

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Rivas.
Daniel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I became interested in photography while taking a photography class in High School. I bought my first 35mm camera and started learning. My main subjects were my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and the track team, which I was a member. I would photograph the team and make prints and give them to my teammates. I found myself interested in photographing people. I continued taking photography courses at East Los Angeles Community College.
In 1980. when I was 20 I introduced myself to a wedding photographer at a family wedding. This was the big moment for me. Ray Belis of Belis Photography was talented and a good businessman. He showed me how to manage a wedding and how to run a business. I owe him a lot. I worked for him for about a year on a contract basis.
I then started to expand my contract photographer business and worked for 3 studios photographing weddings.
The next big move for me was to start doing photography full-time. In 1983, I started working full-time for a portrait studio in the San Fernando Valley called The Picture Place. We specialized in photographing children. The studio had just opened its doors 6 months before I started. I started to implement the ideas and business marketing I had learned in the past. It was hard for a few years, but we saw the business growing each year. I had built a studio that photographed clients every half hour 6-7 days a week. The studio was a volume business with great monthly specials which brought the same clients in multiple times a year. I loved watching the babies grow up from newborns to teenagers to adults. When these kids grew up I photographed many of their weddings and then their children. It was like a small town business in a big city.
In 2002, I decided to open my own studio. It was difficult with the recession going on at the time, I have been able to keep business coming by setting up my business to have very reasonable rates with excellent quality and service. My clients are very comfortable with me knowing that I will give them my best, therefore recommending to their family and friends.
I have gone from shooting with 35mm and medium format cameras to shooting with digital cameras. There have been many changes in the business, but through it all I love what I do and I’m so grateful it is all possible.
Great, 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?
For the most part it has been smooth. I have been fortunate to have had great clients. They have loved what I do for them and continue to return and recommend their family and friends.
The hardest part was being able to wait through the few years it took to really being successful with our goal. But I knew we had a great product and it would just take time.
The recession and the advancement of digital photography happening at the same time was a tough time. I had to change my business plan at that point and it has helped quite a bit. My mission statement has always been to help my clients the best I know how and to do it at the best rate I could offer. That continues to be my mission statement, but I have dug a little deeper to help even more.
Daniel Rivas Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Daniel Rivas Photography was created to help people get great memories for the future. When people have to settle for “that’s good enough” and don’t hire a professional, I think that’s sad. Your memories are all you have when you get older and to not have them documented professionally is a big mistake. I love that when I offer a service, whether it is event photography or portraits, it is usually within most budgets.
I love photographing events such as Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Quinceaneras, Sweet 16’s and Anniversaries. I love capturing the moments of an event that maybe the family didn’t see, but they get to feel the emotion later while looking at the images I created for them.
Photographing children has always been rewarding. Being able to have a child smile at just the right moment is a great feeling. Not all children like being photographed, but in my career, I have found ways to have them enjoy the experience. The parents have always shown appreciation which is great as well.
I’m not sure what sets me apart from others, but all that matters to me is that when I finish with my client’s service they have always been very pleased with the service and photography. I see many articles on “How to handle a bad review online”. I’m happy to say in the 37 years I have been in this business I have never had to handle a bad review online or in-person before the internet. That is my goal and I usually accomplish it by always giving more than they expect.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being able to not only survive this long, but to help so many clients and watch their families grow. I love what I do and I’m glad I can support my family doing what I love.
Pricing:
- Event Photography Packages staring at $800.00
- Portrait Sessions (In Studio or On Location) for $200
Contact Info:
- Address: 42912 19th Street West
Lancaster, CA 93534 - Website: www.danielrivas.net
- Phone: 661.618.6557
- Email: daniel@danielrivas.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniel_rivas_photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.rivas.photography/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daniel-rivas-photography-lancaster
Image Credit:
Daniel Rivas Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Danielle Brothers
August 8, 2017 at 16:42
Daniel is an amazing photographer and a great man to work with! He photographed our engagement session and our Wedding and our guests loved him! One of our daughters does not like having her picture taken and he caught her smiling and got great pictures! He has amazing prices we would choose him again and again!
Daniel Rivas
August 8, 2017 at 21:50
Thank you Danielle. It was my pleasure helping you with your big day.
Idalia Saldana
August 8, 2017 at 19:11
Daniel is definitely a professional photographer, he is extremely detailed, punctual, has great ideas since he has so much experience, great prices, i have definitely recommended him to family and friends. He actually photographed our wedding which turned out great, I was super pleased with all the pictures. Thankful with Daniel for an awesome experience because my pictures were actually one of the things I was nervous about but after seeing the work he had done my husband and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 16:47
Thank you Idalia. I loved helping you with your wedding photography.
Stephanie Hix
August 8, 2017 at 21:21
We have all of our family photos taken with Danny, he’s great and we would recommend him to anyone looking for a great photographer!
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 16:48
Thank you Stephanie. I’m looking forward to the next session with your new baby.
Daniel York
August 9, 2017 at 03:35
Danny is the best photographer in the Antelope Valley. The entire process start to finish was easy, smooth, professional and exactly what you would expect from a photographer. He photographed my wedding for me and made the entire experience so much better. He was able to deal with everything on a very professional level. He was able to make the children smile as well as deal with the drunkards to get the most wonderful shots. He made our special day even more special and we will always be able to look back and cherish the now permanent memories that Danny created. Thank you so much for everything you did for us.
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 16:51
Thank you Daniel. Working with you and Jenny was great. I’m glad I could help in making your day go smoothly.
Clariece Grantham
August 9, 2017 at 16:12
Daniel is amazing and his attention to detail is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He worked so well with my videographer at my wedding and I was absolutely blown away. I highly recommend him for any photography needs!!!
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 16:52
Thank you Clariece. I enjoyed photographing your wedding. You and Chuck are awesome.
Renata Baron
August 9, 2017 at 16:20
I had a pleasure of meeting Daniel for our family and our son’s senior portraits. It was easy to get in touch with him, arrange the session and then talk details. He is very professional yet friendly. He suggested location for our session and also listen to our concerns and wishes accommodating them all along. We were able to communicate very easily with Daniel in the time before the session and even the morning of as rain seemed to threaten us. Daniel showed flexibility in possible rescheduling when the morning of our session turned out to be a bit wet.
He had put everyone at ease during numerous poses and a wardrobe change. We all love the outcome of session with Daniel. We received our beautiful images after only a short wait, on time as promised.
I definitely would recommend Daniel to anyone. … as we would gladly repeat our photo session experience with him.
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 16:57
Renata, thank you. I had a great time photographing your family. I am glad the day worked out for us regarding the weather. Your family was very cooperative in doing anything I asked which makes the session go very well. I’m glad you love your photographs.
Brianna Pierce
August 11, 2017 at 04:31
I stumbled across Daniel at a local wedding expo in the Antelope Valley, and I’m so glad I did!!
We were so lucky to be able to have him take our engagement photos at our FAVORITE vacation place (Disneyland)!! Daniel was so easy to communicate with and he made meeting and planning for the trip a breeze.
Our photos came out better than excepted, we love all of them, and We cannot wait to use Daniel again in the future for many many upcoming events!!
Daniel Rivas
August 12, 2017 at 17:00
Thank you Brianna. I enjoyed photographing you and Robert. I had never done a session at Disneyland, but glad you chose that location. I loved the results and I’m glad you did as well.
Victoria Robinson
November 1, 2017 at 02:19
Daniel shot my wedding a year ago (October 30th 2016) and let me you, going through our amazing photos is like reliving that day again. Daniel got so many amazing shots of myself, my husband, our families and our guests, you wouldn’t know that it was only him taking photos! Not only was he reasonably priced, he was professional, punctual, dedicated to getting awesome pictures and very flexible with poses to make sure we looked good without looking too “posey”. I would hire Daniel again in a heart beat and if we are ever back in Southern California, we will make sure to set up a small family photo shoot!
Thank you again Danny for all your hard work with our wedding, our photos will help keep our memories alive forever.
Vickie
July 3, 2018 at 03:52
Daniel Rivas did a fantastic job capturing all the love, laughter, and joy on our special day! We can re-live that day by reviewing our photos any time we’d like, bringing those incredible feelings flooding back in an instant. Thank you Daniel, for being so unobtrusive while getting the amazing shots, and for being so personable and professional. We highly recommend Daniel Rivas Photography for all your photographic needs.