Daily Inspiration: Meet Diana DeFatta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana DeFatta . 

Hi Diana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I haven’t always been a photographer, in fact, I was in the corporate world for little over 6 years before I really realized what set my soul on fire, and then suddenly, I lost my job in the corporate world. After that happened, I knew it was time to just put my faith into what I had slowly made and so I did… I went full-time with photography in November 2020. And boy has it been one wild (and amazing) rollercoaster and I am so thankful for it. 

I bought my first camera as a hobby and to just do photos for my sister when she found out she was pregnant with my nephew in 2018. This was not the first time I had a camera in my hand, I was always “that” friend who would bring her digital camera out with us when we went somewhere. My sister and I even did fall photos one year with my dad’s fancy (at the time) camera. That being said, this all started as a hobby and became so much more once my dad was diagnosed with a disease that would eventually take him away. 

My dad was diagnosed in 2015 with a rare and aggressive form of dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, a type of dementia that is not well known and still can take years just for the initial diagnosis. Realizing fairly quickly eventually I would only have photos and videos of my dad to look back on after he was gone made me realize there was something special about being the person to capture memories for those to look back on… even long after their loved one is gone. My dad lost his battle with FTD in February and he went to be with the Lord. After he passed it’s like the passion, I had for capturing and freezing those moments in time grew rapidly and I began to look at wedding days (and photo sessions in general) in a different light. 

To me, it was about capturing the raw emotional moments for my couples and their families to look back on and be brought back to the very emotions they felt on that day. I want you to have the memories for years to come, even long after your loved ones are gone. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not always been a smooth road, learning and navigating being a full-time business owner has definitely made me realize a lot about myself and I would not change it for anything. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a full-time wedding and branding photographer and I am known for my ability to capture the raw emotional moments during a wedding day or a session. I travel for weddings. There is something amazing about capturing those raw moments that are not only seen but can also be felt with the heart. I am pretty emotional person myself so I sometimes (okay, always) cry on wedding days. With Branding sessions, I love seeing what fuels your soul and what you are most proud of, I get the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing entrepreneurs who are on journeys themselves, and honestly, it’s the best job ever. 

Something I am most proud of would be that even in a time when I felt like I had just lost it all I climbed through and have had a pretty great time doing it. I would have to say that my style of photographing sets me apart because I want to hold those emotional moments in time for you. I want you to feel the way you did on the day of when you look back at your photos. 

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I wouldn’t say it was luck but maybe just having faith, it’s actually ironic this is asked because last year right before losing my corporate job I was sitting down with my business coach and we had been writing out 2021 goals. 

One of which was to be making moves to go full time with my photography business in November 2021… after writing that down it was almost like the universe said… ok hold my beer because literally 3 weeks later was when I went full time. 

Pricing:

• Weddings start at $3200 for 6 hours
• 1 hour session at $400 with a $100 print cred

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.dianamariephotography.co
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/dianamariephotography_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dianamariephotog