We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stanley Takwana Tongai a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stanley Takwana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of being an entrepreneur or creative is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

This was definitely a positive for me. It was a time when wedding season was in full effect and I was shooting one every 2 weeks. I was very grateful for the work but I could feel the exhaustion creeping in both physically and emotionally. I wasn’t very good at saying no to work. Especially having had a quiet year previously. Then I received a call from a soon to be bride and she explained that they had to let their photographer go because of her lack of communication and trust. And they wanted to see if I was available, in two weeks time! It fell on one of the two free weekends per month that I used to try and rest and recover. Knowing how much stress and work it would add on an already hectic month, I decided to do it. I just had this feeling that I couldn’t say no to this one. I don’t know if it was the desperation in her voice or the fact that on the FaceTime call we had, both her and her fiancé had this look of slight confusion and distress. I knew I could help so I did.

We had 2 more FaceTime calls just to go over the schedule and button down on a shotlist and that was it. I should mention that I usually never book a wedding outside of 3-6 months. I’ve always felt that that time is very important to get to know your clients, develop a chemistry and relationship that will eventually be the glue for a smooth wedding day. Most photographers will tell you how incredibly difficult it is to photograph someone they just met. Now imagine a whole day of that, and two whole families on top of that.

When the wedding day came, I won’t lie, I had an uneasy feeling about the day. I wasn’t entirely myself and even my pre-wedding routine was broken up and I just didn’t feel 100% there. I have a mental checklist I always go through and I was struggling once I started shooting. Small things that usually don’t take me much time like table settlings, the cake and general setup were extremely difficult to get done. But I got through it.

Finally all the guests were seated and the show was about to begin. I have a routine where I always begin the ceremony in the bridal suite and basically start telling the story from there. I went over, waited by the door for her to come out and nothing. A few minutes went by and still nothing. I peaked over into the church and made eye contact with a few guests who were also wondering the same thing I was, what is the delay? Finally, the door cracked open and the bride’s sister poked her head out and I immediately knew something was off. She waved me on to come into the room and as I walked past her I noticed her make up was disturbed and clearly she had been crying. Then I looked over at the bride and she was in even worse shape. Tears streaming down her face. That make up was all but gone. I walked over terrified about the explanation I was about to hear. She burst out and told me that her Father texted her and told her he was not going to be there to walk her down the aisle. Family differences, apparently. He was not a fan of having to share a room with his former wife and her new companion.
You can imagine how devastating this was. I could barely believe it. I had never encountered such an occurrence. She started hyperventilating pretty badly, so I unhinged the two cameras and lens bags that were dangling on either side of me and caught her as she was leaning over. Her sister came back over and helped calm her.
when she was calm, her sister left the suite to go and get her brother who would eventually be the one to walk her down the aisle.

For that moment, it was just me and the bride in the suite.

This person who I didn’t even know 2weeks ago. She was broken. Hurting. On the one day that it should be the total opposite. I hurt for her. I did the only thing I could think of and hugged her for what felt like an eternity. My shirt was soaking wet right above my heart area. I’d be lying if I said a couple of tear drops didn’t fall from my eyes too.
Then, I told her to take a deep breathe and reminded her who’s day it was. How much that man standing at the end of the aisle wants so badly to spend the rest of his life with her. She smiled a little and right then the door opened and her sister came back in, trailed by her brother and the make up artist. We got her fixed up and it was show time, again.

When I left that room I felt recharged, All those feelings of exhaustion and lacking motivation disappeared. I felt so indebted to her to make sure I deliver the best reel of photographs for them. Not because they hired me but simply because she deserved to see her day in a light that she had always dreamed. No matter what obstacles or issues may come up, I still had a job to do and deliver.

It was such a positive for me because it was a reminder that when we sign up to do these projects and tell other people’s stories, we have to be prepared for whatever. We have to understand that the experience we are offering them is worth more than what they are paying, so showing them that in the final delivery is pure bliss. Mission accomplished.

I rarely tell that story. I keep it filed away in my mind as a gentle reminder about how life is a lesson we will never stop learning from. That day I showed up as their photographer, but had to turn that off briefly and just be human and comfort another human in need. We became great friends after. I think the funniest part is the groom wondering how he missed all of it!

Stanley Takwana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in a small farming town called Banket. Because my father and mother moved around a lot for work, my father a mining engineer and my mum, a teacher, they felt it would be better for me and my two siblings to attend boarding school to help provide some stability until a home in Banket was ready for us to settle in. That was probably one of the most important decisions my parents made for us. We all ended up going to the same school, Lomagundi College and got a great education.

At that point it was either pursue something in sports or further my education. I was fortunate enough to follow my siblings to Dallas Texas and start from there. The sports path didn’t pan out as well so I went the education route. I was well on my way to being an accountant. It always came naturally to me so I figured I’d go with that. Also knowing that I’d make my parents proud getting dressed up to go to work everyday. But that didn’t happen. I walked into accounting class one day, in my final year, and felt like I was truly done. I gave my scientific calculator and text books to my desk mate and took off. I figured I could get my tuition refund back while I figured out the next steps. Unfortunately I was denied that and had to choose another class right there. Portraiture Photography was one of the only ones with openings so I signed up and fell in love from the very first class.

I learned how to marry the technical side of things with the composing and storytelling aspect. Using light as best as possible was the key to any good photograph. I embraced it and spent most of my time in the darkrooms processing film.
Learning the very basics of film photography helped me cross over to digital so much easier.

My first real gig was my sister’s friend’s wedding. It was a very nonchalant request from them but I was sweating it. I had no clue what I was doing but I stayed calm and watched a lot of videos and read books and magazines on how to shoot a wedding. My saving grace was I really knew my camera and figured as long as the pictures look great, I can make it through the day. Fortunately I did. Once I started I felt peace and most of the photographs presented themselves and it all felt natural. The reel wasn’t my best but a couple of the images caught the eye of other brides and that led to more weddings. I definitely made sure I was more prepared and as I started booking more, I took time in between to take classes and research more about the industry. Today I look at how far I’ve come and still love the process.

I still do weddings but the pandemic really slowed that down for me. It did however give me more time to focus on portrait photography. That’s a majority of my workflow now. Whether it’s headshots for working professionals, doctors, lawyers or on various campaigns I work on like I Am Second, it’s where most of my time is spent. I find that creating portraits for people is one of the most romantic gestures that this craft has afforded me to do for people. Whether it’s complete strangers or old friends, we always leave footprints in the sand that no wave can wash away. My favorite thing of all time is seeing pictures that I took of people years ago still being used on their social media accounts or various profiles. I rarely stop to count accolades or achievements but seeing those make it all worth more than something I can store on my shelves.

A question I am asked a lot is “Is there a future in Photography? and “Should I do it?”
I always try to explain that just like anything that ends up being a success, it requires complete devotion. If you’re stuck on whether to buy a camera or not, then you probably should not. The more you commit to it, the more you will feel obligated to follow through. You have to be willing to learn it’s history as well as its different forms. The genres are plenty and you will find what makes you want to spend countless hours perfecting.
As for photography in the future, well the future is already here and photography is thriving. You have to adapt with the times as an artist, especially when creating content. Social media has taken over now but I do believe print is very much alive. And just like all things that take a back seat to the shiny new toy, they will resurface again.

One thing I struggled with when I was starting out was defining my brand. I felt incredible pressure to have everything ready incase a client emailed needing work done. A logo, a tagline, the right colors. It’s a lot if that’s not really in your wheelhouse. I hired a couple of people to help me out but nothing really stuck. Finally a great friend and co-creative told me to just focus on building a huge portfolio. Just do the work and figure it all out later. That advice was important because all the work I did in the next few years helped see what I wanted to be known as. The more work I had to look over, the more I saw what I enjoyed and wanted to be at the front of my portfolio.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the fact that I get to do this every day is remarkably special. I know there are people out there who love their jobs but maybe have to follow a more structured process to get the desired outcome. I think creatives have more freedom to creative in every instance and there are not many wrong answers. I love that the work or art we create makes other people’s lives better. We are solving problems in a different kind of way and we are helping people see the world in different ways too. I don’t think there are many genres as wide as the artist genre. We affect people in some way, in every one of those genres. And more importantly, help people see and represent themselves in a better light.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that “the best equipment on the market will guarantee you the best results”. This is not true. At least not for me. I rushed to buy a lot of expensive gear early on to try and fast track my progress. It did put me on a higher level performance wise but there are just some things you cannot skip. Upgrading your equipment should be a privilege after you have exhausted your available resources. I have used all my cameras to the very last shutter snap and there is no better feeling than knowing it’s time for an upgrade, and you are financially ready for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.againstthegrainimages.com
• Instagram: @Sttphotog
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StTPhotography/

Image Credits
Headshot : Traci Sanchez Other Images : Stanley Takwana Tongai (I Am Second, TruFit Foods)