On Being a Black Photographer | Truthy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday loves!

I’m back with another Truthy Tuesday today! Two weeks in a row?? I know! Don’t get used to it though lol.

Today I want to share something a little personal that I just recently realized a few months ago after talking with a couple of my clients…

When I first started my business over 5 years ago, I was a little bummed that I didn’t have more diversity in my work. I live in a predominately black area, but that is not to say that I only work with my race. One of my friends a few years back told her co-worker about my photography business and her response after looking at my site was “oh, but she only works with black people”. If you can imagine, I was somewhat hurt by her co-workers feelings, but I was thankful to my friend for sharing them with me. I thought, well she can’t be the only one who feels this way… she’s probably just the only one who SAID it! Thus began my quest for diversity. I never wanted anyone to look at my site and be hesitant to work with me because they thought I only worked with one race over others.

Well fast-forward to this year and I will say that my mindset towards this whole “issue” has changed slightly. Let me tell you why: In speaking with a number of my clients this year, one of the reasons they decided to go with me was because of how beautifully I photograph people of color. It was shared that in their search for a photographer, they saw lots of options, but weren’t sure how well the photographer would be able to capture their skin tone because they didn’t see very many (if any) minorities in their portfolio.

I have mixed feelings on this because while I’m glad their search led them to me, it made me realize that having a diverse portfolio is not something every photographer deems as necessary. I actually stumbled across someone tweeting about this very issue a couple days ago.

It absolutely does take skill to be able to photograph different skin tones well, so I do understand the concern of my friend’s coworker initially because I did only have clients of one race at that time. However, I will say this: I work hard to make sure that everyone I photograph is captured in their best light, regardless of their race, and if I’m able to do that well for people of color, well that’s an honor I’ll accept gladly :) Especially with the limited options available. Here’s what changed my mind about this whole thing: If someone is not willing to book with me because they think I only work with one race over others, they are not my client. If you’ve followed my work, you see that I do indeed work with people of varying cultures and shoot them all beautifully!

I do have a predominately black client base, but instead of wishing it were more diverse, I am and will be forever grateful for the support of my community over the past 5+ years and thankful for the opportunity to capture these positive images that may not have been seen otherwise!

I want prospective clients to fall in love with me and my work, and if seeing the race of my clients keeps them from booking, well I guess they’ll be missing out then :)

This has been on my heart for the past few weeks so I just wanted to share. This is Truthy Tuesday, right? Lol 

Check back in tomorrow for a fab engagement session post for Wedding Wednesday :) Be safe in the snow!

-Danni

Winter + Spring 2015 Group Sessions | News & Updates

Quick news and updates for you guys interested in the upcoming group mentor sessions!

Mentor sessions in the above cities were announced last month and about half of the spots are gone already!

Full details and pricing for Sessions 101 and 102 are viewable right here on the blog!

If you are interested in participating in one or both sessions, simply shoot me an email (danielle@dfinneyphoto.com) and we can get you secured for the date(s) of your choice! All that’s required to secure your seat is a $100 retainer and the balance is due two weeks prior to the session itself.

If you don’t see your city, don’t fret! These are only early 2015 dates and additional cities like Brooklyn, Charlotte, etc will be added once the dates have been confirmed next week.

First up for mentoring in the new year is Atlanta! I had a great time last summer working with 2 wonderful groups of photographers, so I can’t wait to see your faces again and meet some new ones :)

If you enjoyed your session, tell a friend!

Share how the mentor session benefited you and maybe they might be interested as well. Don’t keep a good thing to yourself!

Same goes for you guys in DC! If you can’t attend, but know of a friend who would benefit from Session 101 (or both)? Send them my way! Or better yet, share this blog post with them :)

I can’t wait to kick off these new sessions next month!

And on that note…

This month I will be finalizing the curriculum for these sessions beginning next month. I have core items I already know will be included, but I’d love to hear from you! What are some things (questions, concerns, things you’ve always wondered, are in the process of dealing with, are nervous about, etc) relating to owning, operating, beginning, maintaining, or revamping your photography business?

This will help me put together a program that hits on all the right notes :)

That’s it for now, but please please please take advantage of this opportunity while space is available. As was mentioned about half of the spaces have already been booked and the cap is still 4 per session so please make sure you secure your space ASAP if you’d like to attend. I look forward to working with you soon!

Have a great Monday!

-Danni

New Orleans Group Mentor Session [Oct 4] | Washington, DC Photography Instructor

Happy Monday!

I hope your new year is off to a great start! I am unofficially “off” this month (only because I’m not shooting any sessions), but I still have lots of newness to share with you on the blog this month :)

First up is the recap from the bright and colorful mentor session in New Orleans this past October!

I had somewhat of a rough start the morning of this session because I was so sick! It must have been from something I ate the night before because I could not keep anything down! I felt so bad because I came all the way out of town for this- just to feel bad the morning of! Fortunately the nausea subsided and I was able to have a great session with these ladies! The weather was perfect and the colors? 

Ahh! I couldn’t take how they all ended up matching :) Color harmony makes my heart rejoice lol.

Here are each of the ladies’ headshots!

If you’re interested in participating in the next group mentor session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me today! View more information on the photographer education options offered here!

End of the Year Thoughts | Truthy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday guys!

We’re just one day away from the end of 2014 and the start of a new year! The end of 2014 is sort of an anti-climatic one for me because I will still be doing the same things on Thursday as I did on Wednesday. I know most folks probably will be too, but the start of a new year is often the time when new goals are set and new plans are set in place. But mine? They’re the same. I just want to continue to do better. 

Doing better means a lot of things for me and because it’s such a massive goal, it will be a while until I’m at a point where I’m truly happy with things. Though I am working at being more appreciative of the progress made along the way :) 

Speaking of which, I want to take a moment and share just how appreciative I am of how amazing this year has been.

It hit me last week as I was taking care of some administrative tasks that this year has been the best year for DFinney Photography… ever! I know I say that every year, but every year manages to surpass the last, and that’s a trend I’m hoping continues. This was year 5 and the fact that my fledgling business has maintained substantial growth every year since it’s beginning is such an amazing thing to me! I cannot express how deeply thankful I am to each and every one of you for your support! Either by investing with me for your photos and/or photography education, referring me to a friend, keeping up with me on social media, or just being a quiet observer! I truly appreciate each and every one of you!

I have met and worked with some wonderful people this year as a result of my photography and I look forward to doing even more of this in the months and years to come! I don’t want to get too mushy or long-winded (those that know me know I have a tendency to do both lol), so I will end it here.

Thank you simply cannot be said enough, but I will try. So I will thank you at every opportunity I have :)

Thank you again and I hope you have a wonderful end to 2014!

-Danni

Marissa | Washington, DC Headshot Photographer

Last, but certainly not least, today we have Marissa- Relationship & Sex Therapist at XoXo Therapy!

Marissa and I had a dynamic headshot session last month and the resulting photos are SO her! These photos are the result of clear ideas and collaboration- the exact things I suggest to all of my clients to make sure that the resulting photos are the best reflection of you :)

Not to say that our day went off without a hitch because it totally didn’t lol. First, I thought I forgot my memory card which caused a slight delay. Then, our planned second location was gone… GONE! Lol this is the kind of thing I forget about sometimes in DC with constant construction and often changing murals. The building we planned to use was demolished :/ So we went to our second option… aaaaand they were closed -_- It seemed like we just couldn’t catch a break, but we took our L’s in stride and were confident we would work it out regardless. We headed to our last location and it was theee perfect ending to her session! We were able to capture all of the looks she had in mind and despite our mishaps, everything turned out just the way it was supposed to :)

Now she has a great final set of images to market herself with and great memories to remember the day by!

If you’re interested in a headshot session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: February 2015.