It all began with $7/hr...

"2 years ago, I worked to earn S$7/hr. NOW... I have fun and earn a minimum of S$100-200/hr! And it keeps getting more by the year!"

From left to right: Me(Wesley Kow), Nicola Formichetti(LADY GAGA's Stylist & Creative Director of Mugler), Ashley Isham

Initially, I was like the average Singaporean kid who just worked for someone or a company because a monthly salary of about S$1,000 was about enough to keep me going. However, one day, I woke up and decided to think of my future. How could I live life just working for someone and earning so little in a year? How could I make money with my talents? How can I market myself? Why would people want me?

The launch of narcissisthephotographer was just a hobby which slowly, I got more and more jobs. I used my hobby in photography and a bit of entrepreneurship, which were drilled to me from young, and put them together. I started learning on how to earn money from massaging aunts at parties where I got coins. As I grew older, I started performing for my own family functions together with my cousins, be it dance, singing or magic. At 9 years old, I had my first opportunity to perform at a kindergarden. I had my first public performance on Christmas that year and believe or not, I had a call to perform again the next day by one of the kid's parents. Well, it did start with small amounts of money but as the years past, I raised my charges more and more. During semestral breaks, I used to work at offices earning about $6-8/hr. It felt good as the money which came in felt like a lot at that point. With all that money, I decided to get my own DSLR after getting enticed by its quality during my internship in Thailand during my poly years. As the years past, I started snapping more and more. Soon, I had calls from friends who needed a photographer for their works. As my experience grew, so did my contacts. However, I never knew how much to charge. I could never learn from other photographers as most were quite selfish with the knowledge they had(this explains why the industry doesn't grow much). Well... I did learn how to use a camera from friends and books but how to shoot or get this or that effect was mostly done through trial and error. I put my mind as a camera and figured as much as I could out.

So, while deciding to name my company, I decided to have a name which linked what I do, the type of people in the industry and definitely a bit of me. I decided not to have Wesley Kow Photography as it pretty common and nothing fantastic about just naming yourself to what you do. So, the name narcissisthephotographer came about. Narcissist which refers to Vanity, speaks about me, fashion, fame, beauty and all the aspects of what I do. It refers to people. Therefore, people can understand that I do people photography. Vanity is one of the deadly sins, Pride, which I feel is in a lot of people in the industry(not all though). Honestly, a lot of people in the industry think they are everything, but they don't realize that this is just an island called Singapore. Therefore, narcissisthephotographer stands as a reminder to what we are and what I do. Nothing wrong with the truths of life, no one is perfect, not even me, but we got to fake it till we make it.

From last year to this year, I've established shooting for all the Singapore Fashion Weeks in 2011 and so far for 2012(excluding Women's Fashion Week 2012 which has not begun). I've shot for other runways and attended or shot at other events. I've shot at a variety of clubs too. My contacts grew further as I was never shy at talking to random people. Somehow, I kinda realized that people are actually friendly.... HAHA! As my confidence grew, my communication skills grew, I marketed myself better and I learnt to differentiate myself from other photographers. What makes me different? I went to so many Fashion events and photographers who shot Fashion, just shot Fashion. I believe that by shooting it, you got to live it. I went for events all dressed up in different themes each event and even though normal guests usually dressed up, at the media pit, I stood out. Well, even if it may look a little bizarre, I still managed to grab good attention. Honestly, I didn't need to wear the latest Gucci or Prada to do it, it's just knowing how to put an outfit together to be presentable and show what you do. I always believe that it's not what you wear, but how you wear!

Therefore, how did I do it? I used my talents to my benefit. However, to grow in whatever you do, you NEED passion, it's a drive which will remove the word "work" and change it to "fun". Then, you will have to have contacts which will drive your passion further, and lastly, you need GUTS(why bother be shy and let everyone step on you?)!!!