Beyond the Frame: Why Photographers Need Space to Talk About Their Work

Photography can often look like a solitary practice.

You pick up a camera, make the image, return to your laptop, edit, send the work to a client and move on to the next project. But behind every photograph is a person, a process, a perspective and a story that often doesn't make it into the final image.

For photographer Andy Mkosi, photography has become much more than making pictures. It has been a way of understanding herself, developing her voice and connecting people through the images she creates.

Now, through the Photo Lecture Series in partnership with This Audio Is Visual (TAIV), Andy wants to create space for photographers to do something that doesn't happen often enough: step away from the camera and talk about the practice behind it.

It started with a photograph

Andy's relationship with photography began long before she picked up a camera.

Growing up, she spent time looking through the photo albums kept by her mother and aunts. She found herself fascinated by the people, characters and situations captured in those photographs, often wondering about the stories behind them.

Her first real introduction to the camera came after high school, when she applied to study film and television. Photography was her second option, but something about it stayed with her.

Even after she moved away from studying photography formally, she decided she didn't want to put the camera down.

Over time, however, Andy realised that learning photography wasn't only about learning how to use a camera. It was also about learning how to see.

"When I interacted with the camera and photography in the beginning stages of my career, it was from a very meek point of view, a point where I didn't really understand myself first," she explains.

As her practice developed, so did her understanding of herself. She began finding the subjects, ideas and approaches that connected with her interests and, eventually, her own photographic voice.

The photograph as a way of bringing people together

For Andy, photography is also about the reaction that happens after an image is made.

One of the things she enjoys most is surprising people with photographs they didn't know she had taken. She often documents friends and family on her phone and, when she has the opportunity, prints the photographs and gives them back to the people in them.

Some of those photographs have a deeper meaning.

At family gatherings, Andy would sometimes photograph relatives who weren't particularly close or who had disagreements with one another. In the moment, however, they might simply be sitting together, eating, laughing or enjoying the occasion.

She would capture that moment.

Later, she would show them the photograph.

For Andy, there is something powerful about watching people pause over an image of themselves, especially when that photograph brings two people together who might otherwise not interact.

Photography, in those moments, becomes more than documentation.

It becomes a reminder that people are seen. That they matter. That a moment is worth remembering.

Finding your voice behind the camera

As Andy's career developed, one of her favourite parts of being a photographer became something much more personal: self-development.

Photography gave her a way to develop her confidence, sharpen her voice and become more certain about what she wanted to say through her work.

"There are a lot of photographers, but what's that thing that kind of makes you stand out?"

For Andy, part of that answer has been discovering the type of photography she enjoys creating and staying committed to it.

That clarity can also shape the relationships a photographer builds with clients. As photographers develop their own visual language, they can begin attracting people who connect with that particular perspective, the "Andy Mkosi touch", as she puts it.

Her journey has therefore not only been about becoming a better photographer.

It has been about becoming more fully herself through the practice.

The part of freelancing nobody talks about enough

But developing a creative practice is only one part of building a career as a freelance photographer.

There is also the business.

Andy wishes she had encountered more resources early in her career that explained the business side of photography. Over the past several years, she has had to learn how to navigate freelancing, money and the practical realities that come with turning photography into a career.

And those lessons matter.

Photography doesn't end when the photograph is made. There are questions around copyright, fees, rates, numbers and understanding the value of the work you're providing.

Her advice to photographers starting out is simple: don't shy away from the business side.

Being curious about the numbers and learning how freelancing actually works can make a significant difference when a client eventually asks, "What's your rate?"

The creative work may be what draws you in, but understanding the business can help you sustain it.

Creating a room for photographers to speak

It is this combination of creativity, career and community that sits at the heart of the upcoming Photo Lecture Series.

Andy feels there aren't enough spaces in South Africa where photographers can come together and openly speak about their practices.

Not simply exhibit the finished work.

Not simply post it online.

But actually stand in front of an audience and talk about how they work, what they think about, what they've experienced and how their practice has evolved.

For Andy, that's important because photography can be a lonely journey.

You go out and make the images. You come home and edit them alone. You send them to a client. Then you move on.

There aren't always many opportunities in between to stop and talk about what you're doing.

The Photo Lecture Series is intended to create that space.

A space where photographers can take centre stage, share their experiences and articulate the thinking behind their work.

And that applies whether someone is already established or still figuring themselves out.

More than just a lecture

For Andy, the goal isn't simply for photographers to sit in an audience and listen.

She wants photographers to leave understanding that it is possible to speak about their own work.

Being able to articulate your process, your interests and your practice is an important part of building a creative career.

The hope is that the people on stage can share their journeys openly, while the people in the audience leave with a better understanding of what drives the photographers and visual artists whose work they admire.

Most importantly, it creates an opportunity for photographers to see that their own journey is worth talking about too.

Come into the room

On 19 September 2026, HustleNest is supporting the Photo Lecture Series in partnership with This Audio Is Visual (TAIV), bringing photographers and creatives together for an evening centred on photography, practice and the stories behind the work.

The Forge, Braamfontein

19 September 2026

Free entry | Registration via Quicket

Whether you're already working as a photographer, building your portfolio, developing your creative voice or simply curious about the people and processes behind the photographs you see, this is an opportunity to get into the room.

Come listen to the stories behind the images.

Come learn from the journeys that happen beyond the frame.

And perhaps, most importantly, come thinking about your own perspective and what you have to say.

Photography Feature: Andy Mkosi