We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danya Migdali a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

One of my photography businesses is boudoir photography- something that can be so empowering and life-changing for individuals, but also so intimidating and scary!

While exhibiting at a bridal show, I had a wonderful woman win a free boudoir session during the event. She was uncertain about doing the session and pretty uncertain about boudoir in general. She explained to me how she had recently lost a lot of weight, but never liked photos of herself and was not quite comfortable in her body. I assured her we could do the session in whatever way she felt comfortable and eventually, she decided to go forward with it! She was an absolute pleasure to have in the studio- we laughed, we listened to great music, and as she left, I knew I’d captured some gorgeous images and hoped she would be able to see herself as I did! After I delivered her gallery, she sent me an email describing how much she had enjoyed the session, how comfortable she felt during the session and wrote about how I made her feel beautiful when she had never felt that way before in her life! She ended up upgrading her gallery to include more images because she loved them so much! It was such a life changing moment for both of us because she finally got to see her own beauty and I was reminded about how impactful our jobs and our actions can be for others!

Danya, 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?

Hi Everyone,

I’m Danya or Dani! A California native and a lover of all things chocolate, photography, and dog related!

I grew up with my immediate family in Southern California, but all the rest of my family overseas. While we visited them often, and the visits were some of my favorite memories, I sorely missed the connection when we weren’t with them. And therein grew my love for the connection between people- between families, between friends, between lovers, and of course between you and your furry friends. Getting to capture moments of connection (a squeeze of a shoulder or booty, a kiss on the forehead, a running jump in to someone’s arms), these are the moments I cherish and the memories I love to capture. Sometimes it takes an outsider to help illuminate these moments, and sometimes those immortal captures, are the perfect reminders of just how deep and strong connection can be. Plus, who doesn’t love cute photos??

What started as a passion in high school and college, quickly transformed in to something I couldn’t get enough of once I graduated. I found myself filling my weekends with photoshoots and classes, location scouting and editing, and eventually started my own photography businesses in 2021. Danya Jean Photography focuses on families, couples, seniors, maternity and branding headshots, while Boudoir by Dani Jean focuses on helping women remember just how stunning and gorgeous they are! Both businesses allow me to work with such amazing individuals at such varying stages in their lives!

The special moments that I get to capture during these sessions are so important and magical. From capturing the excitement of a belly growing your first child, to being inspired by young individuals entering adulthood, to helping business owners grow and expand their offerings (and confidence!) through branding photos, there is never a dull moment! I love capturing the messy, imperfect, authentic moments that make up the beauty that is your life!
And boudoir is no exception! Being a woman in this day and age is TOUGH- there is constant pressure to act this way, or look that way and sometimes it feels like no matter what you do, it’s never enough, and you’re never enough. Boudoir allows me to give women space to just be – in all their glory, with all their experiences, and realize not only how truly beautiful they are, but how they are more than enough in every aspect! The honor, joy, and excitement I feel when doing a boudoir session, and when seeing women’s reactions to their photos, is something I will never take for granted!

While hiring a professional photographer to capture moments in your life can feel overwhelming, don’t let it deter you from capturing all the moments that you never want to forget! Whether you hire a professional, set up a tripod, or ask someone walking by- take the photos, print them out and adorn your walls with the memories of your lives, and know that you are all worthy of everything you want!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I would have known from the beginning how important it was to have a community as a small business owner. Owning your own business is TOUGH and sometimes, your friends/family just don’t understand everything that goes in to it. Cultivating a community of entrepreneurs and business owners is SO important for being a successful business owner and if you can find people within your chosen profession, it’s even better! Sometimes you can find this sense of community locally, and sometimes you find them online or in unlikely places. But having someone to share your struggles and accomplishments with, someone who truly understands how much goes in to every aspect of your business, can be so life and career changing and can really inspire you when you’re in a rough patch! Community over competition always!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As I grew my passion/hobby in to a business, I had to really navigate my feelings of worthiness and what I thought I deserved. For so long, I didn’t want to charge a reasonable amount of money, because I didn’t think I deserved it and didn’t think people would pay me! Plus, I loved photography so much, I just wanted to be able to do sessions all the time. Eventually, I had to reframe my thinking and some of my core beliefs that I AM worthy of charging for my services, and by charging correctly for my services and work, I can actually be a better photographer! Charging your worth allows you to give more to each of your clients and to give the best of yourself to your work. Clients who value you and your work will always be there! When I started charging my worth, I realized that in addition to having amazing clients who were willing to pay for my services, I also had more space in my brain to allow for fun projects where I got to just be creative and explore photography!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.DanyaJeanPhotography.com www.BoudoirbyDaniJean.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danyajeanphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanyaJeanPhotography/