Expanding the realm of photography
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday March 5, 2023 06:00
Located at Unit 6, Opposite Puma Filling station (Railpark), Gaborone West Industrial, the photo studio branded Botswana Selfie Society is a one-stop shop with 35 photo booths.
The studio officially launched on February 7, 2023, and looks like a perfect fit with the current generation. Each and every booth offers a different kind of scenery to give customers different memories.
The booths are interactive, attractive and designed to fit different specific occasions. One can choose to take a photo in Cabin booth, barbie box, magazine booth, hotline bling, glitz or even a CEO office among some of the booths on offer.
In an interview with Arts & Culture, the founder of Botswana Selfie Society, Lebani said apart from passion, the studio was created with the intention to offer photography services at much more reasonable rates for every occasion. “I first saw the idea on South African music videos, and then I did research about it and realised that it is a very popular thing in a lot of countries abroad,” Lebani said. She said this studio bridges the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Because of the different booths that are designed to fit all kinds of occasions, the studio is a time manager. “Just as our tagline says ‘Be the art by making memories’, it is exactly what this studio is all about.
We are about giving you the platform to create those memories. It came out of passion and the love for creativity,” she said. The 34-year-old from Francistown said there has been a huge demand for random pictures in outdoor spaces especially in malls and shopping complexes, but says her studio offers a new dimension and caters for those who want quality photos taken with a professional appeal.
She said because the studio has the right lighting and different attractive backdrops, it offers a unique experience. She said the studio has a team of professional young people who are there to give customers unforgettable experiences. During the interview, Lebani was in the company of the studio in-house photographer, Nicholas Nthobatsang who also serves as a videographer and graphic designer. “We provide you with high quality edited pictures and videos if you want at relatively affordable packages. For example, we do corporate in-house shoots at P400 for 30 minutes, which comes with 20 pictures (soft copies) whole one hour shoot will give you 60 photos at P800,” said Nthobatsang.
The shoots may last for maximum of an hour across all different packages. Two people can book a 30 minutes shoot at P150, which comes with six pictures. On the other hand, a group of four can get 20 photos at a cost of P400 for a shoot lasting 30 minutes. Moreover, Botswana Selfie Society also allows walk-in clients. These are customers who come with their own cameras or use their phones for pictures but are allowed to use the booths. “We also have a package for Walk-in photographers whereby outside photographers bring in their clients to take photos and pay us P200,” said Lebani.
Lebani said despite offering professional services, the prices are reasonable and tailored for all. As someone who has loved photos, she said she always found booking photographers for photo a shoot expensive, hence why their packages are affordable. From way back, photo studios has taken the world's smiles memories, as such Lebani said this is a platform for people to have their memories documented. "COVID-19 has taught us that we need to create memories and document them and that's exactly the space where Botswana Selfie Society comes in," she said. Once fully established, her next focus would be to expand to other areas across the country. She also intends to create vibrancy by changing the booths from time to time. Besides the in-house photographer, Botswana Selfie Society has employed three studio assistants.