An interview with Lagos based architectural & interiors photographer & founder of RubysPolaroid, Tolulope Sanusi

“Light, shadow, lines & texture is what I like to explore. Bringing out what I see through the edit is always a fulfilling feeling and is why I've been on a black & white streak on my personal projects recently.”

Tolulope Sanusi by name, is an architect, avid nature lover and architecture photographer. She is the owner of RubysPolaroid based in Lagos which specialises in architecture and interiors photography.

She graduated with an architectural degree, and worked as a Graduate architect before transitioning to full-time photography 3 years later. She is self-taught having toyed with photography in university as a means of self expression.

Her favourite part of photography is the play of light and shadow on shapes and textures in buildings, and it can be seen with her editing style from her personal Instagram page.

When she is not out photographing for clients or herself, she likes to relax with console games and her favourite youtube channels.

Hi Tolulope, I hope all is safe and well with you and many thanks for taking the time to share with our community.

Let's get cracking shall we......

I suppose we should start with the here and now.....Can you tell us how you are, what has been keeping you occupied recently throughout 2020 and what your plans for the up-and-coming months in 2021?

Hi Pete, 2020 started out like any other, a bit of quiet after the bustle of Christmas and the end of year shoots, things were just picking up to a regular pace when the news wave hit. Then came the lockdowns 3 weeks later. Suffice to say it wasn't till late July before we could get out to shoot projects.

Had a mad dash of projects from July to September, a bit of a break from November into December. I dusted off and restarted my book drafts during the lockdown and finished a photoshop course I had been eyeing from the start of the year.

Plans for 2021.....Ahhh well, travel is out of it for a while. Was planning on going to Morocco this February/March but except it's a really big project all travel projects are cancelled. I'll be focusing on my local work for now, my local being Lagos, Nigeria.

 Well all sounds very similar to over here in the UK. I took the time to learn a few new photoshop skills, update my website, improve my marketing….all obvious things, but still very stop start here.

I only just discovered your work recently but immediately struck a chord with me, I love your black & white series of abstractive architecture, could you tell us what got you started and what your background is?

I studied architecture in University, Bachelors and Masters. I took this path two and half years into my office career as a graduate architect, it just felt right as a continuation of what I studied and a way to experience more architecture.

It is amazing how many architectural photographers start out as architects. I suppose it is the understanding of their craft and the foundations of the career that make them see things a bit clearer.

I see you're based in Lagos, do you do much of your work in Nigeria or do you travel a lot? Also what is the interior and architectural scene like where you are?

Most of my work is currently in Nigeria, Lagos to be precise. It is the commercial capital of Nigeria so a lot of the design scene is here. On occasion I do inter-state projects, usually from clients I have partnered with previously.

The architectural photography scene is still coming up, as the awareness of why a specialized photographer is important is just breaking in generally with designers and architects. The pressure of social media has helped to carve the niche out and the number of specialized photographers is growing.

Well that sounds great news that you’re at the heart of a very exciting and growing architectural scene.

Where do you see the future of photography heading, not only in our genre but as a whole?

Photography is a representation of self and reality. From the first grainy photos till now with social media and AI integrations it has retained the same purpose; expression of self and reality. I don't see it changing much any time soon, the format might change but at its core it follows us humans on our journey to document and express ourselves.

What a great answer, that is a lovely way to look at it.

As a photography community we love a bit of gear talk, could you tell us what equipment you have in your bag and enlighten those who aren't familiar a little bit more about your process.

I own a Nikon D5300 (crop sensor) paired with 2 lenses, a wide angle Tokina 11-16mm and a telephoto Nikkor 18-300mm with a Bonfrotto tripod, drone shots are with a Mavic Air 2.

My process for shoots is straightforward, a quick tour with the designer for an overview of the project and to flesh out the composition/shots they want to see, then the shoot during which I bracket most of my shots.

Post-production is where the magic really is, putting together the pieces shot into the vision I imagined on location and to do that I use Adobe Bridge to sort / group my bracketed images and move them into Photoshop directly. The edit involves a lot of image stacking and exposure blending with fine tuning here and there.

Where did the inspiration come from in creating your stylised look?

My images are based on a single thought, to be as true to life as possible. Colour is a big part of my culture, it's in our clothes and a strong part of our aesthetics.

Events in Lagos are defined by the chorus of textures and hues (Colour-Of-The-Day is a thing here), so likewise our spaces have that punch and vibrance mixed in to stand out and be memorable.

Sounds like a great vibe!

Do you have a favourite thing you like to shoot and why?

Architecture details. Boring I know, but the play of light, shadow, lines & texture is what I like to explore. Bringing out what I see through the edit is always a fulfilling feeling and is why I've been on a black & white streak on my personal projects recently

Don’t ever say that architectural details are boring….Give me a minimal architectural image with light and shadow any day!

What would say the highlight of your career would be to this point?

My photography career is barely 3 years old, although it's been a curve transitioning to self-employment. Thus far, it was the chance to cover a trio of projects under one company - A hotel, mini estate and activity park. It stretched my skills and knowledge in people management, contract and client management, team communication, shoot staging and post-production.

Well we’ll loving your work and know you will go from strength to strength and we have every faith you will have even more success in the future.

Do you have any favourite photographers that inspire you and anyone you think we should be keeping an eye out for?

Quite a number actually, some I found on Instagram and some through their work on architecture websites like Archdaily, YellowTrace and the likes.

My Top 11, although it was a struggle to narrow it down from a list of 30+

1.     Fernando Guerra @fernandogguerra

2.     Amit Geron @amitgeronphotographer

3.     Minh T for his love of composition @thismintymoment

4.     Rhiannon Taylor @rhitaylor

5.     Ema Peter @emaphotographi

6.     Heidi Leenaards for creative composition edits @heidileenaards

7.     Tom Harris @tomharrisphotography

8.     Veronica for her experimental and minimal nature @linearcurvature

9.     Casey Dunn  @caseycdunn

10.  Prince Gyasi for his use of colours @princejyesi

11.  G G Archard @gg_archard

What a great list, there are some familiar names in there and some new ones, so I will definitely be checking them out.

Lastly, what has been your favourite takeaway in all the lockdowns?

I got a chance to slow down, not for a day or two or a weekend but two months without any anxiety that life was going on without me. The world collectively took a breather and it was nice. I also got a chance to break away from my phone for weeks without panicking over missing calls, emails or deadlines.

A huge thank you to Tolulope for offering her time and energy to her takeover and interview. We wish her all the success for the future…watch this space!

To see more of Tolulope’s work visit her website - www.rubyspolaroid.com