Lured by the Shutter Sound
Growing up in Palapye, 24-year-old Eric Kooreng, founder of Eros BW (officially registered as Eros Digital Studio) had no photography studio, no professional training and no expensive equipment to call his own. Instead, he patiently waited for opportunities to borrow his older brother Nikon D3300. What started as curiosity soon became an obsession. He spent hours photographing friends, experimenting with different angles and teaching himself the art of storytelling through images. “I did not realise it at the time, but borrowing that camera changed my life,” he says. Eros BW is now a photography brand known for documenting weddings, graduations, portraits and life’s quiet celebrations.
Yet, despite building a name for himself, he still describes himself as “a student of photography.” Friends became his first models. Local creatives became his classroom. “There was no pressure to be perfect,” he says. “I just wanted to get better.” Among those who believed in him early were Yarona Resheng and the clothing brand Gangs Apparel, who trusted a young photographer still discovering his style. Every photoshoot became another lesson, every mistake another reason to try again. Behind every young creative, there is often someone who sees potential long before the world does. Those people were his mentors. Their encouragement arrived during the uncertain years when dreams are often questioned before they are celebrated.
“They taught me that consistency matters more than quick success,” he says. After completing senior school, photography shifted from hobby to commitment. Then came another turning point. In 2023, he left Palapye for Gaborone to study engineering. For many students, moving to the city is about earning a degree. For Kooreng, it also became the moment his creative world expanded. New streets meant new stories. New people meant new perspectives. Every client added another chapter to the photographer he was becoming. Engineering and photography may seem worlds apart, but he insists they complement each other more than people realise. Engineering sharpened his ability to solve problems methodically. Photography taught him that not every solution follows a formula.
One demands precision. The other rewards imagination. Together, they have shaped a photographer who approaches every assignment with equal parts, patience and creativity. People admire the finished image, he says, but rarely think about the hours hidden behind it. They do not see the editing that stretches late into the night, the money invested in cameras, lenses, software and transport and do not see the weekends traded for weddings or the social events missed because a client needed memories captured. “Photography is beautiful,” he says, “but it is also work.” His goal is not simply to produce photographs that look good today. He wants images that still matter twenty years from now. He avoids creating work that feels disposable, believing that timeless storytelling will always outlive temporary online attention.
That philosophy extends beyond his camera. He believes photographers carry a responsibility far greater than producing attractive pictures. Every image, he says, becomes part of somebody’s history. Long after conversations are forgotten and voices fade, photographs remain. A graduation portrait becomes a family’s treasure. A wedding photograph becomes the beginning of generations. A simple smile becomes evidence that someone lived, laughed and loved. “Photography preserves history,” he says quietly. “It is our responsibility to tell it truthfully.”