Her Story
About Danielle
Danielle Goodman is a full-time photographer who operates a home studio in Palm Beach County, Florida. She began her photography journey in 2018 or 2019 while pregnant with her first son by purchasing a camera to capture personal photos and soon pursued online courses during the COVID period. After starting with children photography, she expanded into product and food photography for several years before focusing primarily on headshots and portraits. Goodman earned a bachelor's degree in international relations but transitioned professionally through multiple online photography courses and self-teaching via online resources. She attributes her success to these accessible learning tools and the support of her husband, who manages the business side. In addition to her commercial work, Goodman is developing Project Imagery, a nonprofit initiative providing free headshots to women who cannot afford them, with Side Project serving as fiscal sponsor. She values her ability to connect one-on-one with clients, helping them feel comfortable during sessions, and advises aspiring photographers to keep practicing, try new approaches, and pursue what they would do for free.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Danielle
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think first of all there's a lot of resources online and you can really teach yourself. My husband really supports me, he manages my business basically. I can be a good photographer but I'm just not a good business person and he does all of that for me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I heard a long time ago, I read or heard if you know that you would do your job for free that means you're doing what you're supposed to do and I would just do it for free.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just keep practicing, shooting, try new approaches. Always learn new things, and just go for it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI is taking over a little bit for product and food photography, but people still understand that it doesn't replace a professional photographer. There's no replacement for a real person and AI can't really replace that.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I really know how to connect with people one-on-one. A lot of times people come to me and they start with oh my gosh I'm so bad at this... and then at the end they leave and they say oh my gosh this was actually really fun and they hug me and they say thank you for making me feel comfortable. That's my strongest.
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