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

Donna, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful experiences I have at my job are two-fold. I work and volunteer for a handful of organizations that provide photographs and experiences for special needs and/or kids with cancer. I volunteered for years with Flashes of Hope, I would take my team into the hospital and we provided photos for inpatient kids with cancer. It was more about connecting with the kids than it was the photographs, but oftentimes we’d see the parents out in public and they’d hug us and cry telling us the photos we did were the last photos they had of their children, it was a very rewarding experience. I also work for the Tim Tebow Foundation participating in the Night to Shine annual prom for the special needs population. It’s such a great night of connecting with all the prom guests year after year and now my two sons volunteer with me and have for about 4 or 5 years. These events are so meaningful to what I do and how I feel I impact other people’s lives by offering my craft, not just the photos, but the whole experience of being present and holding space for people.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I discovered my passion for photography during graduate school, using it as a creative outlet to alleviate stress. What began as a personal pursuit soon revealed a natural talent behind the lens.

Life took an unexpected turn when my husband unexpectedly passed away. Having a toddler and expecting another child at that same time, I needed a flexible way to support my family. Inspired to connect with other mothers, I offered affordable photography sessions through a local mom’s group. This decision not only helped me financially but also fostered a sense of community and connection during a challenging time. I was able to combine my love of music to photography and added music photographer to my list of skills.

As my skills grew, so did my network. Joining a photography group allowed me to expand my social circle and develop my craft further. Today, I combine my love for photography and music with my experience as a mental health counselor, capturing moments that tell powerful stories while inspiring others through my journey of resilience and creativity. What sets me apart from the crowd is my ability to connect with people from my mental health training. I’ve also solidified myself as a lighting specialist among my photography peers. People hire me because of the way they feel after a session, I’ve never spent a dollar on marketing, 100% of my work is all word of mouth referrals and that’s something I’m pretty proud of.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that making portraits for people was about giving a commodity, giving the photographs. I was wrong. Cameras are good these days and almost anyone can push the shutter and get a decent and clear photograph. What I learned was that what I provide is a human connection, an understanding, a space where my clients can be themselves and be seen both literally and figuratively. People leave my studio feeling good. It’s always a huge compliment to me when people say, “I was dreading having to do this, but you made it so easy and enjoyable”.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Hands down my reputation is what drives my business. I live by the motto “under promise and over deliver”. I make sure to only schedule one client a day and sometimes one a week, so I can give proper attention to each client. I make sure every detail is attended to before the session so the client just shows up and I have managed everything I can for them. My business is 100% word of mouth referrals so my reputation is of paramount importance. Besides the business part of my work, the human connection is what helps build my reputation. My clients trust me. Having a portrait session can be a fairly vulnerable experience, my training in mental health affords me the ability to understand personalities and build trust. This has been my recipe for building my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.photosbydg.com
• Instagram: Photosbydg13
• Facebook: Donna Green – Photos by DG

Image Credits

I took these photos and I own the copyrights, Photos by DG – Donna Green