We recently connected with Danovan Dean and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Danovan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’d personally have to say my most meaningful projects are definitely weddings and Boudoir shoots. Weddings for the most obvious reason that its a celebration of love and life for two amazing people, and secondly…it’s a party! On a higher level, my boudoir sessions are my most sacred work. I don’t take on many at a time because it’s never just “point and shoot”. I prefer to take the time to establish a rapport with my clients, find what makes them tick, how do they experience vulnerability, what direction are they going in life, what’s important to the, etc. So typically it turns into a therapy session before and during the process because I’m always making sure I stay connected to the moment and that I keep the conversation open and flowing to retain the level of comfortability that’s consistently seen throughout my art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

For starters, I’m Danovan Dean, founder of Art And Life By Dean, a photography company based out of North Atlanta. My foundation at the core is automotive but after being disabled from a car accident in 2018, I changed gears a bit. I couldn’t do the physical work I was used to so I used photography as an outlet to keep my mind busy and continue to create art in a different form. From there it continued to grow as I wanted to be able to offer more to my people. I’ve always been open to doing many different styles of shooting but I found my lane in doing Boudoir shoots, primarily for mature women of color. I love to show our women how capable they are and just how important they are not just to us as a whole, but to themselves as well. Giving them the opportunity to see themselves in a different light is imperative to whatever path in life they may be on.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

As a black male boudoir photographer, my reputation is EVERYTHING. In Atlanta, it seems that everyone is a photographer, and honestly a lot of people use it as an angle to make a connection with whatever individual they’re after. With that being the majority, it’s been a bit of a ride getting to this position. Naturally it raises an eyebrow but my level of professionalism, attentiveness, and consideration during the session speak for themselves. I have to approach each client with complete respect and understanding of their boundaries. With consistently doing that, it’s brought me to a great place of working with some wonderful women and developing some amazing friendships along the way.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Well there’s two ways, the first being by posting quality content that people can relate to. The second….I’m a regular comedian. I like to keep the people engaged with laughs and thought provoking conversations so whether you came for the art or for the thought process, you’re staying and sharing it with those who you think would benefit from it also, and it just grows from there.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.aalbydean.com
• Instagram: Art_and_life_by_dean