On the move in 2013: ATLANTA! | Recap

You guys… I am way too excited about this post!! Lol you’ll soon see why :)

A few months ago I announced that we were taking DFinney Photography on the road and heading to Atlanta! Well the trip came and went and here is the official recap!

First let me say that I already loved the glam squad before this trip, but I really really love these girls! I don’t even think these pictures do it any justice in capturing how much fun we had. Everyone’s personalities meshed perfectly, all of our clients were so nice and personable, and the photos? Amazing! This isn’t to say I’m awesome lol, merely a testament to how awesome we are as a team!

Just briefly… well that’s probably nonsense at this point because NOTHING about this post is brief lol. I just want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to all of my lovely clients!! 4 of the 7 people we shot drove 2 to 3 hours to meet us in ATL! I can’t tell you how much that means to me!! I loved working with you all and I can’t wait until our next trip :)

Well let me stop gushing and get into the recap lol.

—fair warning: this is a LONG post—

FRIDAY
We all had fairly early flights to get to ATL by late morning/early afternoon and by the time we did, we were exhausted! The weather for ATL was forecasted to be rainy all weekend so I was praying and hoping we’d get clouds instead of rain! When we got there, it was cold and drizzly with a foggy mist that made it look like the buildings were evaporating. That plus the crazy Atlanta traffic (which I had no idea was worse than DC!) kept us inside for our Friday shoots.

We made it work though and ended up with nothing but fabulousness :)

SATURDAY
We had so much fun on Saturday! Both sessions were shot in Little Five Points (thank you Taylor for telling me about it!) which is such a cool little area. Lots of colored walls/art/murals/graffiti… everything I love to shoot! And apparently every other photographer because there were tonss of photographers out and about shooting as well. 

After our sessions, we looked around in a few of the shops then headed back to get ready for dinner. You guys… Two Urban Licks is AWESOME!! I know I’m not the first to come to this conclusion because that place was packed lol. We had to wait for an 11pm reservation but it was soo worth it! EVERYTHING was good! Definitely make reservations and check it out if you’re in (or will be visiting) ATL.

Little Five Points is such a cool indie area… we even had a few folks who wanted to jump in for some photos lol.

SUNDAY
Sunday Funday! Kind of lol. I was a nervous wreck on Sunday because I was worried about my shoot! I now know how my clients feel when they’re getting ready for their shoot and I so appreciate them even more now for trusting me. It was so hard for me to relax and I know Latara had a time trying to get nice photos of me lol. Thanks to Denyelle for doing my makeup- she did a fabulous job and Stephanie did a great job on Latara’s! It was so nice meeting and working with Latara! (aka Elle Danielle :)

Here are a few sneak peeks of Sunday’s sessions. So happy we at least got one sunny day while we were there!

MONDAY
Monday we were able to spend a little more time shopping/hanging out after our first and only shoot with Ebony. She was so easy to photograph and Stephanie did a beautiful job on her makeup which made my job even easier :) Ebony is so sweet! She made me this beautiful custom bracelet and I absolutely love it!! I’ve been wearing it almost every day since lol.

A few previews from Ebony’s session.

TUESDAY
Tuesday we wake up to a cold and rainy day… what a way to welcome and send us off Atlanta! lol I guess it worked out because it prepared us for the cold and rain that awaited us back home.

Well that’s it for the recap!

If you’ve made it this far congrats! You have a long attention span lol. When I started putting this together, I didn’t realize it would be so long, but I just rolled with it. The instagram pictures are from all 4 of us so they help tell a complete story :)

I hope you enjoyed the recap!

-Danni

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!