We were lucky to catch up with Dana Hursey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dana, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

This month we had a great time creating portraits for a worthy cause!

Friends in Deed (https://friendsindeedpas.org/) is a Pasadena based Non-Profit, that supplies Food, Shelter, and Support to the community.

On June 23rd they had a fundraising event that they branded “Cooking for a Cause”. In partnership with ICE (Institute of Culinary Education – https://www.ice.edu/) the local culinary academy, they created a “Top Chef” styled cooking competition where student teams would create unique dishes from only food available at the Friends in Deed Food Pantry. All six teams got the same ingredients and created completely unique main dish / dessert pairings that were then judged by two notable Pasadena Chefs. The entire event was attended by local donors both in the kitchen and adjacent viewing kitchen, and also live streamed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4KAniQGBGc).

To promote the event beforehand we shot portraits of each of the team members that were then used to announce the campaign, engage with the community, and entice donors and sponsorship. For the photo session we were on location at ICE, getting the student / team members between classes and ultimately had each one for only about 5 minutes. It was a whirlwind high energy shoot and we had a blast. Truly a feel good project all the way around.

As of the June 23rd event, the donations had exceeded $100,000.00, which will go directly to support the FID Food Pantry and needs of the community.

Dana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Dana Hursey is an award-winning commercial advertising and fine art photographer. With over three decades of high level experience producing major campaigns for companies such as Lowe’s Home Improvements, Disney, Volkswagen, Four Seasons and UnitedHealthcare, Dana has an expansive knowledge of both the industry and craft of photography.

Dana received his BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design and is regularly
invited back as a guest lecturer and occasionally teaches selected workshops and courses.

Lighting, Composition, and storytelling are at the heart of each of his productions and is what keeps clients coming back for more.

His numerous awards include both his commercial as well as fine artwork, and he has been
featured in several one-man exhibitions both in the U.S. and abroad. Dana has been named
one of the 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide by Lürzer’s Archive Magazine. He also
received great acclaim for his 14 Days in Great Britain Documentary Series as well as his
visuals in the “Cart for a Cause” Cookbook, sponsored by Lexus, featuring 35 of L.A.’s top
chefs, and their recipes, with 100% of proceeds going to the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Program.

Dana is also a member of American Photographic Artists (APA) and has served as its National President.

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

Unwavering craft and customer service. We are all about getting our client what they want / need and doing our utmost to over-deliver. We don’t cut corners, and are always using the best equipment, crew, and services. Personally I invested deeply in my craft and know the technical aspects of what I do at such an intuitive and core level that I can focus on storytelling and connecting with talent in front of the camera to bring out the best in their personality, while the technical part just happens automatically. We don’t lean on technology to “fix” things… It’s quality in -> quality out.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Quite honestly our website is the best marketing tool we have. It is simply how most new clients find us or are first introduced to our services.        

Contact Info:

• Website: hursey.com
• Instagram: DanaHurseyPhotography
• Facebook: DanaHurseyPhotography
• Linkedin: hursey
• Youtube: DanaHursey

Image Credits
All images © Dana Hursey Photography