Passion to profession: how Nadia Koegelenberg built a thriving pet photography business

AS THE PET industry in South Africa continues to boom, Nadia Koegelenberg, the photographer behind the lens at Moonrise Creative Studio, was able to blend her two most loved passions, animals and photography, into a blossoming business.

- ASHLEY LECHMAN

Koegelenberg's Moonrise Creative Studio specialises in photography and graphic design, putting her Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication to good use.

“While I explore all avenues of photography, my heart belongs to pet photography, a passion inspired by my own two beloved dogs, Maverick, a loyal German Shepherd, and Labrador mix that doubles as my shadow and Hudson my sweet Pittie who's really just a baby in disguise,” Koegelenberg told Business Report.

The young photographer said that entering the highly competitive world of photography was anything but easy, as she stepped into the industry after her university days.

She said, “I found myself competing with seasoned photographers who had portraits. As I flipped through its pages, I realised that this was where I was meant to be.”

“Dog photography wasn't just something I enjoyed; it was something I was truly passionate about, something I could master,” she said.

Koegelenberg said that from that moment on, she poured her heart into pet photography, doing everything possible to develop her unique style.