Ashley | Washington, DC Lifestyle Photographer

*sheepishly peeks in* Hi guys… so I’m ashamed to say when I took these pictures given that they are just now being blogged >_< I STILL have sessions from the latter half of 2012 that haven’t yet made their way onto the blog :/ This is one of them lol. I need to think of a better way to introduce them… maybe I can say “from the archives” or something fancy sounding like that lol.

Anyway these photos really need no introduction given how fabulous Ms. Ashley is! This was the one and only session I shot in December (my month “off”) because she was in town visiting from OKC so I couldn’t let that opportunity pass me by :)

She graciously obliged me and stepped in front of my lens. These are the resulting photos!

Interested in your own session? Email me and schedule yours today!

Shayli & Jostin | Washington, DC Lifestyle Photographer

As promised, here is a post just for our lovely models Shayli & Jostin!

I mentioned in the last post that they were great models for Ralph’s mentor session… There is so much love here that I feel like I can’t even adequately put it into words lol… Just look at their pictures! :)

Their wedding day is quickly approaching and I know their wedding photographer will enjoy capturing them on their special day!

Interested in your own session? Email me and schedule yours today!

Ralph | Washington, DC Natural Light Photography Mentor

Alrighty! Now I can post what I intended to before I had to play catch-up :)

Last month I had a great mentor session with Ralph! I met Ralph almost 2 years ago when I took his engagement photos… they were such a sweet couple to work with! Fast-forward a bit and he now is interested in furthering his interest in photography so he reached out for a mentor session!

We met on a pleasant January afternoon and chatted a bit about camera basics and not-so-basics lol… from there, it was time for Ralph to step in front of the camera for his mini session :)

From there we met up with our models for the day- Shayli and Jostin. These two are soo in love! They were THE perfect models for us because they were completely relaxed and you could tell they just really enjoy each other’s company :) Here are a few favorites from their session. I think they may deserve their own post!

Are they not the cutest?! I think I definitely will give them their own post :)

Here are a few words from Ralph about his mentoring experience:

“I first met Danni about 2 years ago when I was looking for someone to take our engagement photos. Ever since we received our photos I’ve been hooked on her craft. I recently decided to put more focus on my own photography skills and contacted Danni for a mentoring session. She’s an awesome mentor and I can definitely say I’m using what she taught me as I develop in photography. If you’re interested in this field I highly recommend you taking the opportunity to learn from this great mentor!”

I enjoyed working with these guys and I am really looking forward to watching Ralph grow and progress with his photography!

Interested in your own mentor session? Email me and schedule yours today!

Dorothy | Washington, DC Natural Light Photography Mentor

Happy Tuesday guys! I have lots of new photos coming your way this week!

I was preparing to share a recent mentor session from last month when I realized I never shared the photos from my session back in November! There are tons of photos you guys haven’t seen :( So let’s try to remedy that, shall we :)

Back on an unusually COLD November day Dorothy and I met up for her mentor session and we had a blast! After chatting over tea and going over basic camera functions, we headed out for her mini session!

From there we met up with our gracious model Sherry for her maternity session :) So we put Dorothy’s new skills to use and practiced a few posing ideas! Sherry’s session was cut a little short due to the extreme cold, but these ladies were definitely troopers!

I had a great time with these ladies and shortly after our session, the photos Dorothy began posting looked awesome already! I look forward to seeing her grow even more as her work progresses :)

Here are a few words from Dorothy about her mentoring experience:

“As a beginner in the field of photography I was looking for someone that could give me some basic tips as well as help me to cultivate my skills.  I found that person in Danielle.  I had the most awesome experience with Danielle as a mentee.  My session with her was extremely informative. I have tried learning the basics about photography through YouTube, Google and a host of different books however; having her providing me with instruction in person and demonstrating certain concepts was priceless.  Since our session she still continues to answer my questions and give me guidance in my pursuit to provide my clients with the best photographs possible.  As I advance in my photography skills I will continue to utilize Danielle and her mentorship program to become the best photographer possible.  She is kind, patient, funny, knowledgeable and most of all an amazing photographer. As one of her clients and a mentee, I am very happy with the skills and services that she has given me and my family. I would strongly recommend Danielle and her mentorship program to anyone regardless of their skill level because there is always room to improve your skills and to exchange ideas.”

Interested in your own session? Email me and schedule yours today!

How I got started | Part I

Happy Thursday guys! So this month has been crazy busy (clearly because I haven’t posted anything on the blog since the first week of January) lol but I’m back now with the long awaited post I’ve been talking about on Facebook.

 

I will need to break this down into several different parts because I have a lot to share and I want this to be as helpful and informative as possible. I want to show that things don’t happen overnight and that you need to be patient and willing to learn from any/everywhere if you wish to succeed in your photography endeavors.

 

So let’s get started with the basics! i’m going to do this in Q&A format so it’s easier to read.

How did you get started in photography?

My interest in photography came about really because of graphic design and digital art. I loved making things on the computer and I got into editing other people’s photos for fun…

Then I figured maybe I should take my own to edit! Things were every primitive at first because I was taking photos with the sole purpose of editing them so I didn’t care about getting things right in camera.

But the more I did it, the more I realized if I do it right in camera I’ll have less editing to do lol. This definitely took time because I really liked doing a bunch of creative edits at first.

As my style began to shift to one of less editing and more technically correct, my brother was a huge help in this regard. He’s been doing photography for over 10 years and was quite frustrated with my initial haphazard way of learning lol. But I’m very thankful to him because once I started taking my photography more seriously, he was (and still is) very helpful whenever I need assistance. In addition to my brother, observing other photographers’ work, using youtube, google, books, and the almighty tool of trial and error, I’ve been able to learn  how to see and use natural light correctly, how to pose/photograph at flattering angles, how to retouch skin naturally, and many more shooting and editing techniques!

 

When did you realize that you wanted to make it a profession?

I honestly feel like I fell into this and I’m so thankful the opportunity presented itself when it did. I was doing admin work for about 3 years and was laid off in 2009… Believe me when I say that was the best thing that happened to me! I had been doing my photography on the side while I was still working full-time, so when I was laid off, the plan was to do a little more with it until I found another position but it kept me busy so I stuck with it! I always said I never wanted to have my own business because it would be too much work and that I would stop liking it if I had to do it for money… but I’m glad to say that that hasn’t been the case :)

 

How did you go about making it your day job?

After I was laid off, I just put it out there that I was available for bookings (through word of mouth and Facebook). I had a big sale which got me a lot of business, and got my name out to a lot of folks that wouldn’t have otherwise heard of me.  Getting clients is only a small piece of what makes a business successful though… developing positive client relationships, improving my skills, coming up with marketing initiatives, keeping track of finances and expenses, trying new ideas, etc… all that plus more went into making this my career. 

I am very much a planner and perfectionist so sometimes when something is too big, thinking a lot about it causes me to procrastinate and never get anything done. I’m 100% sure that’s what would have happened to me if I wasn’t laid off. When I was laid off, I was kind of forced to do something with my photography until I got another position… I didn’t have a plan of action in place or anything, it kind of just flowed. I definitely hit bumps in the road and there was a learning curve, but I’m thankful for the lessons learned along the way. (I’ll go more into detail in another post :)

——

I’ll end with a few before & after photos comparing my style and technique (or lack thereof lol) from over the years to where it is now… it is Throwback Thursday after all ;) 

Each photo was shot at the same location and I think these are perfect examples of why new photographers shouldn’t get discouraged that their work doesn’t look awesome yet… it takes time! :) Each person progresses differently so it might take you even less time than it took me, or it might take you longer. The point is that you’re improving so don’t be too hard on yourself.

I can see that this will definitely be a multi-part series lol… I don’t want to make each post too long so I’ll break it up into as many pieces as necessary. 

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 :)

-Danni