We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daniela Cordero a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Daniela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

As someone who is currently studying to become a nurse, I think about this statement quite a lot. I love what I’m studying and the change I can make in people’s life as a nurse, however, as a photographer I also feel like I also get to make an impact. Being a photographer means I get to capture someone’s most special day, their milestones, and memories they will look back at for the rest of their lives. This makes my job extremely fulfilling and makes me grateful I am given the opportunity to be a part of my client’s lives. Being a photographer has given me the opportunity to pay for school and to support myself through nursing school, I have been able to make my own schedule which has been extremely helpful as I have very limited availability with assignments, clinicals and exams. Additionally, photography has given me the resources to keep traveling and exploring the world which I am forever grateful for. Although I will be working as a nurse in the future full time, my photography business will keep being a huge part of my life and I hope to keep making an impact in other’s as I work in both of these fields.

Daniela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a photographer based in Houston Texas! I started my business in 2021 and it has been quite the journey since. I started by doing free sessions of friends and families and a lot of model calls to build my portfolio and gain experience. I do all types of photoshoots, from elopements to cake-smashes, graduates, family sessions, events, newborns and maternity sessions. I love different aspects of all sessions so I haven’t been able to bring myself to pick just one type. I like offering my clients a variety of services so they have the opportunity of booking for different significant events in their life all with the same photographer. I believe that what sets me apart the most is my client experience during sessions. I make sure my clients feel comfortable and that I make them feel as if we’ve known each other for years! I love building friendships with clients during our sessions and building trust through every step of the way. I am most proud of how far I have come in such a short amount of time and I am extremely excited for what the future holds.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Before I started my photography business I was actually a full time pharmacy technician, I used to work Monday through Friday and I taking classes to finish my prerequisites for nursing school. Once I got into nursing school I knew I wouldn’t be able to work at the pharmacy as much as I used to and that is when I started taking photography more seriously. Three months after starting nursing school I started to get bookings more frequently and over time I was able to lay off my pharmacy job enough to only work 6 hours a week. This business has given me the opportunity to become my own boss, create my own schedule and still have an income that makes me live comfortably. As of right now I am planning on making photography my only job starting in December until I graduate from nursing school! I can’t wait to have more time to dedicate to it and to making my business the best I am able to make it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

People. It’s a short answer but it is genuinely the most rewarding aspect of being a photographer. I get to meet such interesting and fun people, I get to know a little bit about their life, their love story and their plans for the future. Clients becoming friends make me realize how lucky I am to get to meet such amazing people. People showing their gratitude once their galleries are delivered, them telling me how happy they are with the results, saying how special I made the moment and how they will be booking in the future makes my work so rewarding. I am forever grateful to have met those that have booked with me in the past and can’t wait for those future clients I’ll have the opportunity to get to know.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://danielacmphotography.mypixieset.com/?fbclid=PAAabnWDuyh_3z0afX9RYqVMmGcIWpwP15-cZ2F83ht_d1ZvLz4_LMz8b8mTY_aem_Af5T_JETh10RFFJoLvVSNdi8p1IA_KMn0ZdGJBNb15g5jLqnGmciY2gJA4GzQoRVCq8
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielacm.photography?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Image Credits

DC Photography