My First Blog Post | Meet My Family

Well, I’ve finally given in to the all the people telling me that I NEED to blog. That it helps your clients/followers get to know you better and make you more relatable. I’ve never been a writer and I’m not good with lengthy, witty posts, (I mean I can barely write my own captions on Instagram) so just don’t expect anything too elaborate. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately “What would I even post about if I had a blog?” and came to the conclusion that I actually have a lot to share!

So, let’s start with something easy to kick off the plethora of blog posts coming your way.. Let’s get-to-know-me!

My name is actually Danielle but I go by Dana! Funny story, I actually came up with this nickname when I was 10 and came home one day DEMANDING that my family call me by Dana and not Danielle. My mom reminds me of many situations where I refused to answer and would ignore everyone until they addressed me by my new name. If you know me at all, this is not a surprising story haha. I was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and moved to St. George, Utah when I was about 10 years old. I lived there until I graduated high school at 17 and then I moved up north to go to Utah Valley University. I met my husband through my childhood best friend when I was 16. He was her cousin and was in town for a wedding. The first night we all hung out we actually spent most the night talking about our recent and annoying breakups with our ex’s. He eventually got my number and we talked here and there but things really kicked off our junior year when we started exclusively dating long distance (yup, he lived up north and I lived down south.) It worked though, and we dated all through junior and senior year and a little bit into college, until he went on a mission. We broke up before hand and had no intention of talking again (that’s a story on it’s own), until one day I posted about the Dallas Cowboy’s win on Facebook, and he was so proud that I had stayed loyal to his favorite team all these years that he made up a silly excuse to talk to me again. We started talking, got back together and got married the following year!

This is us! We have two little boys, Jax who is almost 3 and as wild as they come, and Hudson who is 9 months and not far behind his brother on the wild scale. They keep me busy! But photography has been my DREAM JOB and has accommodated me being able to enjoy doing what I love AND be home with my babies.

I decided to do photography professionally right before my first son was born. I had always played around with it through middle/high school and had always loved it but never had any equipment really considered professional. My husband, being the my number one fan and supporter, went all out and bought me my first DSLR camera (a rebel t5) and my first “nice” lens (Sigma 18-35mm.) I asked a few friends and family to be my models and took off with it. I look back now and can’t believe how much I’ve grown and how successful it’s been, but it confirms to me everyday that this is the right job for me and my family. I truly LOVE photography. I get my own pictures done and I feel stressed, overwhelmed, and want to pull my hair out, but when I’M the one behind the camera, the chaos doesn’t even phase me, in fact, I LOVE IT. Families truly have my heart when it comes to photography. I think that’s because I can relate to this time in your life because I’m in it too.

Okay, that’s probably more then enough information, so here’s some quirky facts about me to close things out!

1. I LOVE documentaries on murder, serial killers, death (lol I feel wrong typing this?), but they’re SO interesting! I’m just so fascinated by what drives people out of their right minds to do something like that and just have to know more.

2. I have a super odd fear of cotton balls. Let me re-phrase, I’m not necessarily scared of them but definitely don’t want them coming near me and touching me whatsoever! There’s something about the texture (ughhh I can’t even type this.)

3. I have an obsession with mixing flavors into drinks. Like most Utahn’s, I love my soda and flavoring, so much so, I buy my own flavoring to make drinks at home because if we’re being real I was drinking us out of house and home. I also love mixing teas! Mmmm, starbucks.

I’d love to know what things you’d like to read about! Wether it’s personal, editing, tips & tricks, let me know what you’re looking for in the comments and I will accommodate!

All our family pictures are by Kenzie D Photography, she’s absolutely incredible!!