We had the good fortune of connecting with Annita Kayiba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annita, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Let’s get up closer and personal! I have been struggling with mental health ever since my senior year in high school. As time passed by, I went from being an extrovert to an ambivert leaning towards an introvert. I became anxious around people, I would make plans and cancel last minute, and I just wanted to be alone. The loneliness that I believed to be something normal at the time since I was maturing and people do change as they get older, was actually depression from situations I never truly healed from and would just throw under the rug.

You see, being the eldest of 5 kids, I was used to giving and fixing for others but had never taken the time to do it for myself. Once I was aware of that, I tried making baby steps to heal and find peace. Not the kind of peace that I was looking for by locking myself up in my room and staying in the dark not interacting with the world, pretending to be happy and counting the tears that would roll down my cheeks as I would fall asleep at night, no, the kind of peace you can only find from the man above, God.

Once THAT peace slowly became a part of my life, through my prayers, I could hear a voice tell me to take my passion for imagery and create a business. Not only did photography help me express my emotions through imagery, but it also helped me heal from some of the trauma I had not healed from through storytelling. It also helped me reconnect with the outside world that I had been trying to escape for so long. Clients became friends and my definition of peace and happiness became God. Believe me when I say, days will get tough, you will not always be passionate and you may even have days when you lack creativity. That is all right! There are different seasons for multiple reasons.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33

Beyond that, I have had support from the most amazing people that pushed me when I felt uncertain about making my business public. My significant other, Glody, has been my pillar throughout this journey. My mentor, Brett Muamba and my assistant Chris K Simba are always there to remind me why I started all this in the first place when tougher seasons come knocking at my door.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am inspired by everyday life. All the things my eyes get to witness inspire me. As mentioned above, I also get my inspiration from real-life events that have happened in my life that I am not comfortable sharing with the public directly. I select clients who align with my vision and create imagery and share my story through photography. I got where I am today because I trusted God’s vision for me.

Creating my own enterprise allowed me to pursue my dreams and pursue my passion. Following those dreams fulfilled me in a way that working for someone else may not do. I was responsible for building my company from the ground up, and I shaped it into something I will always be proud of.

It was an opportunity to create a concept or idea that no one else had ever had. I am an extremely visual person with several ideas that play out in my mind like a movie. Individually relatable stories that are based on real-world situations. I wanted to share those with a bigger audience. My business was founded with the intention of connecting with individuals by capturing poetry in motion.

It was not easy, different seasons came knocking at my door at the most unexpected times and I had to learn how to navigate and adapt through each of them. The few things that have helped me overcome these seasons are the few crucial lessons I consider important that I have learned along the way:

1. Growth is essential! A growth mindset is characterized by the ability to surmount obstacles, which brings me to my next point: failure is an action, but it is not who you are. Failure is a chance to attempt something different. If you fail to do so, you may miss out on the chance to learn because you will perceive failure as your identity. A crucial turning point is realizing that nobody is a failure, but that everyone has had a collection of failures.

2. Another lesson I’ve learned is that mastering your craft is essential, and the only way to do so is to always remain a student because there is always more to learn. This is somewhat related to the two points I mentioned previously.

3. Avoid comparisons under any circumstances!
Social media is both beneficial and a curse. Social media can cause you to doubt what you can and cannot do your aptitude limitations, and what you cannot accomplish. Social media should not be perceived as a demoralizing environment. Instead, I learned to view social media as a sea of opportunities and success-oriented road maps. To not be intimidated by the labour of others, but rather to be inspired by it.

My brand was born to create endless memories that will be cherished forever and passed on from one generation to another. For individuals to look back at the pictures 20+ plus years from now and remember the feelings, the laughs and the conversations. I pursued my photography career to connect and meet new people and create long-lasting relationships. Life is all about people, moments & emotions that we want to hold on to. Just like poetry, photography needs to be felt and not just looked at.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my bestie is in my city we would start the weekend off by going to Koena Spa in Gatineau. Get ourselves a nice massage and spend some time in the water while drinking a nice sangria. We would then continue by going to eat brunch at my favourite spot in town: Chesterfield’s Gastro Diner. Once all that is done, we would go do some indoor rollerskating downtown Ottawa. Because I am big on having fun but also resting, we would go to my house rest and get ready to go dinner and eat at Harmon’s Steakhouse to end the night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge shout out to the man above. I would not have had any of these opportunities if it was not for him. Furthermore, I have had support from the most amazing people that pushed me when I felt uncertain about making my business public. My significant other, Glody, has been my pillar throughout this journey. He is the definition of “I pick you up when you fall”. My parents and my siblings for being my biggest cheerleaders.

My mentor, Brett Muamba and my assistant Chris K Simba are always there to remind me why I started all this in the first place when tougher seasons come knocking at my door.

Last but not least, my friends/family and my little family I have formed through Annita Kayiba Photography. You guys are the best!

Website: https://www.annitakphotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annitakayiba/

Image Credits
All my photos

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