It’s here, it’s here! Wedding Week is here!
What is wedding week? All weddings, all the time!
Every day this week will be a new wedding related post. Never before shared photos from recent weddings and engagements and helpful wedding related articles from a photographer’s perspective!
Sound exciting? It is! So let’s get this thing going! :)
-Danni
“You’re a lot better than you think you are”
Those words were spoken to me this past weekend by my wonderful assistant Nahshon and they stuck with me.
I forget what specifically he was referring to, but it’s not a new sentiment. From time to time I struggle with a skewed view of self and those around me often try to help when I have my moments of doubt or when self-confidence is low.
I know this isn’t unique to me, or unique to creatives, as we all struggle with feelings of self-doubt from time to time…. So I think it’s an important topic to address. Often times we get so focused on the many things we have yet to correct, learn, and do, that it’s hard to acknowledge the progress that has been made up until that point.
I’ve had many conversations lately with friends that tied back to that one way or another. And I feel like I’m finally starting to “get” it.
Acknowledging the progress you’ve made thus far doesn’t mean you don’t have work left to do. It simply puts you in a better mental space to be able to carry out that work. Striving for balance is always key and that’s the mission I’m on currently. Sometimes I struggle with giving myself credit because I’m not as good as someone else, or because I know I can do better. But what does that do? All that does it put me in a negative mental space that isn’t very conducive for great work.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
-Carl Rogers
I stumbled upon this quote yesterday and had to share it. Acknowledgement is a powerful thing. You have to acknowledge where you are before you can move forward.
I’m nearing DFinney Photography’s official 5 year anniversary and even with that being the case, instead of looking at my accomplishments, sometimes all I see is how much MORE I have to do to get to where I want to be. So my efforts instead now, are not to look at how far I have left to GO, but at how far I have COME. Positivity is always a better motivator than negativity!
So I will end by saying this… in whatever area you may find yourself, please don’t forget to look at the positive side of things and not only the negatives. Because you will often find that you’re doing better than you think you are :)
This girl! Lol
It’s been a long time coming, but I finally have an assistant and he was right here all along!
Meet Nahshon you guys!
Nahshon has been working with my brother Adrian and I for the past 3 years as our wedding photography assistant and recently began to do more with his photography personally. As my responsibilities have increased and I’ve been struggling with effective productivity, somehow the idea formed to see if Nahshon would like to work with me in an even larger capacity, and he was completely on board!
Nahshon is like my little brother and I couldn’t be happier to have him working with me. This is definitely going to be an adjustment process though because I’m used to doing EVERYTHING lol. Letting go is an art that I’m learning slowly, but I’m thankful for his patience lol. Having an assistant is teaching me not only to let go, but that everything doesn’t have to be done exactly as I’d do it. Caring less about certain things frees you up to be more awesome so I’m hoping that will be true in my case :)
Enough rambling from me though, let me introduce you to Nahshon and let you hear directly from him:
“I’m really excited to be working with Danielle assisting with weddings and office responsibilities. I became interested in photography about 4 years ago when i started working with Adrian (AJ Finney Fine Wedding Imagery) who was doing wedding photography at the time. Ever since then, I fell in love with photography! I enjoy photography because it’s the single unique way to capture a moment, with sadness, joy, frustration, or love jumping out at you. Even when your memories fail you, pictures won’t. I appreciate the work I am doing since it helps me build a solid foundation with my photography and also understanding the business side of things. I look forward to helping Danni along with finding and perfecting my style of photography along the way!”
-Nahshon Murray
So please welcome Nahshon to #TeamDFinney!!
Today’s Truthy Tuesday is up next ;)
-Danni
Happy Tuesday loves!
I’m back after an unplanned two week blog hiatus and with tons of goodies to share! Things have been beyond busy over here and I’m just now getting a chance to kinda catch my breath.
I was going to start with this past weekend’s Natural Light Workshop, but then I realized that so much has happened since March began that I haven’t officially shared on the blog! So let’s go in order, shall we? :)
MARCH began with a fun mentor session with Terri! 
The next weekend, I had a beautiful engagement session with Mel & Chad!
The following weekend was Tiffany & Alonzo’s wedding- that I was both in and photographing.
Huge thank you to my team (my brother Adrian and our assistant Nahshon) for doing an awesome job on the photos! In case you’re wondering how that was done- I did all the portraits/pre-ceremony shots and they took over from there ;)
The next weekend? Another great mentor session! This time with Yolonda :)
Quite an action-packed month and Spring had just started!
APRIL began with a busy busy weekend- 5 sessions in 4 days! I photographed my sister Latoya, 2 senior sessions with Regina & Harriet, a fun “just-because” session with Le Quan, and a great vintage engagement session with L+R for their wedding in August.
The following weekend was a super fun wedding in Baltimore with lovebirds Mel & Chad!
The next weekend was an absolutely beautiful one! Filled with great weather, bright colors, and beautiful people :) I photographed my loves Dori for her senior photos, Yasmin & Calvin for their maternity photos, and a fun just-because session with the ever so lovely Michel!
And that leads us up to this past weekend when I held my Natural Light Workshop! I will do a full recap, but I’m really happy with how it turned out and I can’t wait to see this lovely group of photographers progress even further in their photography journeys :)
What’s ahead? MAY promises to be just as action packed with minis, a wedding in Charlotte, group mentor sessions in both Charlotte and DC, along with regular portrait sessions at the end of the month.
This has definitely been my busiest Spring season ever and I couldn’t be more thankful to you guys!!
Also, please forgive my manners! I secured a new assistant during this time as well :) I’ll have an official announcement post shortly, but since this is the “News & Updates” post, I’ll share it here too.
Stay tuned today, I have lots of goodies to come including the official assistant announcement, and a brand new Truthy Tuesday! It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten about them :)
I hope your Tuesday is off to a great start!
-Danielle
As promised, TODAY is the day you get in on the action- Spring Mini Sessions are here!
Those who signed up for our mailing list got exclusive access to book on Monday- a full two days before anyone else!
Now is your chance!
Mini Sessions are $275 and include the following:
• Pre-consult to ensure your photo session will be just what you want!
• Professional makeup application for 1
• 30 min photo session for up to 4 people
• 1 outfit
• Custom editing of the best 10-15 images selected by the photographer
• 1 mounted 5x7 print
• Private digital proof gallery for ordering
All prints and digital negatives are sold a la carte.
To make sure everyone looks as fabulous as can be- makeup will be included in the session fee! That way you save a bit because it would be an additional $25 if you paid for makeup separately. You can expect the same flawless look for your photos that you see on my site because you’ll be working with my favorite makeup artists :)
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To take advantage of this special mini session offer, you must be located in (or willing to travel to) Washington, DC, Charlotte, NC, or Atlanta, GA on the dates listed Your session must be booked no later than April 19, 2014 for a session to be photographed on one of the dates listed above (depending on your city ;). All mini sessions will be photographed at an awesome location in the city!
All set and ready to book your session?
EMAIL ME to snag your spot!! Make sure you indicate what city you’d be interested in.
DON’T DELAY! These spots will go quickly and once they’re gone, they’re gone!
Definitely looking forward to bringing minis to three cities this year and I look forward to working with you all :)
-Danni