Li Xuan loves storytelling and strives to be a photojournalist who moves the needle forward. She is passionate about serving her community and hopes to amplify the voices of people who are vulnerable or marginalised. The Straits Times journalist also takes photos for assignments and works on photo projects when she's not at her day job.

From November 2021 to February 2023, Li Xuan produced a photojournalism project about mental health titled “Fighting Demons”. It is an intimate portrait of Ashley Poo’s relationships – with friends, family and herself – and how they intertwine with depression and anxiety. In 2022, the photo essay was published by The Straits Times. That same year, she received the Objectifs Documentary Award in the emerging category for the project. Under the mentorship of documentary and portrait photographer Muhammad Fadli, she expanded the series for her first solo exhibition which was held at Objectifs in 2023.

In 2022, Li Xuan was one of 100 selected for the 35th Eddie Adams Workshop, a merit-based, four-day photojournalism seminar. In a day, she produced a photo essay about Denise and Rob Lombardi who had quit their jobs and moved to Hurleyville in upstate New York to be closer to their son Rj. He is an energetic 18-year-old who has autism and lives at The Center for Discovery. The essay was edited by mentors Mary Calvert and Wong Maye-e.

In 2021, Li Xuan interned at what was then Singapore Press Holdings as a photojournalist. Her photos were published in several newspapers, mainly national broadsheet The Straits Times. From sport to portraiture to spot news, she was exposed to a wide range of photo assignments. She photographed migrant workers in quarantine through the gates of the Westlite Woodlands dormitory after workers were reinfected with Covid-19, the preview of Virtual Realms: Videogames Transformed and its curators ahead of the global launch at the ArtScience Museum, elusive Binance chief executive and founder Zhao Changpeng, and more.