Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Hursey.
Hi Dana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a second-generation Southern California native. When I was in my teens, I was introduced to photography as a profession. Not as an editorial photographer or a wedding photographer, but rather as a commercial photographer. My eyes were first opened to this specific genre when I visited the gallery at Art Center College of Design. My fate was sealed instantly. I can still recall the images that hung in the gallery that day and thought to myself: 1. If I could create images of that caliber, & 2. Make a living doing that… SOLD! I subsequently became laser-focused on attending and graduating from ACCD. After getting my degree, I studio managed for two photographers in Hollywood for a couple of years, and then.. thankfully, before I got too comfy, they kicked me out of the nest and told me to get out there and do it for myself. SO GENEROUS of them! Since then I have been running my own studio and my work has morphed, grown, evolved and yet has stayed true to the “craft”.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
NEVER! This profession for all but a very few is an ever “thrilling” roller coaster. Emotionally, financially, and creatively. The BIGGEST struggle of my own career was the “great recession” that eventually hit our industry in 2009. I saw MANY colleagues close up shop and move on. I couldn’t …. not that I didn’t want to .. there was just something inside me that would not let me do anything else. These lean times DID however push me into new creative mindsets and drove the way I shoot today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I went to school to become a still life/product photographer. I graduated school shooting mostly fashion.🤯 As I started my own studio, I found myself shooting a wide range of genres, but the majority of work leaned into lifestyle. The aforementioned recession took me down a path of creating a visual style that took these many disparate genres and tied them together with a very particular “look” . Since then, I have mostly been known for my conceptual and humor work. (I had to find humor somewhere during that period so my imagery was the natural recipient of that energy). Also in 2011, I was commissioned to shoot a celebrity cookbook that was sponsored by Lexus. We shot 35 of L.A.’s top chefs and one of their recipes at each of their restaurants. I had never pursued food photography as a specialty, but after this project, I had an instant portfolio. So these days, ad agencies and corporations come to me to execute on these fronts… Conceptual, Humor, Food, and all in my specific “style”. I have a few wonderful clients that actually incorporate ALL of these into their campaigns! I think one of my greatest selling points is my flexibility. Having a strong foundation in many genres allows me to be quite nimble and deliver consistent imagery to my clients, despite what might be on the other end of the lens.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Working / collaborating with GOOD people. I can get excited about almost anything in front of my camera when I am working alongside GOOD HUMAN BEINGS. I have spent years refining my crew to be filled with ONLY these. And I feel SO FORTUNATE that really the bulk of my clients are of this ilk as well. Creativity seems naturally baked into those in my industry and so that is taken for granted (though it shouldn’t be!) that this is what everyone on set brings to the table. THIS is what is fulfilling to me. Good Creative People working together to elevate something to a new and better space, one that none of us alone would have created.
Contact Info:
- Website: hursey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danahurseyphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanaHurseyPhotography
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanaHurseyPhoto
Image Credits
© Dana Hursey Photography
