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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Humble and hard-working are words that clients of photographer, Ricky Kamota, the face behind PuzzleMoment Pictures, use to describe him and his lense that has shot many celebrities in Zimbabwe.

Recently Sandra Ndebele showed off her toned figure through a series of pictures that broke the internet. The person who shot those pictures is the 26-year-old Bulawayo-born photographer, Ricky.

He has also taken photos for former Miss Tourism Zimbabwe Samantha Tshuma, contemporary musician Mzoe 7 and the Chicken Inn couple – Makhosana Mguni and Belinda Nyoni.

Ricky’s catalogue of celebrities is impressive as it includes the likes of Cde Obert Mpofu’s family, businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry, hip hop musician Cal Vin, Zimbabwe Warrior Teenage Hadebe, Vivian Mokome, the multi-millionaire in South Africa and musician Bekezela.

One happy client is Tshuma who recently shared images which were taken by PuzzleMoment. She said she loves Ricky’s work.

“Ricky started working with my models at Open Eye Studio and that’s when I realised how good he is. I then contracted him for a shoot with my siblings. Since then I’ve never turned back as I always use him as my photographer. All my pictures on Instagram are by him,” said Tshuma.

Sandra Ndebele who was referred to Ricky by Mzoe 7, said his works speak for themselves.

“Mzoe 7 has been working with Ricky for some time now so when I needed photos taken recently, he referred me to him. Ricky is humble, hard-working and very professional. His works speak for themselves as the photos he did with me went viral,” said Ndebele.

Kirsty Coventry

On his part, Ricky said he started photography two years ago after he got fed up of his job and decided to pursue his arts passion.

“I started photography in February, 2018. I had an interest in art and I was fed up of being told what to do at work. I then decided to be my own boss hence I quit my job and pursued photography,” said Ricky.

When he started photography, Ricky said he wanted his work to stand out.

“What pushed me to be where I am today was the fear of being average. I always wanted to be the best version of myself,” he said.

The name PuzzleMoment is of sentimental value to Ricky who said he coined it in memory of his late friend.

“When I was in high school (Milton High School), I was a part time designer and I collaborated with this friend of mine called Donny. We had given ourselves the name Puzzle Search as we loved puzzles. So when I took up photography, I decided to name the company PuzzleMoment in memory of him,” said Ricky.

Asked how he got to work with various celebrities, businesspeople and ministers, Ricky said it was all through his commitment and hard work.

“I worked very hard to get my name out there. Some of these celebrities contacted me while I also approached others,” he said.