EX

The King👑

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

Affirm this:👇👇

This week, I refuse to move with fear or doubt.

I will show up with focus, I will stay disciplined, I will not let setbacks speak louder than my goals.

What I touch will grow, the right doors will open, the right people will find me.

I declare peace over my mind, favour over my work, and strength for every challenge ahead.

This week will not defeat me.

I am ready for it.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

Life will not always give you signs that you are making progress.

Sometimes growth looks boring, sometimes effort feels unnoticed, sometimes the results come long after the work.

That is normal.

Keep showing up.

Most people do not fail because they lack talent. They stop too soon.

Stay patient, stay disciplined, stay hungry.

A few months from now, you will thank yourself for refusing to quit on a random Thursday.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

That's how one preacher kept condemning rich men and wealthy men.
Saying that, they can't make heaven with all their wealth.
I heard this man has 4 fully stocked shops at Alaba market, he has a house, he has staff under his payroll, and he's well to do.
Now who is he preaching to?!

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

How did the kidnappers release the body of the late General Rabe to the Katsina state govt for burial? And how did the state govt know he died of diabetes and high BP without autopsy?

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I was angry at a friend for leaving my messages unread.
In my head, I had already concluded he was ignoring me.

I felt disrespected.
I felt disappointed.

Then I found out he was dealing with a serious problem at home. The kind of situation that makes replying to messages the least important thing on your mind.

See ehn... most times, we judge people based on what we see.
We rarely know what they're carrying behind closed doors.

Before you conclude, hear the other person's side first. Because, assumption is the lowest level of knowledge.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

This cat just stole the fish I bought to eat Ukwa with.

I just stepped out to send a voice message due to the network issues I usually have in my room.

As soon as I got back to continue eating, my fish disappeared. Then I saw my cats devouring the fish😭💔

What would you do in this situation?!

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

A woman slapped my photographer's hand and nearly destroyed a ₦1,000,000 camera. What he did to her later at that same wedding is the funniest thing I have seen all year.

When my photographer approached her for a picture while the event was going on, she quickly hit his hand because she didn't want her picture taken.

Later that same evening, her group was called forward to take a photo with the bride and groom.

My photographer lined everyone up, framed the shot perfectly, and quietly cropped her out.

Everybody made it into the photo.

Except her.

She got exactly what she wanted. 😂

To be fair, not everyone likes being photographed and we fully respect that. But if you don't want to be in a picture, a simple 'No thank you' works perfectly.

Slapping the hand holding a camera and lens worth serious money is never the move.

She chose violence. He chose the frame📷

[Tolks @Tolks6]

I sacked one of my workers on Saturday..
Then yesterday she didn't come to work, meaning she acknowledged the later I served her...

Omo coming this morning, I opened my WhatsApp, the POS guy downstairs, we usually collect cash from him, I transfer to him at the end of the day... so he usually sends me as my girls collects money.. ur name nd amount u collected..

Omo the message dropped ( miracle 15k ) !!
I called him immediately, asked him which miracle, he said my girl... that she said i asked her to collect 15k.. I was already driving close to my office..

Immediately my manager call came in saying the same thing!! I got to the store, parked nd went to the POS guy, he said same thing....

I went upstairs.. straight to the form, she filled on her employment day.. got her grantors number, i called him.. it was her boy friend! .. the guy said ma we are not in relationship.. .....

I dropped the call bd called my husband.. my husband called the guy.. " that is him we know he has been coming to the office, even he came around on Friday before her girl was sacked on Saturday " .. hubby don go register the matter with ndi police..

Now my reaming workers are telling me things she collected nd she didn't return them!!!

Ifediniru Chukwugunyerem Iruoma

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I've stayed here long enough to know the friends that are beneficial and not.

If all you do with your friends all the time is talk about women, sex, breast and yansh, you have no meaningful friends.

Your friends are supposed to add value, connect you to the source of wealth, they're supposed to inspire you at all times.

If they don't carry these values, you're only keeping acquaintances and not friends.

Have a Great Day❤️

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I will not rush through today waiting for the weekend.
I will finish this week with focus, gratitude, and confidence.

The efforts I have made will not be wasted.
The seeds I have planted will grow.
The opportunities meant for me will not miss me.

I choose progress over pressure, faith over fear, and action over excuses.

Today is working in my favour.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I lost an 8-year friendship because of one photography job.

A friend called me one evening. His younger sister was graduating from UNILAG and he wanted me to cover everything. The convocation, family portraits, celebration moments, all of it.

'You're my guy. Make it special for her.'

I cleared my schedule, gave him a friendly rate, and showed up early on the day. I worked from morning till evening under the hot sun and shot over 400 photos.

The pictures came out beautifully. Two days later I delivered the full album.

Then I waited.

One week. Nothing. Two weeks. Still nothing. No feedback, no payment. I sent a gentle reminder. He read it and went silent.

Then one day I opened Instagram.

The graduation photos were everywhere. His sister posting them. Family members posting them. Friends reposting them.

But the credit was given to another photographer.

I froze.

Because those were my photos. My angles. My edits. My golden-hour shots. My work.

I called him immediately.

'Bro, the family didn't like your style. I had to hire another photographer.'

I sat there looking at my phone because the pictures being posted were clearly mine. Same moments, same compositions, same photos.

At that point it wasn't about payment anymore. It was about betrayal.

Eight years. We had eaten together, laughed together, supported each other through difficult times. Yet he chose to lie and use my work without credit.

That night I deleted his number.

Since then every paid job gets a contract. Friend, family, neighbor, anybody. No exceptions.

The people closest to you are sometimes the ones you least expect to cross the line.

Has a close friend ever betrayed you over business or money?

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I cried inside my Bolt ride after a client paid me.

Two weeks ago, I delivered a wedding album to a couple in Lekki.

This was one of my best jobs.

The photos came out beautifully.

Golden hour portraits.
Raw emotional moments.
Clean edits.
Everything looked exactly the way I wanted.

I was proud of the work.

So when I arrived to deliver the album, I expected excitement.

At least a smile.

Maybe even a simple "well done."

Instead, something else happened.

The bride opened the album.

She flipped through a few pages.

Looked at the pictures quietly.

Then she said:

"It's nice... but you didn't capture the real us."

Her husband simply nodded.

That was it.

No smile.

No excitement.

No thank you.

They paid the balance and asked me to leave.

I won't lie.

That statement hit me hard.

I entered the Bolt feeling empty.

The whole ride home, I kept staring through the window.

My mind was racing.

Was my work really that bad?

Have I been overrating myself all this time?

Was I missing something everyone else could see?

For hours, I questioned everything.

Then later that evening, I received a phone call.

And that phone call changed everything.

A mutual friend called me and said:

"Please don't take their reaction personally."

I asked why.

What she told me next humbled me completely.

She said the bride had been battling severe postpartum depression.

Nothing felt beautiful to her at that moment.

Not even her own wedding photos.

The husband was also under pressure from the debt they accumulated after the wedding.

Both of them were carrying burdens I knew nothing about.

Immediately, everything made sense.

Their reaction was never really about the pictures.

I had judged their response through the lens of my own insecurity.

Meanwhile, they were fighting battles I couldn't see.

That day taught me a lesson I will never forget.

As creatives, we often assume every reaction is a verdict on our work.

Sometimes it isn't.

Sometimes people are simply overwhelmed by life.

Sometimes the cold response you receive has nothing to do with your talent.

And everything to do with what the other person is carrying.

Since that day, I've learned to separate people's emotions from my own self-worth.

Not every silence is rejection.

Not every criticism is an attack.

And not every unhappy face means you failed.

One truth I've learned in this photography journey is this:

The camera captures faces.

But it can never fully capture what someone is carrying inside.

Have you ever felt rejected, ignored, or undervalued by someone...

Only to later discover they were going through something difficult?

What happened?

And what did you learn from it?

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

For a Marriage to be a success depends on the woman.

Whatever disagreement any couple has, no Matt how angry you are as a woman, don't end any conversation halfway or don't walk out on your husband.

I've said it countless times that men interpret love as Respect and Honour, without these the love fades. The same way a woman interprets love as Showing Care, Kindness and Provision and without these her love for her man fades also.

Have a beautiful Month.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

The craziest part about wedding photography is this:

Clients will tell you,
“Please be at the venue by 5 a.m.”

And if you’re new in this industry, you’ll think they actually mean work starts by 5 a.m.

Big mistake.

Because tell me…
for you to arrive by 5 a.m., what time are you even supposed to wake up?

2:30 am?
3 am.?

You’re waking up in the middle of the night.
Packing cameras in darkness.
Calling your team.
Trying to move around Lagos roads before dawn.

Some creatives don’t even have cars yet.
Some are entering random buses or bikes with expensive equipment at dangerous hours.

And you’re doing all of that thinking:
“Ah, we have an early start.”

Then you finally arrive…

Only to discover absolutely nothing is happening.

The makeup artist is still sleeping.
The bride is still brushing her teeth.
Some family members are still snoring somewhere.

And you’re there…
fully dressed.
Fully ready.
Holding cameras worth millions.

Just waiting.

Sometimes till 9 a.m.
Sometimes 10.

So you woke up by 3 a.m. just to sit down for five hours.

Now here’s the painful twist.

After waiting all morning, your actual work now starts.

You shoot bridal prep.
Church.
Reception.
After-party.

And Nigerian weddings don’t end early.

You’re leaving the venue by 10 p.m.
Sometimes midnight.

So think about it.

You left your house around 3 a.m.
And got back home almost 24 hours later.

Your back is gone.
Your eyes are red.
Your legs are shaking.

And nobody is paying extra for the stress.

That experience changed how I work.

Now, our policy is simple:

We do not arrive before 7 a.m.

If you need us earlier than that, then you’ll have to lodge my team in a hotel close to the venue the night before.

Simple.

Because I’m not risking my life and my team’s lives driving around Lagos by 3 a.m. just to come and wait for hours.

And honestly…
if I’m already exhausted before the wedding even starts, how exactly do you expect me to give you my best work?

A lot of creatives are suffering silently because of things like this.

So I genuinely want to ask:

Photographers and videographers here…
when clients give you extremely early call times, what do you do?

Do you go?
Do you charge extra?
Do you have policies too?

Because this is one part of the creative industry nobody talks about enough.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I once watched a complete stranger disappear in the middle of the night… with somebody else’s phone and power bank.

And till today, I still ask myself one question:

Why do people trust strangers so easily?

I was traveling for an event coverage that night.

It was a long night journey, and somewhere along the road, our bus suddenly developed a fault.

Everybody came down.

Some people were stretching their legs. Some were complaining. Some were trying to understand what happened to the bus.

That was when this guy in the bus approached another passenger.

“Please, can I borrow your phone to make a quick call?”

The man agreed and handed him his phone.

A few minutes later, the same guy asked another passenger for a power bank because his own phone was low.

They gave him that too.

Nobody suspected anything.

He looked calm. Normal. Friendly.

Nothing about him looked suspicious.

While everybody stayed outside waiting for the driver to fix the bus, people were moving around casually in the dark.

Then suddenly…

The owner of the phone started asking questions.

“Where is that guy I gave my phone?”

At first, nobody understood.

Then he explained that the stranger borrowed his phone to make a call and hadn’t returned it.

That was when panic started.

We looked around.

No sign of him.

We checked nearby shops. Checked behind the bus. Checked the roadside.

Nothing.

The guy had vanished.

With both the phone and the power bank.

Everybody was shocked.

Some people even started blaming the owner of the phone.

“Why would you give your phone to someone you don’t know?”

But honestly, I understood him too.

Sometimes you help people because you believe they’re genuine.

And sometimes… people take advantage of kindness.

That night taught me something important:

Not everybody smiling with you means well.

Some people are simply waiting for an opportunity.

Till today, I still remember the confusion on that man’s face when he realized the stranger was gone for good.

We eventually fixed the bus and continued the journey.

But that man travelled the rest of the night in silence.

No phone. No power bank. No trace of the stranger.

Life teaches different lessons on the road.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

One thing every creative must learn early is this:

Always have a contract for every job.

I don’t care if the client is your friend.
Your neighbor.
Someone from your hood.

Have a contract 😭

Because one experience taught me this lesson the hard way.

Back then, shortly after I resigned from my previous workplace, I got a gig from someone I knew around my area.

He was organizing an event.

I already knew about the show, so I personally approached him and proposed covering the event for him.

He agreed.

At that point, I was still trying to build myself independently, so I even gave him a huge discount.

The original value of the job was around ₦300,000.

But because I was just starting out and wanted the opportunity badly, I reduced it to ₦150,000 😭

We discussed everything physically.

No phone calls.
No chats.

But thankfully…

I still told him I would send a proper contract.

And that decision saved me later 😭

The contract contained everything:

The agreed amount.
The discounted price.
Payment structure.
Terms and conditions.
Delivery agreement.
Everything.

I sent it over to him.

He read it.
Agreed.
Then made an initial deposit of ₦100,000.

At that moment, I relaxed because officially, we now had a binding agreement.

The event went well.

We covered everything successfully.

Then it was time for delivery.

I contacted him and reminded him about the remaining ₦50,000 balance before delivery.

Omo 😭

That was when problem started.

Suddenly, he began denying the agreement.

He started saying:

“That’s not what we discussed.”

I was shocked 😭

I immediately reminded him about the contract.

The same contract he already read and accepted before making payment.

Then he said I should forget the contract 😭

Forget contract ke?

I told him respectfully:

“Bro, this contract is our agreement.”

At that point, I stopped arguing.

I simply kept his job safely on my PC and moved on.

Months passed.

About three months later, he saw me again and suddenly started asking about the job.

I asked him:

“Have you completed the balance?”

That was when he sent ₦30,000 and said that was all he could pay 😭

Meanwhile, the remaining balance was ₦50,000.

I told him clearly:

“No problem. Since you don’t want to complete payment, bring your own flash drive or hard drive. I won’t spend extra money delivering anything.”

He became upset.

But honestly, I stood my ground.

Because everything had already been written clearly in the contract.

At some point, he even discussed the issue with one of his friends.

And funny enough…

His own friend told him the truth 😭

The friend told him:

“There is a contract. You have to honor it.”

Omo 😭

That was when he finally completed the full payment.

And immediately he paid, I delivered his job peacefully.

That experience taught me something important:

Good business needs clear agreements.

Not assumptions.
Not “bro code.”
Not vibes 😭

A proper contract can save you from serious problems as a creative.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

One mistake many small accounts make on X is thinking growth happens by posting alone 😭

It doesn’t work like that.

I keep saying this all the time:

X is not anybody’s personal project.

Everybody is here to grow.

And growth on X is mostly built through interaction.

Especially if you’re still a small account.

You cannot disappear all day, drop one post, then expect miracles from the algorithm 😭

That’s not how this app works.

When you come online, engage people first.

Comment. Repost. Interact genuinely.

Before dropping your own post, try engaging with at least 20 to 30 people first.

Not fake engagement.

Real interaction.

Because when people keep seeing you in their comments and reposts, many of them naturally come back to your page too.

That’s how visibility grows slowly.

That’s how followers come.

That’s how mutuals are built.

One thing I notice a lot is this:

Some people want their profile to look too clean 😭

You check their page and all you see are only their own posts.

No comments. No reposts. No interaction with others.

Then they wonder why nobody engages them back.

Omo 😭

How do you expect people to notice you if you never notice anybody?

Especially as a small verified account, interaction matters a lot.

Commenting and reposting helps more than people realize.

And if you see new accounts with good content, follow them too.

That’s how communities grow.

A lot of people on X are waiting for the algorithm to save them.

Meanwhile, the real growth strategy is simple:

Engage people consistently and people will engage you back.

That’s how this app has always worked 😭

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

I will never forget the day one senior almost turned me into breakfast in secondary school 😭

Back then in JS1, I was very small in size.

Tiny.
Quiet.
Innocent looking 😭

Maybe that was why seniors always saw me as an easy target.

One particular morning still lives in my head till today.

It was breakfast time in the hostel.

I had queued up peacefully and finally collected my food.

That morning’s breakfast was pap and akara.

And honestly, as a hungry JS1 boy, that food meant a lot to me 😭

I had barely sat down for up to 10 minutes when suddenly we heard shouting everywhere:

“Leave the hostel!”
“Assembly time!”

Everybody started rushing out immediately.

Now there was one senior.
Let me call him Senior D 😭

This guy was in SS2.

And for some reason, that morning, it felt like he woke up looking specifically for me.

As everybody rushed out, I quickly carried my pap and akara towards my locker.

I was trying to hide it first so I could come back and continue eating later 😭

The pap was still hot.

I was rushing everything.

Then suddenly…

“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?”

Omo 😭

Before I could even explain, Senior D appeared beside me with cane.

The next thing…

KPAI! 😭

That man flogged me like I stole his inheritance.

Till today, I still don’t know what offended him that morning.

The beating was so serious that the cane injured my face.

Not ordinary flogging.

Actual injury 😭

I remember covering my face while crying as he continued shouting.

That morning ruined my entire mood.

When I got to class, everybody kept asking me:

“What happened to your face?”

Some people even pitied me because the bruises were obvious.

During break time, I finally went to meet the woman my parents left in charge of me in school.

The moment she saw my face…

She was shocked.

I explained everything and told her it was Senior D that flogged me.

Immediately, she reported the matter to the vice principal.

They called him to the staff room.

Omo 😭

You will not believe what happened next.

That same senior that beat me confidently in the morning ended up kneeling down in the staff room for hours.

From breaktime till school closed 😭

My classmates started telling me:

“You are finished.”
“That senior will deal with you later.”

Honestly, even me, I became scared 😭

But funny enough…

After that incident, Senior D and I later became friends.

Real friends.

Life is strange sometimes 😭

And the craziest part is…

Something happened later between both of us that made the story even more interesting.

But that one is gist for another day 😭

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

There was a day I became deeply convinced that prayer truly works.

Not motivational quote type of “works” 😭

I mean real life experience.

Back then, one of my friends invited me to a studio session.

He was handling a client shoot and asked me to come around.

So I got there and we started working.

While we were shooting, I suddenly saw someone familiar.

It was one guy from my hometown.

We had worked together before on different jobs and events, so he already knew me and knew the kind of work I do.

Turns out he came for his pre wedding shoot.

Immediately I saw him, I joked with him:

“Aha, so you finally came to use my service?” 😭

He laughed and explained that the photographer handling the shoot was from his decorator which happens to be his friend.

According to him, the guy gave him a complete package deal.

I said no problem.

Everybody was happy.
No issue.

The shoot ended and we all went our separate ways.

Now this is where the story became interesting.

A few days later, on a Thursday morning, I was seriously worried about money.

No jobs.
Low cash.
Too much thinking 😭

As a creative, those periods can frustrate you badly.

So that morning, I decided to pray.

Nothing too dramatic.

I simply started making declarations quietly.

I said things like:

“Money comes to me freely and effortlessly”
“People who need my services will locate me.”
“Opportunities will locate”

Simple prayers.

Then later that same day…

Guess who called me? 😭

That same guy from my hometown.

And the funny part?

He did not even call with his own phone.

He called with his brother’s phone sounding frustrated and urgent 😭

Immediately he said:

“Guy, how much for full wedding coverage? Photo and video.”

I was confused 😭

Because this was the same person that already had another guy handling everything.

I told him to calm down first.

Then he started explaining.

Apparently, the other package deal he accepted started becoming complicated and expensive.

According to him, the guy was overcharging him for many things.

Omo 😭

I quietly sent him my price list.

Later, he called me back and said:

“I’ve checked it. I like your package. We’ll go with the top one, but please give me small discount.”

We negotiated small.

Agreed.

Then he asked me to send my contract immediately.

At that moment, I just sat quietly and smiled.

Because earlier that same day, I was worried and praying about money.

Then suddenly, a full wedding booking entered from somewhere I least expected 😭

That experience taught me something important.

Sometimes life changes quietly.

One phone call.
One opportunity.
One unexpected moment.

And honestly…

Prayer still works.

[LÜMENKRAFT📸 @kraftikelz]

The things that didn't work for you last week, will turn around in your favour this week.

Have a blessed week.