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

Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was introduced to photography in high school, where I fell in love with the process of taking and developing photos. The whole experience of being in the dark room and seeing these images come to life was fascinating and beautiful to me. I wanted to create more of that.
After high school, I got a job at Little Caesars’s Pizza, where I met a man who photographed bands at our local amphitheater. After serving him several times, we started talking and built a rapport. Over time, he started taking me with him to photograph the bands. After a while, he turned the job over to me and I photographed bands for two summers at that amphitheater. I LOVED that job. This is when I really knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

After highschool, I got a job at my local Walmart Portrait Studio. I only worked there a few weeks until I realized that job was NOT for me. I did not want to be bound to someone telling me when, where and how to create my art. The confines of a studio with set poses and backgrounds just wasn’t what I enjoyed about photography.

This was when I decided to take a job at an office, doing property management. Once again, I quickly learned what I did NOT want in a career. Being behind a desk for 8 hours a day was hard, and I felt like I was missing out on so much more that was out there. However, I continued to do this for 8 years, neglecting my artistic calling.

After 8 years, I moved to California. I thought of this as a fresh start to get back into what I truly loved. I took a job at a boudoir photography studio, which I LOVED. Over time, I saw how the owner ran her business, and I knew I could do that. I realized that I wanted to start my own business, and work for myself.

After working alongside the owner of the photography studio at one wedding, I decided to start shooting weddings. I fell in love with being able to have my own creativity and not working in a studio. I knew this was where I was headed. I did weddings for several years, until I started a family of my own in 2016. At that time, I shifted from doing weddings, to more family sessions. I also got a job with a property management company, only this time, I was their photographer. I was not behind a desk. I started shooting high end, luxury apartments, and fell in love with my art once again.

Since then, I realized how much I love architecture and product photography. I decided I wanted to shift my focus to more real estate photos and taking photos in the ukulele world. In addition to working for the property management company, I’ve also started working with local Realtors shooting photos for their listings. I’m expanding into drone work, Matterport, and videography as well. And I love all of it.

I started out working for Uke Like the Pros in October 2022 taking product photos of ukuleles for his website. It was my first break into product photography. It has been a wonderful experience and has opened me up to new challenges, especially with being creative and how to bend light when photographing the ukuleles. I love when I take the ukuleles out on location and get creative with where I photograph each one.

I’ve had a lot of experience in so many different settings, and different types of photography that I am confident in my ability to do anything that is requested of me. I know I can navigate any situation, and do any sort of photography. I am very versatile, as well as open to new things. I can work in almost any environment, and help all types of people.

Clients Words:

Connie: i work with amanda because she goes the extra mile
she’s always willing to do whatever it takes to make the
photos look good and always suggests ideas and solutions
for different situations.
not to mention, her upbeat personality makes her very
easy to work with.
i highly recommend her and will continue to work with her

Nicole:Amanda is open and honest, not judgemental, easy to work with, down to earth, badass entrepreneur. Trustworthy, talented, amazing person!

Terry: You’re a hard worker, dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable, willing to learn, take pride in your work, loyal, and have great energy.

Kelly – UDR: Amanda is such an amazing partner and asset to us. Her outstanding work speaks for itself- she has a true talent for photography and capturing the best of our communities and what we want to convey in those 2 second essential first impressions.

What makes Amanda truly special is her kind, helpful and rare work ethic. She shows up at the wee hours to get those sunrise shots, she will move pool furniture to make sure everything is lined up perfectly, creates relationships with neighborhood businesses we want to promote as a part of our location- she does it all and goes above and beyond every photo shoot.

We love working with Amanda and when she’s on the job- we have full confidence that it will be done beautifully! She has made a direct impact on the success of our business and communities. We are so fortunate to have such an amazing partner!

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Always be learning and improving. I have learned through my career that I absolutely love photographing architecture. I really love working for Uke Like the Pros and photographing ukuleles. As I have been learning, ukuleles can have a very different look and feel based on the way the light touches the ukulele. It is my job to always be learning the best ways to use lighting to bring out the best details in each instrument, which can become tricky with curly wood grain (which is a beautiful look), and dark ebony woods with a high gloss.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

One of the hardest things for creatives is getting paid fairly. People often want a service, but don’t understand what that service is worth. All the consumer sees is a half hour photo shoot. What they don’t see is the additional 3-4 hours of editing on the pictures taken at that half hour shoot. In addition, there are always newer people coming into the business that don’t understand the worth of their work, and are willing to do it for less. Thus, driving down the worth of photography in general, and making it harder to afford equipment and grow a business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amandadarosett.com
• Instagram: amanda.darosett.re
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandadarosettphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadarosett/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/amanda_dphoto

Image Credits
Amanda Darosett Photography