For this edition of Through My Lens, we spotlight Jesse Abai, a Nigerian portrait and wedding photographer whose work captures emotion in its purest form. As the Assistant Creative Director at His Imagery, co-founded with his brother Jeffrey Abai, Jesse’s artistry is rooted in honesty, empathy, and the quiet pursuit of what is real. For him, photography is not about perfection; it is about presence. Each frame is a reflection of truth, time, and feeling, carefully preserved in its most natural state.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about who you are as a photographer?
“My name is Jesse Abai. I am a portrait, wedding, and until recently, sports photographer. I currently work as the Assistant Creative Director at His Imagery, which is founded and directed by my brother, Jeffrey Abai.
I have been photographing for a little over five years now. I first picked up interest in 2019, but it was not until 2020, during the lockdown, that I was really able to sit down and learn. That period of stillness gave me the time to understand the craft and, more importantly, myself. Photography became this space where I could express without words, where I could capture life the way I felt it. What started as curiosity turned into a calling, and every project since then has been about finding new ways to preserve honesty through images.”
What themes, stories, or emotions do you try to capture through your photography?
“One thing that has always been at the heart of our work at His Imagery, something my brother instilled in me from day one, is maintaining naturality in every picture. We try to make sure that whatever we are photographing, it stays as raw and as true as possible.
To me, a good photograph is one that carries time inside it, something you can look back on 10, 15, or 20 years later and still remember exactly how you felt in that moment. Whether it is joy, sadness, peace, or nostalgia, I want the image to pull that emotion back up again.
There is also a sense of wholesomeness that I always try to carry through my work. Even when I am shooting in the studio, my goal is to capture people at their most comfortable, not staged, not forced, just real. Because that is where the best photographs live.
Creating that kind of space starts with connection. I do not think you can get true emotion from a subject who does not feel safe. So before I take the camera up, I focus on building trust. I talk, I listen, I create an environment that feels calm and welcoming. Once that happens, everything else flows naturally. Their laughter becomes real, their expression softens, and suddenly, we are not just taking pictures, we are capturing truth.”
Can you share a moment or experience that shaped your journey as a photographer?
“I have had a few defining moments, but the one that stands out most is how much my brother believed in me when I first started. Back then, I was not consistent. I would come for lessons one day and then disappear for weeks. But he was patient, patient enough to start over with me every single time.
At some point, he gave me his camera to shoot with. It was brand new, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. But he trusted me with it anyway. That kind of trust leaves an imprint on you. It made me see what he saw in me before I even believed it myself.
That was the moment I decided to take this seriously, to actually learn, to show up, to build something. That faith shaped how I approach photography today. Because beyond the skill, photography for me is also about patience, about seeing potential where others might not, and about nurturing it until it grows.”
What is something you want people to understand about you beyond the lens or beyond your photography?
“I think people would be surprised to know how quiet I actually am. I am very much an introvert. I do not talk a lot, and I do not go out much. But when I am behind the camera, that changes. My personality shifts depending on where I am and who I am with.
In the studio, I have to be open and friendly because people need to feel at ease. You cannot capture true emotion when someone is guarded. So I become that, warm, present, reassuring. But outside of that space, I retreat. I am more reserved, more introspective. It is not that I am cold; it is just that silence is where I recharge.
The camera kind of gives me permission to be both people. When I am shooting, I stop seeing my friend or my client as just someone I know. I start to see them as a story. I start thinking about where the light falls, what expression holds truth, how to bring out their natural energy. In that moment, I am not Jesse the quiet guy anymore. I am Jesse the observer, the one trying to make time stand still for a second.
So I guess what I want people to understand is that photography is where both sides of me meet. The quiet, thoughtful side, and the creative, expressive one. It is how I connect with people even when words fail me.”
Through his lens, Jesse Abai transforms simplicity into storytelling. His photographs are not about grand gestures or staged perfection. They are about the gentle, fleeting details, a laugh mid-frame, the warmth of skin in light, the quiet joy of being seen. His work reminds us that beauty does not have to be performed. It can simply exist, naturally and honestly, in front of the lens.
