Rising Stars: Meet Khaxil Stewart of Surprise

Today we’d like to introduce you to Khaxil Stewart.

Hi Khaxil, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Well to get started, I remember coming across my first digital camera while I was attending a Forrest lights party while attending NAU back in 2013. I thought it was the best thing ever. That was the end of it and I never touched a camera again until 2020. If you didn’t guess it, Covid happened and all of a sudden we had all this time on our hands. So like everyone else who was trying to pass the time, I decided to pick up my camera again and learn all that I could about it. From there I followed the beat of this phrase “one shot at a time”, meaning with each click of the shutter button my goal with my camera was to get better at photography, learn on and go and capture any and everything that is in front of my camera. When it came to picking a niche to photograph, I started with long exposure, shooting light trials at night, shooting my dogs when they would allow me, cars, animals, whatever I found interesting and compelling I would shoot it… may not have been the best but it didn’t matter to me. I ended up picking a niche that I adore and understood, sports. It is one thing to watch from the stands but it’s totally different when you’re on the sidelines getting an opportunity to see the actions and be able to tell a story with your photos.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. There has definitely been some bumps along the way, but I attribute them to growing pains. Just like anyone starting something new, it’s never easy out the gate and it forces you to learn on the fly and make adjustments. Fortunately along the way, I was able to connect with fellow photographers who didn’t mind sharing a few words here and there or answering my many questions. I thank them for their time as I know it’s valuable. Some of the struggles I encountered stem from limited access to events, not having connections, being ignored on emails, which I get and having to learn the craft.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am two things, one being a teacher for the last 9 years teaching the 6th grade and the other being a photographer. On the teacher side of things, I specialize in teaching ELA and social studies. On the other hand, with my photography I specialize in shooting high school sports, predominantly basketball, but will also shoot football, baseball and volleyball.
I think I’m most proud of the fact that I am able to sit here and write about my journey with photography. It’s a hard craft to learn and I’m proud that I was able to stick to it and learn as much as I have to be able to say I’m good at it. I think what sets me apart from others is my willingness to try and fail and learn and get better. I try to use my photos to tell a story so whoever is looking at them feels that they are there.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Some of the qualities I feel are the most important to me are: being respectful, being confident, being reflective, savvy, having the ability to think outside the box, being creative, being humble, knowing that you’re not too good to ask for help, having a growth mindset. These are some of the qualities that I think are important to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kasphotography360.mypixieset.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kasphotography360

Image Credits
No credits …. Photos are captured by myself