We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carina Danielle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carina below.
Carina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Ooh, I love this question!
My parents were such big supporters of me pursuing my dreams, and that was ultimately the biggest driver for me starting my own business! But I wouldn’t have been able to dream it up if they weren’t big dreamers and open thinkers themselves. My parents homeschooled me and my three brothers, which I think was a massive catalyst to us all learning what we loved to do. It gave me the flexibility to practice my hobbies while in highschool (which turned into my business), meet a ton of different people from all across the country, and teach me to think for myself.
My dad is also a business owner, and growing up, I would “help out” in the store, which taught me service skills! I also learned some of the behind-the-scenes of running a business and managing a team, which was really cool. Long story short, they modeled a lot of the characteristics needed to run a successful business and always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing without them!
Carina, 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?
Hi hiii!! I’m Carina, nice to meet you!
I’m a wedding and brand photographer in the greater Philly area and my “thing” is providing my clients with the perfect blend of editorial and candid imagery with an experience that is comfortable and fun! I started photography in highschool and shot my first wedding before I had my drivers license! Almost eight years later, I’m married to the best guy ever and we get to photograph weddings together full-time, which is so cool. We have a mini dachshund puppy (my dream dog!!) named Dune that makes me laugh every single day. I love having fresh flowers in the kitchen, traveling to new places fuels my inspiration, and I’m such a sucker for a dramatic reality show.
What’s most important to me is that my clients feel heard, and for their photos to truly feel like THEM. I’m proud of the client experience I provide! So many of my couples really feel like my friends now and we keep in touch, even after their wedding has passed!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had been given the business advice, “underpromise and overdeliver,” on multiple occasions and used that within my business for a while. Then about two years ago, I was listening to a podcast about sales and realized that underpromising is really just lying to your clients at first in order to impress them later by doing more than the bare minimum. It felt kind of slimy to me and I decided to make a change. I had to unlearn that tactic in my marketing. Instead of promising “enough” to my clients, now I promise them that I’m going to give them my absolute best. And then when they receive that, I’ve gained their trust and loyalty because they know I mean what I say and I’m going to follow through!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
A huge part has been just being myself on my platforms! I have consult calls with brides who say that they feel like they already know me before even talking with me. I build trust with my clients. With vendors, I try and serve them as well. If I can get photos of them on a wedding day in-action, it’s a small piece of value I can give. I think just doing a solid job all-around and being kind to everyone has earned me a good reputation within my industry!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carinadanielle.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carina.danielle/