let's make some magic together
Hi, I am Dani!
About Me
I thought I should take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Dani, and I am the memory curator behind the lens here at Dorothy Mae Photography. My business is named after my beautiful Grandma who walks with the angels now. I am a wife, Mama of two toddlers, friend, and a strong community activist. I also work full-time at a local college while running my full-time photography business.
Inspired by the love I have for preserving my own families memories, I have decided to share my passion with all of you! It is important to me to always be affordable. I want to provide the opportunity for every person or family to have my work hanging on the walls of their home.
I love helping my clients find the perfect outfits and plan a session that is unique to them. I am also a big advocate of children led sessions. I believe in organic moments, the in between. I do also try to capture some posed shots of everyone looking at the camera but my favorite is when we just capture the moment. Nothing forced, just real love.
My current final album delivery times are around 2-3 weeks for portrait sessions and about 8-10 weeks for weddings. Of course, I always strive to send you sneak peaks of your session within 48 hours, I don't wanna leave ya hanging. Just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and I value
curating quality final albums for my clients more than fitting a timeline. I promise, it is worth the wait.
If you have made it this far, I appreciate you! I cannot wait to meet and connect with lots of wonderful folks this year and beyond. If my vibe resonates with you and you want to work together, epic, send me a message and let's make some magic!
Ode to Dorothy Mae
Remembering Dorothy Mae
We thought it was time to share a little more about our namesake and the reason this little woman-owned photography business came about.
Dorothy Mae (Red) was my Grandmother, who was unlike any other human on this planet. At times, I thought she was invincible, seemingly beating all the odds and anything that stood in her way. At the young age of 67, wheel-chair bound, and with many medical ailments she decided to take life by the horns and enroll in a social work program at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta. During her time there she faced many challenges, learning technology, health issues, and anything that would have kept a normal-human being from completing their schooling. But not Red. She persisted and even ended up graduating Phi Beta Kappa (an honors program) at the young age of 70. She wanted to prove to her herself and her family "To never give up, there's always hope."
We lost Red in February 2017, shortly before I gave birth to my first son and her first great-grandbaby. This was a life-altering loss to our family, left with a giant void in our hearts. You don't realize until someone is gone, how important pictures, hand-written notes, and memories become. So I set out to capture every moment I could of my family. I was the annoying person with the camera, because I couldn't let things go by without documenting them. I wanted my children to have every photo they possibly could have of their family and friends because you don't realize how little you have until it is too late.
Fast forward to today, the reason and heart behind my business is to help other families create magical moments. Our tag line of "Preserving Love and Capturing Life" is exactly what we are trying to do at Dorothy Mae Photography. We know how important photos are and we want to make the opportunity to preserve these special moments affordable and accessible for everyone. Photos are everything.
If you made it this far in reading about our little business, I appreciate you and your support. In the meantime, take the picture, whether you feel like you look good or not. Because someday, someone is going to love that picture of you, looking exactly as you were, beautiful and perfect in that moment.
With your memories in mind,
Dani (Owner)
#dorothymaephotography
#takethepicture
#preservingloveandcapturinglife