We recently connected with Allan Gonzalez and have shared our conversation below.

Allan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I started as a landscape and architecture photographer then I moved to portrait photography. I was happy doing that, but coming from a dance background, I wanted to mix all my knowledge in photography with dance. I came up with the idea of mixing unique-looking buildings and architecture in downtown Dallas with ballet dancers. I sketched a few ideas I wanted to photograph at Thanksgiving Square and presented them to a few dancers to see if they were interested. It wasn’t an easy start; a few dancers loved the idea but unfortunately could never meet with me, and others got injured before the photoshoot, so it took some time for me to finally get the idea started. I was blessed to eventually work with Diana Crowder, a Ballet Dallas dancer back then. She now owns her own company, Pegasus Contemporary Ballet; she and her friend Carrie Ruth Trumbo, dancing at the Oklahoma City Ballet then, agreed to work with me on this project. I had shown them the sketches of the ideas I had in mind, and since they are professional dancers, they were able to come up with dance poses that would look the best in each location. We had planned to meet towards the end of winter back in 2018 but had to reschedule a few times due to bad weather. We were finally able to meet at the beginning of March 2018. The photoshoot was great. We got so many great pictures. I shared them on social media, and people started noticing and liking the pictures. I got a few more dancers that wanted to work with me, so it all began. I’ve been blessed to have met many studio directors and amazing dancers throughout this journey. I’m now focused 100% on dance photography serving all of the DFW metroplex.

Allan, 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?

I’m Allan
A Texas-based professional photographer, lover of dance, father, and husband.

With a background in dance and a passion for capturing life’s precious moments, I was always compelled to pair the two. Hence, DFW Dance Photography was born!

Now, I get the honor of working with talented dancers, directors, and choreographers through means of photography. Featuring unique elements and across various settings, I love that every shot tells a different story — A story that highlights dancers in their own light.

I believe that dance is a journey. With that, my goal is to artfully photograph my clients’ progress to create lasting memories throughout their dancing careers. Just as every dancer is different, no two sessions are the same. Each session is catered towards showcasing the art and skill that goes into their craft.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media hasn’t always been an easy task to do. It requires time, and it’s constantly evolving. There are always new apps, so you need to stay updated with everything that’s happening. My main advice would be to remain consistent with posting content, and you need to create eye-catching content to keep your viewers engaged. Posting daily, replying to comments, and following people in your niche is also a great way to grow your social media platforms. You’ll slowly see the results if you do those steps consistently.

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

For me, it’s social media, my line of work is photography, so people need to be able to see my product. Posting images on social media has consistently attracted new clients for me. I would say that my primary source is Instagram, without a doubt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dfwdancephotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dfwdp/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfwdp
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK3a4rBkNuC_QambelGuBVA/featured
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dfw-dance-photography-arlington-2

Image Credits
Photographer: Allan Gonzalez – DFW Dance Photography Dancers: Tenley Patton Olivia Ramsey Sophia Lavin Marisa Ellis Libby West Shaye Galen