Feature: Danielle Valimont
I'm so excited to tell you about the photographer that we picked to shoot our wedding day!! She also shot photos for our new MaieDae website (seen below)! Her name is Danielle Valimont and I found out about her through a friend of mine. From the moment I met Danielle, her enthusiasm and sweet spirit ensured me that she was the right woman for the job. Danielle's passion is for couples' photography. Not only does she own her own business, Valimont Photography, but she also runs a blog, is about to finish her masters Degree in Organizational Leadership, and travels frequently around the world (but especially has a heart for India.) I asked Danielle a few questions in order to get to know her heart and passion for photography. Enjoy!
"I signed up to volunteer in India one summer and I was soooo stoked! The Lord really opened doors and I couldn't wait to get there to volunteer for Calcutta Mercy Hospital. They called and asked what I could // would do when I got there. I said, 'ANYTHING! I'll do anything you need! I can't wait! I'm so excited!' They replied, 'Can you take pictures?' I said, 'Yeah! Sure.' At this point, I had never held a DSLR camera and I'm thinking they are asking me to just get a few snap shots, but as time neared, I realized they were talking about PROFESSIONAL pictures. I had a freak-out moment. Actually, many of them... lol. I was calling my mom, asking her how did I fail to communicate so badly?? She said, 'Danielle, maybe this is something you should consider. If this is what God has opened up for you to do, then you need to do it.' That calmed my fears a bit and I started searching for a camera. Let me tell you -- that was wild. I was in college, had no extra cash and here I had 3 weeks to buy a professional entry level camera before I left the country! AND learn how to use it! Haha, what was I thinking?
"So, I started searching. Pawn shops, online, everywhere. And then I found this camera. It was $60 in a pawn shop and looked big and professional.Good deal. And the Lord told me not to get it. At this point it was 3 days before I left and I had a struggle in the shop of whether or not to get it because it was such a good deal but I eventually left it. Then God steppped in and totally rewarded my obedience. I had no idea how or where I was going to get the camera and told no one that I needed it. That evening I went to Red Cross to donate blood and this lady came up and we started chatting. At the end of the conversation, she said the Lord spoke to her and told her to give me a check for $50! A complete stranger. So then my faith was building! My college sent me to the airport to pick up a guest and on the way back she asked if she could take us to dinner. We were broke and excited to eat a steak at Longhorns! While we were there, I told her about India and miracles God had done and the following day she came to me and said the Lord spoke to her to give me "this" and handed me a women's devotional book. I was thrilled! I couldn't believe that she gave me that because the hospital asked me to do women's devotions and I had no clue where to begin. She told me to be careful because there was something inside. I opened the book and a check for $500 was sitting there. I burst into tears and told her about the camera thing and how much a blessing it was.
'So, at this point, two strangers had given $550. Then, later that night, another lady came up and said that she had watched me in school this year and heard I was going to India and wanted to bless me... $100... $650-- from complete strangers and without sending one support letter! That is God! On the way to the airport, Best Buy had a one day sale on the camera I was looking at, so I bought it and read instructions on the plane. And knew a LITTLE. After I brought the pictures back home, everyone was amazed. My response to that was, oh... seriously.. anyone can take good pics in India. It's a beautiful country. After their encouragement, I decided to give it a shot. I had amazing photographers that encouraged me and gave me tips and, of course, lots of prayer and hard work in developing my talent. Which is still a work in progress!
"What I most love about shooting is the people. I love making friends with 'clients' and having them become part of my life. It's crazy. I get an hour or two to shoot them and we become life-long friends. :) "
"That is tough. If we are talking photography, I love Jasmine Star and Esther Haven's style. Esther Haven is doing what I would dream of doing one day!"
"I love traveling and feel like I was born in the wrong country -- India definitely has my heart. I'm addicted to Etsy, this blog, haha, I love any kind of teas, and Zumba rocks my world. I love taking pictures with my Papa's Minolta... he just gave it to me this past year!"
"Finish my masters degree in Organizational Leadership. May 4th never looked so good! I also want to focus on branding and different lighting techniques, this year, to really hone in on my target market. Big goal -- attend at least half of the Collages-Atlanta classes this year! I learned so much last year from Catherine Ritchie Park of MyLife Photography.... she's a photography mentor of mine and pretty much Atlanta's best!"
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Danielle a little better! We had a great time at our photo shoot with her on Sunday. Danielle is so talented and makes you feel completely at ease. She is great to work with and I would recommend her to everyone I know.
"I signed up to volunteer in India one summer and I was soooo stoked! The Lord really opened doors and I couldn't wait to get there to volunteer for Calcutta Mercy Hospital. They called and asked what I could // would do when I got there. I said, 'ANYTHING! I'll do anything you need! I can't wait! I'm so excited!' They replied, 'Can you take pictures?' I said, 'Yeah! Sure.' At this point, I had never held a DSLR camera and I'm thinking they are asking me to just get a few snap shots, but as time neared, I realized they were talking about PROFESSIONAL pictures. I had a freak-out moment. Actually, many of them... lol. I was calling my mom, asking her how did I fail to communicate so badly?? She said, 'Danielle, maybe this is something you should consider. If this is what God has opened up for you to do, then you need to do it.' That calmed my fears a bit and I started searching for a camera. Let me tell you -- that was wild. I was in college, had no extra cash and here I had 3 weeks to buy a professional entry level camera before I left the country! AND learn how to use it! Haha, what was I thinking?
"So, I started searching. Pawn shops, online, everywhere. And then I found this camera. It was $60 in a pawn shop and looked big and professional.Good deal. And the Lord told me not to get it. At this point it was 3 days before I left and I had a struggle in the shop of whether or not to get it because it was such a good deal but I eventually left it. Then God steppped in and totally rewarded my obedience. I had no idea how or where I was going to get the camera and told no one that I needed it. That evening I went to Red Cross to donate blood and this lady came up and we started chatting. At the end of the conversation, she said the Lord spoke to her and told her to give me a check for $50! A complete stranger. So then my faith was building! My college sent me to the airport to pick up a guest and on the way back she asked if she could take us to dinner. We were broke and excited to eat a steak at Longhorns! While we were there, I told her about India and miracles God had done and the following day she came to me and said the Lord spoke to her to give me "this" and handed me a women's devotional book. I was thrilled! I couldn't believe that she gave me that because the hospital asked me to do women's devotions and I had no clue where to begin. She told me to be careful because there was something inside. I opened the book and a check for $500 was sitting there. I burst into tears and told her about the camera thing and how much a blessing it was.
'So, at this point, two strangers had given $550. Then, later that night, another lady came up and said that she had watched me in school this year and heard I was going to India and wanted to bless me... $100... $650-- from complete strangers and without sending one support letter! That is God! On the way to the airport, Best Buy had a one day sale on the camera I was looking at, so I bought it and read instructions on the plane. And knew a LITTLE. After I brought the pictures back home, everyone was amazed. My response to that was, oh... seriously.. anyone can take good pics in India. It's a beautiful country. After their encouragement, I decided to give it a shot. I had amazing photographers that encouraged me and gave me tips and, of course, lots of prayer and hard work in developing my talent. Which is still a work in progress!
"What I most love about shooting is the people. I love making friends with 'clients' and having them become part of my life. It's crazy. I get an hour or two to shoot them and we become life-long friends. :) "
"That is tough. If we are talking photography, I love Jasmine Star and Esther Haven's style. Esther Haven is doing what I would dream of doing one day!"
"I love traveling and feel like I was born in the wrong country -- India definitely has my heart. I'm addicted to Etsy, this blog, haha, I love any kind of teas, and Zumba rocks my world. I love taking pictures with my Papa's Minolta... he just gave it to me this past year!"
"Finish my masters degree in Organizational Leadership. May 4th never looked so good! I also want to focus on branding and different lighting techniques, this year, to really hone in on my target market. Big goal -- attend at least half of the Collages-Atlanta classes this year! I learned so much last year from Catherine Ritchie Park of MyLife Photography.... she's a photography mentor of mine and pretty much Atlanta's best!"
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Danielle a little better! We had a great time at our photo shoot with her on Sunday. Danielle is so talented and makes you feel completely at ease. She is great to work with and I would recommend her to everyone I know.