Snap Harvest Studio or Panaito
Photography is arguably Nairobi’s
number one photo studio for
socialites and models. It is famous
for producing crisp pictures of
supermodels and socialites some of
which have lightened up the covers
of Kenya’s fashion magazines.
A sneak-peak into Snap Harvest’s
studio revealed pictures of the
city’s curvaceous socialites such as
Corazon Kwamboka and Vera
Sidika.
When we visited, their lounge was
filled with young ladies, most of
them students waiting for their
turn in front of the camera. And
there were surprises too.
Introduced
There was 20-year-old Wako
Hassan, the recently crowned Mr
CBD.
“I was introduced here by a friend
after being crowned Mr CBD. Since
then I have returned here several
times for my photos,” he said.
However, as much as the
photographers who also double up
as editors agreed that their studio
attracted socialites and models,
they said their clientele was
varied.
They also denied claims that they
enhanced images of some of the
socialites using Photoshop.
“There are lies being peddled out
there that the studio is exclusively
for socialites and models. Actually,
the pictures of the girls are less
than 10 per cent of the photos that
we work on,” said 22-year-old Mr
Kevin Buo.
What about the images of some of
the girls whose photos are doing
rounds on social media — their
bodies, especially the hips, look too
exaggerated?
“I do not know if I should bring
you the girls and their photos for
comparison. We don’t Photoshop
unless on request. Most of our
work is editing,” said Mr Buo. He
explains: “If a customer would like
us to replicate a photo of herself
sitting on a chair, we cannot
refuse. After all we have the
technology to do almost everything.
Most of all, customer is the king,”
he added.
His sentiments were echoed by his
colleague, Mr Paul Mboya. “In
photography we have what is
known as post-production. At this
stage, a photo is edited of any
flaws, for instance part of the dress
could have gone out of symmetry,”
said 32-year-old Mboya.
The photos are not only for
modelling. For instance, Mr Hassan
said he would use the photo to
apply for a job with an airline.
Coincidentally, Brenda Ngunyu, a
first timer at Snap Harvest, was
also going to use hers to apply for
an airline job.
Ms Ngunyu, unlike Mr Hassan who
did not request make-up, paid an
extra Sh500. Although Mr Hassan
said it costs him Sh200 for every
photo, Mr Buo said charges varied
depending on the complexity of the
job.
Technology
Snap Harvest was started by Mr
James Panaito in 2011. He then co-
opted Mr Mboya and Mr Buo into
the business. The major problem,
according to Mboya was ignorance.
He recalled a time when Panaito
bought the wrong equipment and
they had to use extra money to get
the right ones.
They said running a photo studio
required a lot of determination and
you had to perfect your editing
skills.
They make a net profit of about
Sh500,000 in a month. Mr Panaito
said he used Sh1.5 million to buy
the studio and another Sh1.5
million to equip it. Since then he
has used approximately Sh10
million on equipping and running
it.
By Shinekenya
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