How Top Teacher Ebuka Mordi Sparks a Creative Community in Nigeria

As one of Skillshare’s Top Teachers, acclaimed photographer Ebuka Mordi has helped thousands of students learn how to improve their portraiture skills, take stunning iPhone photos and more.

But at a recent workshop in Nigeria, Ebuka took his teaching skills beyond the screen and worked with participants face-to-face to share the tricks of his trade.

Getting to Know Ebuka 

Like many successful photographers, Ebuka Mordi didn’t receive a formal degree from a prestigious art school. Instead, he taught himself to create evocative images that capture the beauty of a brief moment, and through many years of practice, has developed a distinct style.

Today, Ebuka is an Adobe Rising Star, Ambassador, Partner and Creative Resident, as well as an Agora Awards finalist, to name a few of his many awards and recognitions. And as a Skillshare Top Teacher, he’s able to share his expertise with thousands of students around the world. 

As student Ella Onyeka put it, Ebuka is “able to teach the basics so clearly and in a captivating way.” Similarly, student Jeff E remarked that “Ebuka presents the material in an easy-to-understand format.”

With such glowing reviews, it seemed only natural for Ebuka to take his knack for teaching from the internet to the classroom. And luckily for some of Nigeria’s burgeoning photographers, that’s precisely what he did.

From Online Teaching to Hands-On Learning

As Ebuka told us before, since he’s based in Nigeria, there are “various opportunities, security and privileges” that are not available to him. As a result, he is “not as expressive, free and daring with my craft.”

In his words, “being from a country like Nigeria often means that we have a slow start and…have to struggle hard to gain momentum and recognition.”

Perhaps that’s part of what motivated him to co-facilitate the WakaSnap Nigeria workshop in the spring of 2025. There, he and his fellow facilitators led a group of participants through hands-on photography sessions and in-person lessons.

More than anything else, Ebuka and the other facilitators aimed to show participants how to tell a story through the images they create. And based on what attendees had to say once the workshop was concluded, they certainly succeeded in achieving that goal.

Voices from the Workshop

From watching Ebuka’s Skillshare classes, we can try to imagine what an in-person class of his would entail. But at the end of the day, only the workshop’s participants truly know what the experience of attending it was like. These are some of the things they had to say.

“I have really enjoyed myself,” one participant said. “The entire workshop exceeded my expectations, to be honest.”

Another said that they “learned to tell authentic stories as they are, and not to pretend or create a story that is not relatable.” For them, “that was something that really stood out.”

Even for participants who were initially unsure about attending, the experience was a resounding success. “At first I was scared to come because I was meeting new people and I did not know how it was going to be,” one participant shared. “But then here I am, and it has been amazing, and I am so glad I came.”

Ebuka himself had only good things to say about the workshop, too. “Being one of the facilitators of this amazing workshop, I’ve been able to experience learning at a different level,” he explained. “I’ve seen participants who are willing to learn and who are willing to put in the effort.”

In-Person and Online Learning: Better Together

In-person learning and online learning are often positioned as opposing methods, and there are plenty of debates to be had about which one is better. And given that Skillshare is one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, you couldn’t be blamed for expecting us to be biased towards online learning.

But in reality, this comparison overlooks a more nuanced truth: in-person and online learning are not necessarily better or worse than each other—they are simply different. Each mode offers unique advantages and challenges, and rather than existing in competition, they can be used alongside each other to create richer, more dynamic educational experiences. And looking at the success of Ebuka Mordi’s in-person workshop, that truth is more evident than ever.

After all, online learning excels in flexibility and accessibility. Through classes like Ebuka’s, students can set their own pace, revisit materials at any time and access a broader range of resources than they might otherwise be able to.

On the other hand, in-person learning fosters social interaction and provides immediate feedback, often featuring a more structured environment. By occupying the same physical space as their peers and instructors, participants may find themselves more engaged and motivated to learn.

When a teacher is able to bring those two approaches together, they can complement each other in powerful ways. For instance, a student of Ebuka’s could benefit from using his Skillshare classes to get familiar with key photographic concepts at their own pace. Then, if they attended his in-person workshop, they could experience hands-on application, get personalized feedback and put the principles they learned online into practice.

In that way, Ebuka’s workshop illustrates that rather than asking whether in-person or online learning is better, educators and students alike might gain more by asking how both can be combined to create a better experience for everyone. 

Written By

Carrie Buchholz

Carrie Buchholz is a freelance writer who lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and dog.

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