Meet Danika Pardo-Meiggs

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danika Pardo-Meiggs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danika below.

Hi Danika, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?

As a full-time wedding and family photographer, wife, and mother — I feel like I have SO many answers to this question. The first thing that came to mind is my weekly gym attendance. I grew up as a highly competitive athlete that led me to my time as a collegiate basketball player from 2008-2010. This experience provided life lessons that still impact who I am and even play a part in how I effectively run my business today. After becoming a mother in 2020 and spontaneously starting a podcast in 2023 geared toward mamas running their photo business with children, I have noticed that I often share about my favorite group workout class and the general benefits that moving your body has on your overall mental and physical health. I have even managed to continue going to the gym up until now at 35 weeks pregnant, as sometimes it can be more about the opportunity and space to clear my mind even when my body is slowing down.

The second thing that came to mind upon reading this question is actually a business-related form of self-care. Although photography is my passion, I definitely do not want to entertain burnout. So, not only do I take the time to remain aware of the ways I am feeling about business regularly, but I also try implementing new ideas to keep things fresh, relatable, and fun for myself as an entrepreneur. For example, I have built out offers that correlate with the life I lead to attract clients who genuinely align with who I am and often become friends of mine. Another change I have made is intentionally scheduling personal enjoyment into my weekly routine as it often cultivates more of the positive energy that I want to pour back into my community and work. I also love exploring other creative avenues from time to time to help keep my creativity alive.

The third thing that I thought of in response to this question is my morning routine. The younger version of me would be shocked that I now love a nice, quiet morning to myself when I was previously such a snoozer. I honestly go through waves of carrying out my morning routine, but when I take the opportunity, I always feel ahead of my day and extremely productive — on a self-care level — leading to peace of mind and organization, then usually followed by a great workday as well. I have actually recorded a podcast episode in more detail about what my morning routine looks like and it has become one of the most popular episodes amongst my audience.

Tune in here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2zULwqxO39XyXic2D2669s?si=a14ebbff61454cb9

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a luxury wedding and family photographer located in the California Bay Area with a heart full of desire and determination to expanding my wedding services worldwide as well. Photography has been a passion of mine for longer than I truly realized and simultaneously, I will forever be in awe of how far photography has taken me thus far. What started as a side hustle, capturing family moments for locals I grew up with, slowly but surely grew into what SharpShooter Photography is today.

In January of 2020, I decided to bet on myself and go full-time as a photographer. At the time, I was pregnant with my son, Brody, and I knew this was my opportunity to pursue my passion and spend as much time as possible with my baby. Fast-forward to June 2020 and suddenly, I was a photo business owner in the thick of a pandemic and new to motherhood (which sounds way more daunting than it actually was). From my point of view, I worked hard for three months when the quarantine started and built a solid foundation for the backend of my business before my son arrived. Then, the doctors recommended another two months keeping our distance from others and I truly loved this one-on-one time with my sweet boy everyday. It was sad to see events get cancelled and weddings get postponed, but it was a blessing in disguise for the season of life I was in; it gave me the time I needed for my business and my baby.

As you can imagine, SharpShooter Photography and Brody have grown up together in a sense. I was unafraid to showcase my real life on Instagram stories rocking my new role as a mama. Many of my past clients and friends loved seeing this relatable side of me and always welcomed Brody along to family sessions which was so special for me.

Somewhere along the journey, I had found that I had naturally batched my week, mainly incorporating time to work, workout, and my favorite — setup an adventure day for Brody and I to enjoy every Thursday. This is still something we get to do together now, as it has woven itself into my brand as well. My community knows that I’m out of office on Thursdays and they look forward to the kid-friendly experiences I share from San Francisco to Sacramento and everywhere in-between. Additionally, I even built an Adventure Day offer into my business last year as I have found that these fun-filled, casual, very us type of moments are some of the photo keepsakes I would truly love to deliver to clients. Envision family fun day photos in a documentary style — adventure art.

Alongside the Adventure Day offer is the Photography Membership which is truly a win-win. The Photography Membership allows clients to have more than the typical one session per year and a fine art album. This offer was also inspired by my son once I realized that I truly take advantage of my skills as a photographer and capture quarterly, professional photos of Brody. Families have especially been attracted to the Photography Membership as it saves time, saves money, and saves memories.

It has been an amazing shift in my business to create opportunities like the Photography Membership and Adventure Day offers as they often lead me to connect with clients who are in a similar season of life. However, weddings will always have a special place in my heart. I got married in 2018 and planned my entire wedding, with the help of my husband, of course. And there is truly nothing that compares to a wedding day — a room filled with everyone you love is overwhelming in the best way. It has been an absolute honor to meet so many incredible couples over the years and to let them see the beauty that they are through my lens. It’s cliche, but I love love.

As you can see, my life primarily revolves around my photo business and motherhood, so I decided to start a podcast on the topics. The SharpShooter Pod was born in January 2023 on whim and it has been one of the best experiences ever. I don’t always love being on video on social media and I love to talk (and write, can you tell?), so I figured a podcast would be the perfect fit! My introduction episode will tell you more about me and how the podcast mainly revolves around photo, business, motherhood, marriage, and mindset. I also decided to keep the entire show unedited and listeners seem to love the authenticity as Brody is running around in the background from time to time. Hosting the podcast has been an unexpectedly great way to connect with other photographers and wedding vendors, near and far. I look forward to continuing my podcast and grow my educational side of business. When new listeners tune in, I hope they experience one or more of the following: relatability, value, inspiration, laughter, growth, love.

Tune in here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/30fSJPMLHHhtt6XzVnpdir?si=ff89bc0e41894395

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Persistence.

There have been so many days when I have questioned myself about being on the right path or maybe starting a reliable and consistent 9-5 job again. I am so thankful that I have never given into that type of doubt during the challenges of being an entrepreneur though. Instead, I have always chosen persistence. I have big dreams, goals, and visions that I know are possible, but I have to continue putting in the time and effort to experience the rewards.

2) Operating with positive energy.

I have always been a friendly person, willing to be helpful to my clients and potential clients. That is just the foundation of this quality though. At this point, I can see how operating with positive energy within my work life and personal life can truly bring out the best business owner version of myself. And when I am experiencing that elevated energy within myself, it always seems to flow into all of my work — both my creativity and accomplishments. This year, I have also seen ways in which being a generous person can truly bring magical moments back into my life. From something as small as smiling at a stranger to something as large as being giving of my time or making a donation, it all generates this positive energy. I have even learned that I operate at my highest level as an entrepreneur when I intentionally schedule fun into my life. One of my recent favorite podcast episodes shares more about it — Episode 40: May 2024 Energy — as I finally reached a big milestone moment as a business owner.

Tune in here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5XKNWWiSuLWu7utM3JXmNu?si=ac65117cfd0d4d45

3) Investing in education.

Coupled with my two answers above, this is definitely the most tangible way I have grown in my business. When I worked at my last 9-5 job in 2019, I had been eyeballing a photography business workshop for what seemed like forever. Then, once I decided to go full-time with photo in January of 2020, I immediately purchased a ticket for this educational experience, taking place in March 2020. Over the course of four days, I gained SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE. It was incredible. I got home from LA days before the world shut down, I was six months pregnant with my son, and I used the next three months to build the backend of my business in ways that would have taken me years had I not invested in education. Since then, I have also purchased courses and attended masterclass to continue learning. And most recently, I was part of an amazing mastermind group called Dangerous Creatives. It has been really exciting to see my business boom with new ideas and confidence in my work and worth. Now, I have even started my own educational space for beginner photographers and creative business owner who are mamas to learn these things at a fast pace like I did.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes, I always love collaborating with other like-minded business owners and even more so, entrepreneurs who are also parents. Most recently, I have been collaborating with other photographers and wedding planners on my podcast — SharpShooter Pod — which can be found on Spotify. Together, we decide on a topic to chat about that can bring value to our communities and occasionally, we even write a blog post together to share as well. Other than that, I am always happy to collaborate with wedding vendors in the California Bay Area. I have co-hosted some fun styled shoots in the past and enjoy meeting new people in the industry who also provide high-end wedding services. Please reach out if you are interested in connecting!

Photography IG: @sharpshooter.photo
Podcast IG: @sharpshooter.pod
Website: sharpshooter-ssp.com
Email: [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Ditto Dianto, Tylar Delegeane Photography, and myself — SharpShooter Photography

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