We recently connected with Diamond Israel and have shared our conversation below.
Diamond , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Back in 2020, I decided to take a leap and make one of my ideas come to life. It was the thought of hosting an event with a diverse group of women aged 18+ to discuss discrepancies within the beauty industry and redefine what womanhood and sisterhood should look like. Essentially, I wanted to create a space where women of all different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, skin tones, hair types, etc could come together, feel safe enough to open their hearts and share their stories with one another and allow me to photograph each of them individually and as a group. I hosted my first event of this nature in Washington, MO in November of 2019 and called the event, “Beauty is Diverse.” It was a full day of laughter, tears, hugs, and honest transformation. Many of the girls walked away with lifelong friends, a new sense of self, and a new fire within themselves. At the end of the day after cleaning up and driving home, I sat in my driveway for what left like hours and just sobbed. I felt a sense of hope in the fact that I knew that day I had created a positive difference in the world, I felt a sense of pride in the fact that I had just pulled off an entire event on my own for the first time, and I had a life-changing revelation that the work I had did that day was a true calling. Beauty is Diverse gave me a great sense of purpose in my work surrounding women, spirituality, societal standards, and the Divine. After being published four times nationally for this project, I was on a mission to continue and I wanted the next event I hosted to be bigger, better, and even more impactful.
In order to achieve this new goal, I sought out the one and only Madi Green of Madison Jewel Photography. Madi is a kind, caring, creative soul, who exudes all things Divine and feminine. Not only does she have an insane talent and creative eye, but our personalities mesh incredibly well together. She was the first and only person I thought I had to collaborate with to make this new bigger goal come to life, and I want to be very clear in saying I could not possibly have a better business partner or friend by my side for this work. For the event, we wanted to center the event around ‘unbecoming’ parts of ourselves that no longer served us, letting go of old belief systems, and really delving into what sisterhood can and should look like. We worked diligently on branding, making our mission clear, creating stylized mood boards, and gathering the right people to participate and contribute to this safe space we were creating. Come January of 2022, “Unbecoming: The Event” was born and we had a full day of photoshoots, food, guest speakers, and a lingerie sleepover at this gorgeous location in St. Louis, MO. We even surprised the girls with a performance and a Q + A from two incredible drag queens, Amber Lance-Valentino and Theodora. The whole event was very eye-opening and made such an imprint on me as a woman, and a photographer. Tears were shed, laughs were had, friends were made, and there was dancing the whole time. To witness, in real-time, the power of healing the feminine through talking, and dancing with one another, and photography is beautiful and almost surreal. To this day the women who attended this event still speak about it with gratitude and excitement in their voices and there is nothing that feels better than knowing that Madi and I made such a positive impact on so many women.
As a photographer who strives to make her boudoir clients feel not only safe and seen but also beautiful and confident, my favorite thing about these events is seeing the light come back into these women’s eyes. Often times they’re nervous to step in front of the camera and within 5 minutes of shooting it’s like I’m photographing a new woman every time. Women are magical like that, and when we can create spaces for us to feel safe, seen, and held… we become a force to not be reckoned with.
Currently, Madi and I are in the midst of planning for this year’s event and we have decided to rebrand our events as “Divine Society” to be more inclusive and to heal a broader audience. We recognize that the work we are doing is needed and we want to be able to continue to reach as many humans as possible with the intention of healing, rebuilding, and redefining the feminine. Our next event is set to be in St. Louis in May of 2023 with hopes of hosting a second event later in 2023 in Savannah, GA!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Of course! I am from just outside of the St. Louis, MO area, a 25-year-old photographer, professional dancer, military spouse, and new mother. I like to say I am creative to my core because I honestly don’t believe I could have any job outside of the arts. I am a completely self-taught photographer and I have been training in dance for just over 18 years. I currently dance professionally as a company member of Oramo Dance Company in Colorado, and I operate Diamond Israel Photography anywhere and everywhere! Additionally, I am a full-time student at Pikes Peak State College and a mom to the cutest 6-month-old boy in the world. For the sake of this interview, I want to focus on my photography story so I’ll dive more into that.
Truthfully, I’ve been taking photos my whole life, being in front of and behind the camera was just something I took to from a young age but my professional career began in 2017 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. I had a nice little crop sensor Canon Rebel T6i camera and a 50mm 1.8 lens and I just started shooting anyone who would let me! From there I worked really hard to create a client base in Hawaii and In Missouri, which is where I had moved from. Once I moved back to Missouri, I made the leap to take on photography full time and by 2018 I was on my way to what I would call a nice career. In 2019, I made the move to Colorado, and then COVID hit, being in a new place and not being able to have contact with anyone was insanely difficult, so I decided to make the most of the situation and I rebranded my entire business. New logo, new niche, new website, new camera, new new new. It was the death and rebirth of Diamond Israel Photography, which is why the moth in my logo is so significant to me. She symbolizes death and rebirth in addition to the perception of beauty. I niched down to mainly adventurous elopements, intimate weddings, and boudoirs. I take on projects outside of those things as well, but that’s what I specialize in! My big thing as a photographer is to capture the feeling of love. Whether that is love between partners, self-love, or platonic love, my job is to capture your moments in a way that makes you feel like you could relive them forever and ever as you look back on the photos I’ve taken. I love to get my clients up and moving, we tend to play a lot of games in my couples sessions, which often results in a lot of laughter. In my boudoir sessions, my goal is to have fun and really ensure that you are leaving that session with a newfound love for yourself. I like to play music, dance, and just have fun. I’m a big affirmation girly so I may have you repeat some ‘I am’ statements while we’re shooting as well! My ultimate goal as a photographer is to make each person in front of my lens feel comfortable, laugh, and have fun. I tell my clients all the time that you may have hired me as a photographer but you will gain me as a friend. I care deeply about each and every one of my clients and I make the effort to show them that in the art they trust me to make.
I currently reside in the state of Colorado but I will be moving to Georgia this summer! I’m very excited to be close to the beach again and begin working with people there! I am a traveling photographer so I will still be taking on clients in Missouri, Colorado, and the rest of the United States!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Trigger warning: suicide.
Oh gosh, I think there are many aspects of my personal and professional lives that really paint a picture of resilience. One stands out in particular and it is not an easy story to tell, however, I like to be very transparent in telling my story to others because I know that by allowing myself to be vulnerable, I can help others.
Back in December 2016, I had fallen into a very dark place. I was 19 years old, I was living 4000 miles away from home on a tiny island, I was in an abusive marriage, and I was battling deeply with body dysmorphia, depression, and anxiety. Being in such a vulnerable and dysfunctional environment increasingly took a toll on my body, my mind, and my mental health. I truly did not see a light at the end of the tunnel during this time in my life. I had created this image of myself and my life online that the general public seemed to of loved but behind closed doors, it was very different. During this season of life, social media was used as an outlet or a coping mechanism for me but it really had become an escape from my reality at the time. It’s difficult for me to reminisce on this time because I really did make everything look so incredible, when I go back and look at photos from 2016-2018 and I put myself in the shoes of an outside person, I would have envied the life I posted. However, I wasn’t an outside person, I was in the thick of an unhealthy life and unfortunately that caused me to take extreme precautions and attempt to end my life.
Because of the nature of my attempt, in addition to being hospitalized, I lost about three days of my life in the sense of to this day, I cannot remember the three days following, no matter how hard I try. I had attempted in the past, but nothing like this one, with this one I had almost succeeded. It was a very very low point for me. When I came to, I had made a vow to myself that because I was given this second chance, I would never take a day for granted. I would LIVE because there was something or someone who decided that I wasn’t done here yet. I am a firm believer that I had many people watching over me during that season of my life and I stand firmly in my faith that the Universe had plans for me. I bounced back from the lowest point of my life and I began displaying incredible resiliency.
Less than a year later after the attempt, I moved back home to Missouri, I divorced, I began teaching dance again, I began rebuilding my friendships, I took Diamond Israel Photography to the next level, and I started finding myself again. It’s been almost 7 years since that day and in those 7 years, I have had the opportunity to travel to beautiful places, meet incredible people, and eat amazing food. I’ve cried tears of joy, I’ve danced in the middle of the street, I’ve laughed harder than ever before, and I have learned to love even harder. I married my elementary school crush, moved to colorful Colorado, and had a beautiful baby boy. I’ve been able to achieve my dream of dancing and shooting photography for a living. Most importantly in the last 7 years, I have learned to really love myself. So much so that I am now able to take that love and not just see it in others, but pull it out of others, photograph it, and then give it to them to keep forever. I am eternally grateful for getting my second chance and I am even more grateful for my own resiliency through the ups and downs I have had on this crazy rollercoaster called life. I have the word, ‘resilient’ tattooed on my left forearm as a reminder of my story, my own strength, and my ability to overcome.
I want to say to anyone going through the thick of it right now to know that it’s only temporary. There is so much to be grateful for, and so much goodness coming to you, even if you cannot see it right now. I know when it’s dark, it can be difficult to allow yourself to continue moving forward, but please keep moving forward, even if it’s just inch by inch. You will come out of this season. I’m not lying when I say things will get better. I am living proof that things do get better.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding thing in the world as an artist is not only watching your art come to life but seeing the way it impacts people. As a dancer, I think it is the most rewarding thing on the planet is to tell a story on stage without saying a word and see the audience have an emotional response to your movement. As a photographer, it’s the same thing. To be able to invoke emotion in your clients from behind the camera and then again once they see the final product is priceless to me. I live for the joy my art brings the people who trust me to create it.
Contact Info:
- Website: diamondisraelphotography.com
- Instagram: @diamondisraelphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diamondisraelphotography
- Other: You can also follow Madi and I’s work with Divine Society on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DivineSocietythemovement) and Instagram @DivineSocietyTheMovement