We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dani De La Rosa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dani below.
Dani, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Being the owner of DigitalMyst Photography I found my purpose early on in my childhood. I absolutely loved working with kids when I was an assistant teacher in a daycare and apart of the safe sitter babysitting club! I also loved taking photos (even in the early days of a flip phone) I always wanted to document my life as a teen/young adult. I suppose those two skills merged when I realized I could actually book clients and make a living having fun!
Working with children still makes me feel energized. I’ve had days where I’m tired and working with your kids just changes my whole day. I get pumped and chatty during my sessions and the delivery shows it. Every child has a unique personality to capture. You have to earn their trust to really get good imagery so it became a goal to get children laughing and playing behind my lens. Now it doesn’t work every single time but it really does take a special gift to right away connect with kiddos you’ve never ever met before. Parents started to notice this little gift of mine and they started to spread the word to their friends which is how I gain most of my clientele still a decade later.
Applying this personality and my passion for photos really helped me find my purpose in life. You see, I’m a people pleaser by nature so using that as a career is really the best of both worlds. I’m giving parents the gift of memories forever and for me, nothing is better than that!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Dani. I own and operate DigitalMyst Photography here in Land O Lakes, just north of Tampa Bay. I specialize in newborns, children and family photography throughout the Tampa Baby area.
My main focus has become my newborn photography work. For me, baby photography is my greatest passion as those first days are so very precious. To be able to capture this time for families makes my heart so happy because I’m a momma still looking back on those first moments as mother when birthday’s roll by quicker and quicker as the years pass.
While newborns are totally my jam, DigitalMyst Photography family sessions have become my creative outlet. During the holidays I create setups and themes that make for lovely gifts and keepsakes! I have an eye for design and decor so this feeds into fun setups like floral truck minis, tree farm minis and even cute pumpkin patch setups!
DigitalMyst Photography actively seeks opportunities to volunteer time and artistry for Wiregrass Elementary, Classical Preparatory and also throughout the Pasco community. Dani has previously raised money for United Way Sinkhole victims along with back to school supplies and groceries for families at Kids Helping Kids Pasco County. She has previously been featured on ABC Action News.
DigitalMyst Photography offers customized themed minis for holiday photos to Tampa families looking for those special looking holiday cards. We also offer Mommy Bundle packages for new parents looking to capture those precious milestones. This gives families a chance to get to know me better and their children the ability to grow up with me photographing those sweet firsts along the way by year!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Photography is really a skill of creativity through doing it often! Some photographers go to school and master their craft with hands on learning and support by professors. I chose a different path and completely taught myself. I was gifted a camera and literally off I went. Taking photos of EVERYTHING. Then i would get on the computer and learn how to edit in Photoshop. I was able to land a marketing job where I made billboards, print advertising and even got to take images for commercial use. It was through this career jump I worked in Photoshop often and learned much of my way through the basics.
I never stopped learning and still thirteen years in, nothing has changed being a business owner. I keep learning.
Being an ambitious learner thriving on growth is key for me! If you want to learn something so bad, go do it! Find your way through the google world to get your hands on opportunities to grow the passion you desire. For me, this was how I grew the most. I found key people in the photography space that I truly valued and idolized. I got hands on experience through their teachings and grew my knowledge taking online courses and workshops. Plus google always has answers when you want to explore more about any photo topic!
Stop paying attention to others and do you.
This piece of advise really keeps me in check. When I first started my photography I was focused on being like a particular photographer I saw online. After I while I found doing my own thing matter more to me. You see, no one is a bigger critic than me. So, I would celebrate my success and through my clients joy receiving and posting their images I grew into the photographer you see today. I began to care less about what was happening in the businesses around me and more focused on making my actual clients happy in the images I produced for them. They weren’t showing me images they saw online, they were contacting me for my work. So, that’s why I’m a photographer who just does my thing. I do me. And I get paid for it! That is truly the best reward!
Invest in you.
Not only am I still investing in my skill taking workshops and following some new technique online but I’m constantly buying beautiful props to use for my clients. I am crazy about making sure my gear is top of the line and I yearly purchase the new best lens or body to make sure I’m giving you my all in both skill and equipment. I highly recommend following in my foot steps as you’ll never go wrong displaying the best of the best for others to find you and want to be a part of your clientele too.
For those looking into photography as a career my advice is this. Charge something and get our there and photograph everything possible. Focus in on what you love and do more of that thing. Invest in your skill, invest in your gear and make a name for yourself built on trust and love of your craft. Doing this nothing can stop you from achieving whatever goal you have in mind.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
As a photographer, I feel focusing on what you’re good it is most important. I remember in my early days I said yes to every gig even if i didn’t truly know what I was doing. Looking back, this was an early mistake. I would be so stressed out and often forgot why I was doing photography in the first place. I had to start saying no to things outside of my area of expertise. I did this for myself.
You see, I’m an outdoor, natural light photographer. I was talked into shooting studio style and I felt miserable the few times I attempted. This type of photography is just not for THIS photographer and I learned over time that is OKAY.
I leave studio to those professionals who rock it and I stay outside in natural light sweating for the love of my craft in a 98 degree summer sunset.
Feeling good about saying yes to things that bring you joy is what I hold close to my heart. I love photographing your kids being silly, playing games and running free in a field with me. I love cuddling newborns and posing them in beautiful creative ways that become prints on your wall. I love bringing flowers and working with rusty old trucks as your kids jump around and giggle with their siblings. These are the things that speak to me so I speak back delivering the best quality images for you that I’m good at doing. I’m your Tampa Bay natural light newborn, children and family photographer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.digitalmystphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmystphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalMystPhotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniadams/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/digitalmystpics
- Other: Exclusive booking alerts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1923454791011284
