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

Andreas, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

The first time I came across a professional camera was back in college – I did my Bachelor’s at Stuttgart Media University in Germany. During my undergrad there I also took classes in photography, typography and print design, among others like marketing and business classes. Stuttgart Media University has a very practical approach to teaching so this is where I made my first steps in these fields and got the opportunity to learn the basics of photography and design which I still profit from until this day. I think learning the basics from the ground up is crucial if you truly want to learn something. Start simple. Just give it a shot. Try. And fail. Learn from that. And then try again. This is probably an advice I could have followed a little more during my early years of photography myself – because that’s how you learn.

I started my bachelor’s in 2009, so obviously the world of social media and especially video content looked a lot different from today’s. Nowadays, I feel like you could learn almost anything from YouTube tutorials – at least to a certain degree. From 2012 to 2014 I got a Masters degree at Stuttgart Media University and spent an exchange semester at the University of Oregon – both of which huge opportunities to apply the skills I learned during my undergrad to further shape my abilities.

Andreas, 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?

My name is Andreas, I am the owner of Andreas Danner Creative LLC and I’m a German photographer, graphic designer and digital marketing professional based in the Twin Cities – I moved here from Germany together with my wife in 2021. After learning the basics of photography and graphic design in college, both have become hobbies of mine for a long time. Moving to another country and continent then was the initial spark that lead to me turning my long-term hobbies into a profession. In terms of photography, my main focus lies on creative portraits, editorials, landscape, nature and lifestyle photography. Family, event, branding and product photography are also among the services I offer. My graphic design work mostly consists of print design and layouts as well as logo designs. I also offer prints from a lot of my work, especially concerning landscape and nature photography.

By the way: If you want to know more about my personal story – here’s a link to an interview on Voyage Minnesota:
https://voyageminnesota.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-andreas-danner-creative-llc/

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think it’s the feeling of creating something from scratch – I guess that’s what always gets me and will always fascinate me about photography and graphic design. The whole process, from thinking of a concept, taking a photo and editing it to the point you consider it finished. And then being able to say „Hey, I did that!“ That’s just amazing.

But it’s also not just for oneself of course – it is so, so rewarding when your client looks at your work and is in awe about it – having the ability to make someone’s day with my everyday work – this is what I always strive to achieve whenever I work with clients. When it comes to my work as prints – the idea of my photos brightening up someones workplace or even home is what really fascinates me. Plus having a background in print media, I strongly believe that photos deserve to be printed and seen in a haptic medium rather than them just sitting on a hard drive somewhere and being only looked at on tiny phone screens, right? Print your photos every now and then, people!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

This might seem obvious, but honestly? Social Media. Hate it or love it, it is such an important marketing tool and it is almost impossible to do without it. Not only for finding new clients, but also to connect with other creatives in your local community – or anywhere in the world really. It’s just so important to build a network, and that’s where social media really helps – especially in my situation, where I not only moved to a different city, but also to a different continent, completely starting from scratch. Social Media really helped me a lot here and I am very grateful for the wonderful people and creatives who I had the pleasure to meet here and work with. I feel like the Twin Cities have an amazing art, modeling and photography community and I am very grateful to get to be a small part of it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andreasdannercreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasdannercreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-danner-ba311372/
• Other: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/andreasdanner-creativellc

Image Credits
Photo 1: Model: Anna Stilwell
Photo 2: Model: Maria Clymer / Bright Aphrodite
Photo 3: Devils Tower (Bears Lodge), Wyoming
Photo 4: Loon in the Boundary Waters
Photo 5: Model: Lys Vang
Photo 6: Model: Erin Shae
Photo 7: Model: Rose Vang
8: Model: Mekhi Pierre