work songs: photographer ope odueyungbo

‘Photography never crossed my mind until I was at college,’ admits Ope Odueyungbo. That’s pretty surprising to hear from someone whose client list includes Adidas, Puma, Audi and Budweiser, and who’s amassed almost 100,000 Instagram followers along the way.

The twenty-six year old from New Cross – better known as @greatarsenal on Instagram – speaks in a soft south London accent. Always a creative youngster who enjoyed drawing and painting, he thought he was destined for a career in graphic design, until he was tempted by an optional course in digital photography. Since going on to take a degree in photography at London’s prestigious Ravensbourne College, it’s hard not to view Odueyungbo’s career as inextricably linked with the social platform that took off at around the same time.

‘At first I thought Instagram was just a kind of play around, mess around thing,’ he smiles. Even his handle started as a bit of a joke – a passionate Gunners fan, he’s resisted suggestions to change it to something more professional (‘people starting calling me Great Arsenal so, why change it? Plus, it’s a kind of double meaning…’). Gradually he saw the potential of Instagram as a way not just of showcasing work, but of building relationships with brands and clients. ‘It really grew from there. Once I started putting my work out there I’d be getting so much positive feedback – and when you see that people are liking what you do, it kind of pushes you and motivates you to do a lot more.’

That motivation translated pretty quickly into a work ethic which has stood Odueyungbo in good stead. Anyone who thinks today’s ‘social influencers’ magically clock up thousands of followers by sitting round drinking lattes and taking selfies is missing the hard graft that goes on behind the scenes.

‘I was going out every single day shooting, and trying to get out shooting with other people as much as possible,’ he remembers. During this time he amassed so much material that he could post as many as four times a day. ‘A lot of times people just assume I’m out somewhere different every day, but there’d be times when I wouldn’t even need to go out to shoot for probably two weeks because of the content I’d shot the previous day,’ he laughs.

The hard work and the commitment to getting better paid off. Odueyungbo landed his first freelance job – through Instagram – while still at university. ‘It was a bit of a shock for me,’ he recalls. ‘I did not imagine that I could be making money through posting things on Instagram.’ But from that point on he committed to trying his hardest and seeing where it led.

Since the early days his style has changed. ‘At first I wanted to be a photojournalist, working for PR agencies, newspapers even. My main focus was capturing moments, and people in the street. But as I started getting more social media based jobs, I realised I was really enjoying what I was doing.’ Brands like Timberland and Absolut see his distinctive, urban-infused work on Instagram and approach him directly to lend that style to their campaigns. ‘It’s really exciting when they’re coming to you and saying “we’d love you to shoot this for us”,’ he says. ‘I really enjoy seeing my work being used that way.’

Take Odueyungbo’s work in 2015 for Adidas Supercolours. A number of up-and-coming street photographers were given pairs of the shoes in various shades to highlight in their own creative ways. ‘I really liked being on that campaign,’ Odueyungbo remembers, smiling modestly. ‘They loved what I sent them, and me personally, I loved what I did too.’

Life right now is pretty good. ‘Literally all my weeks are different. I could be doing something fashion-related one day, and something architectural-based the other. I’d say I’m really fortunate to be in the position where I’m able to do that, and my weeks are so varied.’

But as any freelancer knows, it’s not all sitting around waiting for the next juicy commission to drop. Even Odueyungbo has lean periods. ‘I’m not going to lie, there were times – months, even – where I didn’t have anything going. That’s how it is, it’s not all roses. Especially when you’re freelancing, you get months where it’s really quiet.’ The answer he’s found lies in one of his favourite watchwords: consistency. ‘I’m not just waiting for the opportunities to come to me. I’m trying to pitch as well, every way that I can. And I always keep it going with my personal work. I never stop shooting personal stuff. I always try and get out whenever I can to shoot more, so people know that I’m still doing this. You have to keep it consistent.’

July 2017