Takala graduated from the Lahti Institute of Art and Design in 1994. She has been working as a freelance photographer from 2002 with clients like the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper and the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) TV news. Takala has also been a visiting instructor in portraiture at the University of Tampere. She is a member of the Free Women -group that published the book Kaupunkisaunoja (City Saunas, Gummerus publishing company) in the fall 2017. Takala was chosen to be part of the 100 Finnish Photographers -project that presented one hundred contemporary Finnish photographers when Finland celebrated one hundred years of independence in 2017.