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

Kandi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I have always had a love for photography but never dreamed I could turn it into a successful business. My hobby of taking photos of my children and other family members quickly grew into a true passion and I knew I wanted to learn more!

I found myself taking online courses and offering a lot of free sessions to try and sharpen my skills. My first photography workshop was with a local photographer, Shauna Veasey, whom I had admired so much but was also intimidated by her talent. I remember reaching out to her and asking her if my lack of knowledge should keep me from attending. She was so sweet and encouraged me to attend, so I did and it was a game changer for me.

I knew this was something I now wanted to do for “work”, something I wanted to make a living doing. From that workshop forward I dove in headfirst. I took as many workshops, online courses and shadowed as many established photographers as I could. I didn’t have a lot of equipment, so I rented. This was a great option for me to test and use the latest and greatest cameras and lenses until I could afford to upgrade my own.

The biggest obstacle I think for me was my age. I was 15 to 20 years older than most photographers in our area. In the wedding industry the average client age is 20-25, so I felt like I had to work twice as hard to get those clients who maybe thought they couldn’t relate to me. Personal connection is so important as a photographer, so I made it a mission to always sell myself as older and wiser, and found that not only did potential brides appeal to that, but so did their parents, who ultimately were usually the ones to hire me.

My advice for any up and coming photographers, don’t stop learning. This industry changes daily with all the social media platforms, so there is always something new to learn. Push yourself an never think you know it all, because there is always room for growth. Basically, I had to hustle, a lot. I put in many long hours learning my craft before I felt confident as a true professional photographer. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. I felt like I had finally found my works purpose in life.

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

I am a southern girl, born and raised in a town south of Atlanta Georgia, and have lived here my whole life. I love my hometown and couldn’t imagine life anywhere else.. well except the beach maybe. Butterflies are my spirit animal and the ocean speaks to my soul.

I am a true empath, highly intuitive, and overly sensitive person. I love being social but also have a lot of sensory and stimulation issues, which leads to needing my alone time. This is also challenging in this industry, as a wedding photographer I have to be “on” for 8-10 hours around large groups of people, and I love it, but it also can drain me, and the next day is usually spent in solitude recharging my mind and body.

I’m a huge mental health advocate and believe it should be talked about more, and the stigma and shame of it people often feel should be lifted. I’ve suffered much loss and hardship which is the driving force behind my desire to help others. I’ve kicked cancer’s butt twice and I believe I was put on this earth to make a difference. The most impactful way I have found is behind the lens, capturing life’s most precious memories. After my second battle with cancer that is when I chose to turn photography into a full time business and do something that I love for work.

The thing I am most proud of in everything I have done with this photography career is the real genuine connections I have made. I love getting to know my clients and become a part of their lives and them mine. I want them to know I am personally invested, and every life moment I capture truly means something to me.

I am a film and digital photographer who loves the real moments that are full of life and color. My goal is to evoke emotion in my images and that you feel them as much as you see them. I have been published in multiple magazines, online wedding blogs and publications.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Starting a business takes a lot of time, organization, and record keeping that you have to be willing to do the work. You need to know your true cost of doing business, so that you can know how much to charge for your services and make a profit. My previous career was in the accounting field so numbers and spreadsheets were already a thing for me so this was very helpful in my startup of a business.

My business was started with personal funds. I had very little when I started, but set goals of what I needed and when I needed them. I only owned one camera and two lenses when I started, so until I could afford the better equipment, I rented.
I set back 50% of each session into a separate account to save for future equipment upgrades. Within a year from startup I had 2 digital cameras and 6 lenses and lighting gear. At current I have 2 digital cameras, 2 film cameras, 9 lenses, and better lighting gear.

Each year I include what I may need to upgrade into my budget so that I have it accounted for in my business costs. Sometimes things come up, like the pandemic and those extra funds have to be used elsewhere, so it’s always good to have an emergency fund in place.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Not everyone in this industry wants you to succeed. This was a hard one for me. As a highly sensitive person I just couldn’t understand why someone would want to try and tear down another. Some take competition to a whole new level and it can be very disheartening and make you leery of who to trust. I had to learn not to take what others did or thought so personal and not let it stop me from being my best self and not limit my want to help others. Comparison can really be the thief of joy and prosperity if you let it.
My advice is to focus on your business and what is best for it. Lend a hand when you can and accept help when offered.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kandidanielstudios.com
• Instagram: @kandidanielstudios
• Facebook: Kandi Daniel Studios
• Other: TikTok kandidanielstudios

Image Credits
All images Kandi Daniel Studios