Magada’s world of celebrity, fashion photography

Inside his well-lit studio in a rooftop cubicle at MM Plaza in Kampala City, Rogers Magada proudly hangs primarily photo portraits of some of his purchasers – among the whom is singer Rickman Manrick.

Magada, a photographer is very best recognized for his formal portraits of celebs and manner figures — but he also results in protect photos for major artistes.

“What tends to make me different is the colour and the touch on my photos. I enjoy with a photograph and give them a different come to feel,” he claims.

Magada has manufactured between a lot of typical portraits of Irene Namubiru, Lydia Jazmine, Maro, Zulitums, Angella Katatumba, John Blaq, Liam and An-regarded. He was the official photographer of his cousin Maro when he held his Anjagala live performance.

His portraits are mostly printed on the social media internet pages of the artistes.

His sensitivity to classical portraiture’s interplay of shadow and gentle that provides moody pictures with an perception of melancholy, was encouraged by his close friend, Gideon, who taught him Adobe Photoshop.

“He employed filters and turned a picture into black and white nonetheless the qualifications was even now in its authentic color. It was like magic,” Magada claims of Gideon, who is now a chef.

By the time Magada dropped out of school in Senior Six at St Peter’s Large Faculty in Jinja, he experienced picked interest in Fantastic Art.

“I was interested in Good Art for the reason that it permits you to attempt out new things. I did not like anything else about faculty. It was like prison to me. At 1 issue, I even wanted to tell my father to give me cash to commence up my have enterprise,” he says, stressing that “school only served him to be good mannered and converse great English”.

Magada was born to Wilber Waiswa , a policeman and Janet Nabukenya, a businesswoman in Buwenge, Jinja.

Just after completing Senior 6 at St Peter’s High Faculty in Jinja at 16, he touched lots of issues just before he manufactured his first mark as a photographer.

His entry was not straight. In 2010, he achieved Eddie Mukasa, who ran an Net café in Kakiri. Magada applied to regular the café to engage in personal computer games. Later, he would start supporting out Mukasa on some slight functions.

It was from listed here that he achieved Joel Mwebe, who had a laptop store specialising in repairs and profits. He learnt on the occupation and quickly started out serving to out with easy tasks.

Later on, Mwebe place him in cost of Universal Laptop Workshop in Bulenga on Kampala-Mityana Highway. He stopped doing the job for Mwebe and hungered for a problem to take on.

An urge to follow his possess path held pushing him and in 2018, he settled for his have path.

His close friend Davies Watika  took him to Tororo where he vended music on his picture studio verandah. Steadily, Watika launched me to cameras and I started out having shots of superior university college students,” he recollects.

But for six months, he experienced a position but not the funds.

His fledgling career would imbue him with organisers of Miss Pearl in Tororo 2018 that aided him create a exceptional bond with celeb subjects.

Using a Nikon D90 camera, which he had borrowed, he took images of Jane Tibaleka, popularly identified as Tiba, the winner of the Skip Pearl  2018 competition and shared them on his social media platforms.

His resourceful eye would catch the awareness of German photographer Wolfgang Hilberer, who invited Magada for a coffee.

“Hilberer loved the darkish photograph. We started out conversing about photography and he questioned me about cameras,” Magada explains.

He began associating with Hilberer at his dwelling in Seguku who despatched him on errands. Alongside the way, Hilberer donated a Canon 450D and three lenses to Magada and the pair commenced doing work jointly.

It was through this time that Magada thought of establishing a studio and fulfilling his desire of getting a expert photographer.

His Norway-based aunt Miria Nakamya sent him some money which he used to get a budget speedlite, tripod and bring about as nicely as a computer system.

Magada shared room with a good friend, Timothy, who was leasing a huge dwelling at Aged Kampala founding the now famous Tukuba Foto Studio. They applied the sitting down home as the studio.

“Jobs had been not forthcoming. Secondly, I was even now hoping to locate my type and it was not pleasing to many people. That is how the small business collapsed,” he says of the early travails.

Timothy left for Jinja though Magada  went to his parents’ residence in Nsambya.

He later joined up with freelance photographer Nelly Salvator working as the editor.

In the course of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, he commenced afresh just after meeting with one more photographer, Bruce Mpooko.

“There was an opportunity to earn revenue throughout Covid-19. Folks could not go to studios, so we commenced riding motorcycles to people’s residences on the lookout for clients. Organization was fantastic simply because we have been practical,” he recalls.

When lockdown was eased, Magada sub-rented with make-up artiste Shaima Dash Faces at Zainabu Aziza Plaza complementing just about every other. In 2021, he rented his personal room at MM Plaza.

He even returned Hilberer’s machines and is a proud owner of a Canon 6D, the world’s lightest entire-frame digicam.

He prides amongst many others, getting include art for strike tracks these as Eddy Kenzo’s Enjoyment, Zulitums’s Invictus, John Blaq’s Chai Mata, Liam Voice’s Expensive Ex an An-Known’s Mutima as effectively as Omega, among the other individuals.

Every photograph has a tale

A lot as Magada is acknowledged for portraiture, he has a passion for every day life pictures. These, he generally normally takes with his Iphone when he is travelling. The   photographer does not have any favourite photographs declaring each individual photograph captures a individual second.

“I enjoy every single photo I just take. I do not have a favorite nonetheless. The up coming photograph is always the very best,” he states.

He retains finding out by finding out the operate of other photographers and image collectors. His favourite is Bedge Pics, Awesome Klef and Praise the Photographer.

“I search out for factors I are not able to do nonetheless. I am generally curious and I want to be recognised internationally,” he suggests.

Magada’s archive of personal times at properties and at private get-togethers amounted to a lot more visuals of superstars.

That did not renovate Magada into a celebrity photographer overnight. But a toddler shower at Georgina Gardens in Kasubi in 2020, launched him.

“I was anxious at initial when I was provided a gig simply because they experienced offered me a whole lot of cash,” he claims.

Through this time, Maro, an artiste introduced Magada to Iryn Namubiru ahead of she hit the health club for her regimen dance sessions, a person he suggests has learnt more about living with well known persons.

“She [Namubiru] understood what she wished. She gave me home to master. I actually thank her. She would make me repeat some of the photographs but I by no means complained. She informed me to constantly do research on extravagant poses if I was to develop into a superior photographer,” Magada suggests.

Magada is gregarious but mostly unassuming.  He waits to be invited relatively than insinuating himself into his subjects’ non-public life. That was how he has managed to just take personal shots for famous people and models.

“At initially I was a photographer but later on that adjusted and she stopped caring about my digicam any longer,” he adds.

I know Rogers but I did not know he could be this good and I have noticed his very first shots. He is now on the up-to-date expectations! Proud of the greatness he represents.

Tukuba is my number a single photographer. His shots display off all his competencies. He has only got much better with each individual new picture. He has an intriguing viewpoint. I thank him for creating me sense comfy in entrance of a digicam. Wonderful as often, I am on the lookout forward to the upcoming time we shoot jointly.