Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Aiello.
Hi Dawn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always loved taking photos and scrapbooking as a kid and even took photography as a course during high school, but it stayed in the hobby category until after I had finished undergrad, my first job (high school math teacher) and graduate school. After graduate school, in 2010, I attended a family event where my cousin asked me to take her DSLR and take photos for her family. I’m not sure what it was about that experience, but my interest completely reignited and I started diving in on teaching myself photography whenever I had a spare moment. I started doing small portrait sessions for friends or friends of friends and even photographed a couple of small weddings! I then moved back to Orlando in 2014 and planned to continue my career path in either nonprofits or education but I wasn’t finding anything that was the correct fit, so I started looking for part-time photography jobs to hold me over in the meantime. Before I knew it, I was booked 60-70 hours a week working for several different companies as well as doing photography jobs on my own, and I officially incorporated my business in 2017. While I did a lot of learning on my own, I got a great photography “education” learning on the job from other amazing photographers, especially so many of the people I met while working with Disney Fine Art Photography. Today I still work a couple of days a month at Disney, but mostly work exclusively with my own clients.
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?
I think any time you’re in any sort of profession that involves working with people, you can’t expect a smooth road. But I definitely never thought I’d be where I am today when I first started doing those family portraits almost 15 years ago! Obviously the pandemic was a challenge to overcome because people weren’t hosting as many events and everyone was staying home to protect one another. But then in 2022, there was an explosion of weddings because so many people had waited during 2020 and 2021, so it was one of my most financially successful years to date! But then I think we’re now on the downslope of that surge, so I’m once again readjusting my marketing and planning to focus on other areas of my business instead of wedding photography. Basically, you have to be really flexible as a business owner and constantly assess your success and make adjustments to your plan!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to say that if something involves people, you can probably hire me to photograph it! While I do refer newborn and boudoir inquiries to friends of mine who are much more talented in those areas, I do photograph just about any other type of portrait – engagements, seniors, graduation, family sessions, etc. I’ve also photographed over 1,000 weddings in my career and photographed 20-30 Bar and Bat Mitzvahs per year. While I love working with families to capture special milestones in their lives, I also really enjoy working with businesses. I offer individual headshots, headshots for teams/companies, headshot stations for conferences and even step and repeat photos for events. I’ve built a nice group of planners and companies that I work with frequently to photograph nonprofit and corporate events. I especially love working with business owners to create the imagery they need to market themselves and/or their businesses through brand photography.
I think one thing that sets me apart from other photographers is how much I value the collaboration between photographer and subject. I want my clients to give feedback during the session to make sure we’re creating images they’re going to love forever! My clients frequently comment on how patient I am, which I attribute not only to my personality but also my background in education and nonprofits.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I used to try to use every spare second of my day to listen to marketing podcasts or watch youtube videos on business development, but as I’ve matured in my career I’ve realized how important it is for me to protect my “me” time to keep from burning out. I’m an avid romance reader and love watching beauty youtubers to unwind after a long day! I’ve also started working more in videography and I co-host my own podcast with one of my colleagues and good friends. It’s called The One With Two Photographers. It’s been a lot of fun but has also gone a long way in rejuvenating us creatively since we’re flexing our skills in new ways with learning video, audio, editing, etc.
Pricing:
- Headshots – starting at $199/person
- Portrait sessions (1 hour) – $399
- Mitzvahs ceremonies – starting at $495
- Mitzvah parties – starting at $675
- Wedding elopments/intimate weddings – starting at $550
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dawnaiellophotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnaiellophoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DawnAielloPhoto
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dawnaiellophoto
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dawnaiellophoto
- Other: https://linktr.ee/theonewithtwophotographers
Image Credits
Dawn Aiello Photography, Inc.
