Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana De Lange. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Diana, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Let’s make it very clear from the beginning: it is very easy to be broke doing creative work.

But it’s also nearly impossible to remain broke doing creative work in times of social media if you know how to sell, market, and present.

I take talent and creative forces very seriously.

I do believe that if you were given a talent, you are responsible for giving it the wings so it can shine and transform the lives of as many people as possible.

Creative people tend to discard the importance of mastering their sales skills and learning what a powerful presentation is.

They wait for others to notice their brilliance.

They think that their work should speak for itself.

They think that sales are bad and should be done by somebody else.

Most importantly, they believe that they can only become successful by luck. And that is wrong.

The most massive breakthrough in my career has happened when I realized that letting other people buy my skills is the greatest form of service.

And to be able to do that, I must combine my creative talent with some strong marketing skills and the ability to communicate how my creative skills can take my clients’ pain away.

When you rely on your talent- you must rely on your entrepreneurial skills.
And if you don’t believe you are an entrepreneur- you have 2 choices.

1. Become an entrepreneur.
2. Hire a producer.

Diana, 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 used to be a full-time photographer. I used to take photos of people during the major events of their lives.

Then the pandemic happened, and I dedicated several years of my life to mastering my marketing skills.

Today, I’m a producer, working with an incredible expert (Midlife Muse) who changes the lives of hundreds of women daily.

My job is to showcase her brilliance and connect her audience with her work.

In our first year of working together, we organically reached over 60,000,000 people across two social media platforms.

And it’s been the most fulfilling journey ever.

What I know for sure is that you can never over-give.
I treat every project I’m involved in as my own, one and only.

Because you never look back at your professional journey and think, “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”

Because, at the end of the day, all that capacity, experience, and confidence are what you keep for the rest of your life.

How’d you meet your business partner?

In April of 2020, all my photography gigs got canceled because of the pandemic, and I decided to take a chance and move to Miami, where I had a job offer from two incredible business coaches.

After the relocation, I literally had $400 left in my pocket.

I still had my Instagram account running, and one day I received a message from a model who wanted to do a photo shoot with me. There were two nuances: one, he couldn’t pay me. Second, he wanted a shoot with some colorful smoke, but he also couldn’t buy the smoke bombs because he literally had no income.

$400 or $350 is not that big of a difference. I wanted to help him, so I bought the smoke bombs, and we had an amazing time filming him.

I sent him the photos and completely forgot about that story.

Two years later, I woke up to a text from him. In that text, he connected me with someone who was looking for a photographer for a woman hosting a retreat for women.

The host of the retreat was Amanda (The Midlife Muse).

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

If you want to have an effective collaboration with creative people, allow them to embrace their uniqueness.

Recognize that the majority of creative individuals have different ways of operating.

While it’s important to hold them accountable and establish clear boundaries, it’s also crucial to understand that their effectiveness is closely tied to their state of mind.

Occasional check-ins to gauge their mental state can give you a great insight at what’s happening and what to anticipate.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: diana_captures

Image Credits
(c) Diana De Lange