ABOUT DAN AND BROOKE
This entire adventure started in a PhotoShop class at Purdue. Dan was majoring in Photography, and I was majoring in Visual Communications Design. Shortly after we met, we started dating. Shortly after we started dating, per the advice of his photographer professor who highly believed in his talent, Dan transferred to the best photography school in the nation (RIT) the same year I graduated. This put him 12 hours away from my new job for another couple of years of study, but the education was unmatched and worth all the nights of waiting on dial up to be able to stay connected to each other. He drove home and proposed the day he graduated, and we grilled steaks on the table-top porch grill of my apartment.
In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined that Dan’s start in commercial photography and my career in corporate graphic design would soon transform into a completely different shared business venture, Dan Brand Photography, the same year we got married in 2004. We “blame” his cousin, Jeni, for inviting him to come to Texas and photograph her wedding, making him fall in love with working with people and using his creativity versus spending 80% of his time writing business contracts and trying to collect on invoices in the corporate world.
In the beginning, Dan ran the business and I helped with marketing at night and on weekends. He enhanced what I had learned in my few photography classes and taught me how to use a camera as a second shooter. We rented an office outside of the home where he could meet with wedding photography clients. In 2007, with a full schedule, our first daughter of three was born, and I left my corporate job to join Dan full time. We spent many days with a baby in between us or on one of our laps at our desks in our shared office.
We’ve been running BRAND PHOTODESIGN since. (We know... In retrospect, the name isn’t great. What does the made-up word, “photodesign” even mean? But try having the name “Brand” while rebranding your business – every website is taken! So the idea was that Dan would create the photos and I would design things with them – albums, wall art, holiday cards… it makes sense if you make it make sense. Just go with us here.)
Our photography business has changed through the years. Eventually, as our family grew, we transitioned to portrait photography only, freeing up our schedule to be able to be at our kids’ soccer games and birthday parties; no longer needing to be invited to family functions years in advance to be able to block off the dates before they all booked up. People always want to hear our “bridezilla” stories, but honestly, we had THE BEST clients!!! We only have memories of the excitement of the “first look”, being brought to happy tears during toasts, and forming really deep, genuine bonds with the beautiful couples we worked with. We are so lucky to photograph many of them with their kids for family photos today!
Today we photograph families and kids from the age they are sitting up (around six months), all the way until they have families of their own. We love photographing families, high school and college seniors/graduates, headshots, business needs, and creative projects. We also photograph 7 private preschools every spring and every fall, so if your kid attends one of them, you’ll probably see us there a couple of times a year. Our studio and viewing room is separate from but attached to our house, so that during busy season, we can each be available for our kids as needed, Dan can pop in for dinner before heading back to his office, and we can spend more time together.
Dan does all the photography; he is AMAZING with kids of all personalities and special needs. Guaranteed he’ll make you laugh during your session, no matter what mood you’re in walking in. After all these years, he is still making me laugh everyday. He also does all of the editing, retouching, and meets with our clients to show them their images and help with their order. Meanwhile, if I’m not happily designing albums or wall art, you might find me gladly working on our marketing, organization, social media, assisting at sessions, or pulling my hair out while entering accounting numbers. (Who thought it was a good idea to have two artists run a business?!) Well, apparently all of YOU, AMAZING clients who we are so lucky to work with, because YOU allow us to do what we love every single day. We appreciate you SO much!!!!
Thank you for sharing your moments with me and with Dan.
Love and gratitude, Brooke