We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Pappas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I have always been one to take photos, for as long as I can remember. In high school and college, digital cameras were the newest rage, and I took mine everywhere. Having photos means having memories to last a lifetime, even when we’re not able to remember them off the top of our heads.

I graduated college in 2014 with a degree in elementary education, and after participating in the real world with a full time job, the only time that I was able to be behind the camera and take photos (usually on my phone!) was when I was out and about doing something fun with my friends, my now husband, or my family. But in 2018, my husband bought me a starter camera, a Canon DSLR, and really encouraged me to get back into taking photos.

For the next few years, on and off, I would ask friends and coworkers if they wanted photos with their families, their significant others, their kids or their pets. I wouldn’t charge them anything, but it really gave me the practice I wanted and needed in order to ever think about taking the next step and turning it into a business.

In 2020, I had my first baby, my priorities changed, and after a really challenging year and a half of teaching first grade during the COVID-19 pandemic, I resigned in 2021 to pivot into a role in my husband’s family business. After having my second baby in early 2022, I knew I wanted to set a goal of making more income for our family, but while doing something that I liked and was passionate about. This is where the idea of dnp photography seemed to be within reach.

I did my research, upgraded my camera body and lenses, and in November of 2022, I once again reached out to several friends and family members to see who would want to get in front of my camera and allow me to gain more experience before officially launching my potential photography business. I had several friends who were willing, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with the manual mode settings on my camera, pose families, and become comfortable using Adobe Lightroom to edit. Being that I am completely self taught, with the guidance of a few other local photographers, I really wanted to feel confident in myself before charging people for photo sessions.

During the next several months, not only was I gaining experience and learning the ins and outs of the many skills it requires to be a photographer, I was setting up all of the other things to ensure that I was coming across as professional – the website, new social media accounts, subscriptions for booking sites, editing tools, etc. The last step was to launch the business. So in March of 2023, I made it official, began taking clients almost immediately, and haven’t looked back! I have truly loved every moment of capturing special memories for others, while learning and continually growing so much along the way.

Danielle, 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 am Danielle Pappas, the owner of dnp photography in Ocean City, MD. I wear a LOT of hats, but the two most important roles in my life is being a wife and a mom. I have two young children and two labradoodles, and have been married for almost 8 years. I am a former elementary school teacher with a Masters Degree in K-5 Reading and Math Instruction. Aside from being a wife, mom, and business owner, I am a part-time swim coach, and have a role as a manager in my husband’s family business. Everything that I do consists of flexible schedules, which means that I pretty much piece together my schedule every week like a puzzle! It’s chaotic, but it’s amazing, and I’m so thankful to be able to do so many things that I love while spending as much time as I can with my two young kids.

I specialize in Lifestyle Photography, meaning I capture anything that’s meaningful to you and your family’s lives with some posed photos, but many guided candid photos. My goal is to capture special moments in your life, in a place that is familiar and special to you, during a time or at an event in your life that you want to remember forever. The majority of sessions that I book are family sessions – this could be immediate families or extended families. I also book couples, maternity sessions, and newborn sessions. I have also taken photos for baptisms, birthday parties, and holiday parties. And of course, I ALWAYS encourage clients to bring their pets along! I am a firm believer that pets are family, and I am honored to capture photos of those sweet faces as much as I am honored to capture you and your family.

Living in a resort town, I get a mixture of local clients and tourists looking to book their sessions on the beach. I will always live near the beach, as I have always been so drawn to the waves, the gorgeous sunsets, and the smell of salty air. The most amazing part of having a business here is that I get to meet and work with so many new people. Whether families are coming for a long weekend away or for a full week’s vacation, so many people are wanting new and updated family photos on our gorgeous beaches.

I do most of my sessions in the evening light along the beaches of Ocean City, MD, Fenwick Island, DE, Bethany Beach, DE, and Assateague Island in Berlin, MD. There are countless spots in each of these locations to take beautiful photos with beautiful backgrounds, which constantly reminds me how blessed I am to be able to call this place home.

The Eastern Shore of MD, especially in Ocean City and surrounding areas, is full of incredibly talented photographers that have inspired me in more ways than one. Being the *new girl* in the photography world can be a bit intimidating, especially because it’s so easy to get caught up in comparing your work to someone else’s. But the beauty in it all is that we all have our own styles and specialties, which allows for so many photographers to have great success and build brands that we are all really proud of. I would describe my style as bright and vibrant, ensuring that the true colors of our surroundings are captured in a realistic but artistic way. The evening sun provides the most beautiful lighting for pictures on the beach, but I am certainly not opposed to sunrise lighting either!

One of the things I am the most proud of is actually taking the leap of faith and pursuing something that I have talked about for years. For not only just taking a leap of faith by launching a photography business, but for making such major changes in the last few years, all at once, and being able to say that I’m doing it all. Every day might not feel like I’m doing a good job of it, but I still show up and make sure that I am being the best possible version of myself in every aspect. For my family and friends, for my clients, and for myself.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I have always genuinely loved helping people, working with children, and feeling like there’s a little something I can do to make the world better in some way. I attended Salisbury University, went through the Elementary Education program, and got my first teaching job right after graduation as a first grade teacher in my dream location – the beach. I taught for 7 years, switched grade levels twice, earned my Masters Degree in Elementary Reading/Math, taught through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and had my first child all within those 7 years. The side of me that a lot of people didn’t see was my declining mental health. While I loved my students and my coworkers, the never-ending and growing pressures of what was expected of me as a teacher were really taking a toll. It’s hard to understand what it’s truly like to be a teacher until you experience it for yourself, but it’s HARD.

There came a time where I knew that quitting teaching was what I needed to do, whether it was temporary or forever. So, in June of 2021, I turned in my letter of resignation, knowing I was going to take on a role at my husband’s family business. My husband is the General Manager at his family’s 45 year old sports bar, and I am now the Retail Manager of the Apparel Shop for that restaurant that is a few doors down. I do the designing, purchasing, and scheduling for the shop in addition to being a business owner myself, and a mom of two toddlers. Life is so chaotic, but there are so many moments of being more present with my children that I would have never had if I had continued teaching. And to me… that’s the most important thing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am such a nostalgic person. Things like music, photos, videos, and visiting places you’ve been before are all ways to take you back to memories instantly. Before ever becoming a photographer, I found there to be such value in having endless photos that you can hold on to for a lifetime. Photos that will be able to take you back to those exact moments. I think that these nostalgic feelings are part of what drives me as a photographer- to be able to provide those photos that someone will one day look back on and smile.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dnpphotography.com
• Instagram: @_dnpphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dnpphotography21842

Image Credits
dnp photography (my work :) )