point in time, I felt very unfulfilled, I wanted more, I felt like there had to be more to life than what my life was. That is when I enrolled for an MBA and decided to pursue a course on entrepreneurship. I was unaware what business I wanted to venture in.

Every good story has a beginning, share your journey...

When I got the calling to get into photography, I was so shocked...I had no idea how a camera works, at that time I owned a Nokia 5130 phone that I loved to take photos with. That was my first camera. I started taking photos of my fiancée Gathoni and posting them on Facebook. That is when people started paying attention to the pictures. We then made a list of all the people we knew and approached them to fund our idea. We also started a Facebook group and asked everyone we knew to donate some cash towards our first camera. God was good and we bought our first camera in August 2010, ventured into fashion photography. I later left to focus solely on weddings since it was really conflicting with our Christian faith.

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I am sure you hustled for some time before you got your big break...

Oh yes! We (Gathoni and I) hustled for what seemed like eternity. We were unable to break even, rent was hard to come by. Our big break came when we decided to focus on wedding photography.

Rumour has it that you charge close to Sh400,000 for a wedding shoot. Don't you think that's too much?

Oh how I wish. We charge between Sh200,000 to Sh235,000.

You tell a story with every image you take. What is the secret?

Oh well, there are two secrets. One is to care about who you are photographing. When you care about people it really shows in the kind of images you create and our second secret is God!

What is one moment you will always remember capturing?

I took a photo of a bride crying as her dad held her hand during the speeches. Her husband was behind her looking at her with tears in his eyes too. This is one of the most special moments I have ever captured.

You got married recently. How is marriage life?

Marriage is great. I have my best friend, soul mate, second shooter, business partner, and wife, always by my side. I wish I had married Gathoni 20 years ago.  She is great, she calms me down, understands me, challenges me to be better, fights with me, answers all those long emails, laughs with me, holds my hand when I am scared, cries with me...the list is endless.

Have the relas started asking, when Kiruthilets are coming?

Hahahaha! None as yet, we are just four and half months in marriage so no pressure yet. Just that everyone wants to host us for dinner, which is not such a bad thing after all.

Away from the lenses... what do you love doing?

When we are not shooting, Gathoni and I love to read, take part in church activities, hang out with our siblings, challenge each other in scrabble (which I always win ), take long walks, lie in bed and talk about anything.

You are so spiritual...

Spirituality is everything. Gathoni and I have come all this far because of God. He is the backbone of our marriage and business. Without God there is no us. God is our secret.

Where do you aspire to be five years from now?

We want to be among the top ten most sought after wedding photographers in the world.

Photos: Facebook