Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tina Mai. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you?

No matter how much you think you know, you will always learn more.

In my senior year of high school, I had taken up the role of being editor-in-chief for journalism class; at this time, I had taken three years of journalism going into my fourth, and becoming editor-in-chief was the upmost position that any student could get. I felt as though throughout the previous three years, I would have already learned everything I needed to be able to run the paper smoothly, but I was wrong. I worked endlessly so that I could be able to be the “perfect” editor-in-chief, but perfection was never possible. That year, I learned more about teamwork, trial & error, photography, and leadership more than I ever had—growing closer to my classmates and teacher than I did with anyone else throughout my high school career. A few weeks before I had graduated, I received a recommendation letter from my journalism teacher, Mr. McClelland:

“Though the reservoir of Tina’s transferable skills is deep, Tina has most notably mastered programs such as InDesign [and] Photoshop… If she were to stop in her academic progression exactly where she is now, Tina would still be an extremely successful student. The thing is, however, that is an impossibility. Tina continues to grow, continues to search for new programs, entirely on her own volition.”

These words stuck with me, and I took it to heart; so I take it, and every time I feel as though I know enough, that there’s “nothing” left to learn about my hobbies, my job, or my education, I seek to learn more.

As I started to get into sports photography again in 2022 following my graduation, I realized that no matter how much I knew about photography, there is always something else to know about it, whether it’s: venue lighting, camera settings, using flash, editing in Lightroom, and even making connections with other creatives and athletes.

Though I am proud of my progress since the beginning, my goal is to continue to plunge into new opportunities and search for future possibilities as I go. It was never about the destination, always about the journey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was at the age of 13-14 during the time that I started focusing on photography; but I never got to throw myself fully into it until mid 2022. In late 2017, I had been brought to an independent professional wrestling show; and being that I had grown up as a fan of wrestling, independent wrestling was completely new to me; but it was extremely interesting how close people were to the ring, how interactive the talent was with the audience, how intimate the shows were compared to the mainstream wrestling shows, and I was enraptured to catch the moments that were being made there. In high school, I got to do photography for my school’s football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer teams-along with theatre. I haven’t stopped since then.

After I graduated, I placed my focus on professional wrestling photography. During the past two years, I have grown tremendously thanks to my peers, fellow creatives that I have shared the ringside with, and athletes that I have been able to make connections with. Somedays are harder than others, but the discipline that I have learnt to put on myself motivates me to keep going.

Experimenting is very important to me; trying out new techniques, learning better lighting settings, and finding new ways to promote myself and my work has always been something of importance. Within the past three months, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to start offering more services in addition to my photography such as taking promo pictures, working on video edits, and learning to use flash photography. I know I have so much more to offer and so much more to grow towards, but I would have never expected to grow this exceedingly fast. I am forever thankful for all the opportunities I receive and for the people who have believed in me since the beginning.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

People seem to think that photography is an easy skill, that “all you have to do is press the button”. I’d like to think that It’s the complete opposite of how it’s told—photography is capturing dynamic and decisive moments. It’s about stopping fast-paced actions, expressions, emotions, and preserving the intensity and drama through a single photo. It’s about taking that raw image and going through multiple editing stages JUST to perfect a single photo, and repeating it hundreds of times for the entire show. Dramatic, sure, but I had worked endlessly to be where I am today—and it is not easy.

The biggest thing I learned on this journey [so far] is that you will always be your biggest critic. No matter how much praise, approval, and support you receive from others on your work—there will always be something there that burdens your efforts. Let’s be real, we are never going to perfect our craft, there’s always going to be more room for growth… but take those lessons and keep them with you rather than beating yourself up about it.

I am a full-time college student along with being a photographer. The schedule gets busy and it doesn’t ever get easier—somedays it gets worse, but photography is my safe haven. I do this because of the fact that I love it. That I want to do it. If you have passion for doing what you love, what’s stopping you from doing it?

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

More than anything, being able to deliver satisfaction with my photography. Seeing people view my images and allowing them to see the beauty they bring with their sport, it’s the most rewarding aspect of doing what I do. When that happens, it doesn’t matter how I feel about my own work—their contentment is all that I could ever ask for.

I had been previously asked about my purpose for my photography; “what is your drive? what makes your heart beat?” My purpose will always remain the same. The people; and I continue to answer to that. The people who surround me with their support, they’re not only supporting me, but they’re driving themselves to their own goal whether they’re a wrestler or a creative. I’ve been fortunate to hear multitudes of stories from people who have come from afar, and some local about how they got to where they are and how they chose to go down the path they did. It will always be the biggest reward to be able to watch them grow their own skillsets and progress with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://tinasphotog.carrd.co/
• Instagram: @tinasphotog
• Facebook: Tina’s Photog

Image Credits
Personal/cover photo: Jennifer Gonzalez Photography – @jennifergonzalezphotography on Instagram