Community Highlights: Meet Daniel Villicana of Daniel V Photography and R&D Custom Cabinets

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Villicana.

Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My business in photography wasn’t planned. It actually started out as a creative outlet, I picked it up as a hobby while learning and failing at my first carpentry job. My first camera (Canon Rebel T3) was purchased in the hopes of learning and grasping something new and with the intention to capture the emotion present around me. As an awkward 20-something, It didn’t go as planned as I didn’t realize that capturing emotions without being prompted meant experiencing what I felt were uncomfortable situations. So with this feeling of defeat and lack of inspiration, I put the camera down and just focused on my current job. Fast forward a few years and what started out as a carpentry job turned into my career and eventually into my first business venture. This custom cabinet company that I co-own with my family re-ignited my creative spark. A specific aspect of owning a company is capturing the end product or result.

So I dusted off my first camera and purchased a tripod, I quickly remembered all the features and skills I learned years ago. As I kept taking these pictures, I grew more and more intrigued by all the angles and the difference in lighting. I kept thinking to myself, these pictures are coming out nicely. Since my focus was locked in on growing this first business, I wouldn’t entertain the idea of starting a second one so often. Then the idea kept coming back, with the support of a close friend and family, I decided to start my own photography business. Earning a bit of extra income is great of course, but the main idea of this photography business has become to allow myself a space where I can thrive and grow. A time where a family, couple, individual can share a beautiful memory and have a tangible product that they can look back to or smile at. My photography business is still growing as am I. Learning the ins and outs of businesses takes time, takes patience. This is a lesson I am applying every day.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This has not and will not be a smooth journey simply because as a business owner, you are always learning. The hardest struggle for me so far is the ability to let leads go when it doesn’t quite make sense to keep them or a red flag is raised. I have learned this the hardest way possible. I recently got scammed by a fake client, draining a good amount of funds from my account. It was hard to stop myself from claiming how dumb or easily fooled I can be but I managed to focus on the lesson I was meant to learn from this experience. My takeaway from this is to hold onto those boundaries you set and follow your process, it is there for a reason.

As you know, we’re big fans of Daniel V Photography , R&D Custom Cabinets . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Both of my businesses are fairly new and growing, Currently, I am a part-time lifestyle photographer and full-time custom cabinet builder. My business’ core value is integrity and that goes into every aspect of both businesses. My approach to every client is to be by their side as every stage is starting or ending.

Pricing:

• $180/ single hour session
• $265 / 90 minute session
• 150/ hr 3+ hour event

Contact Info:

• Website: danielvphotographyllc.mypixieset.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/daniel.vphotography
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daniel-v-photography-fontana-4?osq=daniel+v+photography