Today we’d like to introduce you to Kandi Daniel.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kandi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a wedding and lifestyle film and digital photographer. I was born and raised in this little (not so much anymore) town south of Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve always been creative at heart and love how one photo can tell so much about a moment in time.
In 2009 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and had surgery and treatments and thought I had fully kicked cancer’s butt, but I had a recurrence in 2011 (I did kick it’s butt this time) in the soft tissue of my neck and realized that life was too short to do anything other than what I loved and enjoyed. So, I started making goals and dreamed daily of starting my own my business and in 2014 Kandi Daniel Studios was launched.
KDS consisted of an Etsy store of apparel and personalized items, along with wedding coordinating and styling and my true love, photography! The Etsy store helped supplement my income after I left my career of almost 17 years in accounting to explore this dream of mine full time. As my photography grew, I eventually no longer needed or could keep up the Etsy store, so I closed it and devoted all of my time to photography.
Random Facts:
The beach is my favorite place on earth. Salt air and waves crashing can cure most any bad mood and I will live there one day.
Butterflies are my spirit animal. I am a wife and mother of 4. They have all left the nest but one son. When I’m not photographing I am usually on a baseball field somewhere with him.
I am a reality TV junkie… the crazier the better!
I love true crime anything… tv shows, books, podcasts etc!
Floral arranging and styling is another creative passion of mine.
I have severe anxiety and struggle with it daily but I don’t let it control my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been all rainbows and sunshine for sure. I am older than most in this industry and call myself a late bloomer. This has been my biggest hurdle to overcome in my own head.
Having anxiety has also been a struggle, especially with the self-doubts anxiety brings. Anxiety makes almost everything in my life more difficult so I’ve learned things along the way that work for me to get through those moments when it really kicks in. Slowing down, breathing, taking moments are all ways to help me cope when anxiety is at its highest.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kandi Daniel Studios story. Tell us more about the business.
I am wedding and lifestyle photographer. I shoot in both digital and film formats. I started in film around a year ago and am still learning and growing in that area but I love it so much.
I am most excited that I now offer film photography for my clients. The film captures images in a way that is so incredibly beautiful in tones and textures. It also pushes me to be a better photographer by forcing me to slow down and really think about the image I’m wanting to capture and not just be trigger happy with the digital camera.
One of the things I am most proud of is the connections that I make with my clients. From the moment someone reaches out to me I make it a mission to really get to know them on a personal level. I want to know what makes their heart happy on a daily basis and who they are as a person. I think this is what keeps them coming back and I love that I get to continue on their life’s journey of pregnancy, birth, babies and all the other important moments in their lives they ask me to come along for.
This year I launched my first workshop called Simply Create. This workshop is for photographers and focuses on styling and details of a wedding day. I believe one of my biggest callings in life is to serve others, and sharing what I know and teaching through these workshops is one way to do that. I am a people person by nature and I genuinely love connections, real connections. I want to meet and network with those that build each other up and encourage each other to succeed.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe that we are all here for a purpose and sometimes that purpose is not always clear because we let things or people get in our way of seeing it.
I think when you feel that little tug on your heart to go in a certain direction you should take a moment and really listen to it and follow that feeling to wherever it leads you.
We are all meant for greatness and another person’s success or failures should never define your own. Make your own story and greatness.
Pricing:
- Wedding Collections begin at $2500
- Portraits and Lifestyle Collections begin at $250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kandidanielstudios.com
- Email: kandidanielstudios@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kandidanielstudios
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kandidanielstudios
- Twitter: www.pinterest.com/kandidanielstudios
Image Credit:
Tiffany Dawson Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
