It all started like every other day for Olajumoke a bread hawkersomwhere in Lagos. She had no inkling that the day would turn out no ordinary say as she unknowingly walked into TY Bello's shooting session of a celebrity and alas! Jumoke walked into her ticket to fame or become a celebrity overnight! Now, that's what anyone would call 'divine intervention!!
When God says it's your time to be made, nothing and no one can stop it.
Olajumoke's story is so imspiring that in the past few days it has in many ways uplifted the spirits of many struggling Nigerians and even a few others in the world out there with a new lease of life and boost to keep doing what they do; hoping that one day, their stories could also change overnight like that of Olajumoke. From just hawking 'Agege' bread on the streets, she's now on the cover pages of magazines and everywhere on social media not for anything shameful but a real life story of 'GRASS TO GRACE'.
God bless helpers like TY Bello and many others who have in one way or the other helped people like Olajumoke to stardom. Truly, everybody needs just one man. My sincere prayer is that God leads every of your ordained helpers to locate you in this year 2016.
Continue reading and find below the entire story as shared by TY Bello on her Instagram page:
“I
only recently started thinking it was important to make ‘behind -the –
scenes videos of my photography sessions . I hardly , however make time
to go through the footages simply because I find it uncomfortable
looking at my self on screen and for the obvious fact that I sound wierd
and embarrassingly loud when I shoot. Yesterday how ever I sat with
filmaaker @emaedosio as we combed through go-pro footages to see if we
captured the very moment ..
“Olajumoke a bread hawker from the
Sabo market bakery , walked entirely by coincidence unto our set of our
Thisday style shoot for @tiniegram The moment didn’t look special at
all. If anything she stood there a little confused .. Some people asking
her to leave the set and others asking her to stay . I signaled if it
was ok to take her photograph and she agreed and I pressed on my shutter
so she could move ahead.
“My main subject of interest was the
Okada driver that had slowed down just before she arrived .Okada riders
have that cool lagos vibe and always happen to add a bit of swag to
street portraits. I was wrong to have paid her such little attention.
Ever frame with her in it was perfect .. I had found a second subject in
the Tinnie’s story .. A young beautiful hawker who could have served as
a love interest of some sort.
“Digitally I made the red in her
dress match @tiniegram sleeves to create a connection between them
. When the magazine came out last week and the images hit social media, I
was proven right this girl split the limelight with the main subject
effortlessly ..questions and comments started to fly : Was she a model ?
How did we convince the model to balance all that bread on her head.
“The
buzz about her multiplied when I clarified that she indeed wasn’t a
model at all but simply stumbled on our set. I immediately begone my
search for her .If so many felt she was beautiful enough to be a model..
Then maybe she was mean to be one .I was going to find a way to make it
happen .I had assistants leave word with people in the area we shot her
and to my delight the very next day , she showed up at my studio. “Aso
kan na ni mo wo kiri Lana .”
“Jumoke the ‘model’ the Internet had
been searching for speaks almost no English. She explained how she had
worn the exact outfit in our photograph the day before and someone
showed her her own photograph on his phone from face book. A mallam led
her to my studio that morning. She narrated her journey to lagos …A hair
stylist from Ire in Osun state but not making enough profit between she
and her husband , a sliding door installer in from same village ,to
care for their two young children .
“At the invitation of a
distant relative who knew someone operating a bakery , she relocated
lagos with her 14 month old daughter to give bread hawking a try ,
leaving her husband and older 5 year old behind . As I listened to her I
wandered if the beauty I had seen on my screen as I edited my image was
a fluke ..well until she smiled ., I realized that I was wrong ., I had
in fact ,underestimated the beauty of this 27 year old woman.
“As
always ., it was her eyes and of course her perfectly chiseled features
that jumped out at you when she chuckled .This lady belonged in front
of my camera .After a conversation with her husband telling him the
story of our meeting I decided I was going to photograph her that very
afternoon..Within an hour ..Bimpe Onakoya , one of Nigeria’s leading
makeup artist and Zubby one of my favourite hairstylist were at my
studio to work magic.
“They had both followed the story online and
were more than happy to put in their very best for her. Olajumoke ..,
with curly extensions out ,revealed a short natural Afro that
beautifully hugged her face.@Bimpeonakoya also had decided to keep the
make up minimal… She stepped in front of my camera and I almost couldn’t
recognize her . She moved different too.Jumoke looked straight into my
lens emoting like she had done this all her life …. I knew we had found a
star.”
Hmmm! What more can I say? Congrats to Olajumoke and once again, God bless TY Bello!!
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