We were lucky to catch up with Daniela Duncan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Daniela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Leaving a well-paying, stable corporate job to follow my passion and become a professional photographer was a huge risk I took. I had been doing photography as a hobby, on the side, when I was invited by an editor to become a contributor to an international stock photography agency. I didn’t fully understand how stock photography worked. Who would buy my pictures, how would they be used? I took a leap of faith. I could work on what I loved the most and build a life with great flexibility. I invested in gear, learned and practiced much more. I’m glad I did it, this decision has made life immensely more enjoyable – and it has enriched my life so much; photography also goes hand in hand with my other passions: traveling, being in nature, visiting beautiful places, watching animals.

Daniela, 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?

Now I’ve been doing professional photography for 13 years. A lot of my pictures are represented by Getty Images where individuals, businesses and companies can license them. This is very convenient for me as I can focus on the creative side of photography and not have to work on sales and contracts as much. It is a huge source of pleasure to see my captures being used in educational or fun, interesting, helpful, informative ways. Occasionally, I have exhibited my work in Charleston, SC where I live. I also sell limited prints and framed pictures upon request. Lately, I’ve been very excited about printing colorful nature shots, vistas and abstracts on metal.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Lots of people think to do great photography all you need is “a good eye”, to be creative… indeed these are absolutely necessary, but photography also involves investment. You have to invest in software and hardware. You have to invest time to learn and practice, to go places, etc. You have to invest in quality gear to do it professionally. Just like a chef needs good ingredients; and a surgeon needs proper equipment to perform surgery; a photographer also needs capable cameras and lenses – varied lenses for different types of photography. Captures with poor resolution could result in loss of clients, lack of equipment could result in lost opportunities. Professional photography gear is expensive. So for a while I kept working as a translator part time to enable the transition into full time photographer. Little by little, getting better and better equipment with time. I was also fortunate to have a very supportive husband in this process. I encourage budding photographers to do it carefully and slowly – as return on investment also takes time. Start buying the best lens you can afford that is more adequate to photograph what you love the most (macros, wildlife, portraits, landscape, etc) and also invest in one top of the line versatile one.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Quality and editing. Editing is so important: I stopped sharing everything I captured and started submitting only what reflected a well taken, well exposed, well focused image. Show only your best work. Work you’re proud of. Quality over quantity.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daniela-duncan.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/danieladuncan

Image Credits
Daniela Duncan Personal Archive