Meet Danielle Ernest | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Ernest and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
I have many things that make me happy, but few bring me joy as my camera does. I love exploring and capturing moments in time. It makes me happy to share what I see and how I see the world. Also, my dog.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been taking photos since I was in middle school. I always loved having a camera in my hand. I didn’t know that in this practice would set me up well for social media content creation. I graduated with a bachelor of arts in communications from Azusa Pacific University. There I studied social media and PR. One of my key findings in college is that your content is only as strong as your visuals. So I started doing photography for local businesses in Fullerton, California. I then launched my photography business and covered events in Anaheim like Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, Angel Games, and a Red Cross Running Event. Then I decided to pursue my master’s in digital communication at Purdue University. This taught me about the inner workings of social media, corporate communications, and storytelling. From there, my business kept growing, but I needed to take a full-time job due to benefits. My photography business became my side hustle. I currently do portraits, and events, and take photos of my adventures. I like to make them available for purchase in my gallery.

I believe my brand is storytelling. I like finding nuggets of information and packing them up in snackable content.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This really depends are where we were, but if we were in LA I would take them to multiple places. We’d start with the Original Los Angeles Flower Market, and get some coffee from Intelligentsia. Then we would hit Philippe The Original for a french double dip and layer on the hot mustard. From there we would head to Golden Road Brewery and knock back some beer flights. On another day, we’d head down to Santa Monica and get some Sidecar Donuts (the best donuts I’ve ever had). Then we would people-watch along the pier and drive up the PCH to the Getty Villa. After the Getty Villa we would stop in Malibu at the Country Mart. Grab a delicious sandwich from Country Kitchen and an Iced Latte from Alfred Coffee. The following day we would explore Pasadena and walk around Old Town. I would then head to the Huntington Library and walk the grounds. It’s truly a special beautiful place with rose gardens and an impressive bonsai collection. For lunch, we’d hit up Lucky Boy and get some zucchini fries.

LA is a vibrant city with amazing food and culture.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shoutout to my dad! He inspired my love of photography and always encouraged me to pursue it.

Website: https://danielleernest.smugmug.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ernestfotography/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellernest/