Andria Damrell with AD images shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Andria , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
My days are broken out by the hour! I am a wife and a mom of 3, so my day starts at 6am making school lunches and breakfast for my family. Scrambled eggs and salted butter toast has been our jam lately!! I base each hour of my day on what I have remaining that day. I ALWAYS run off a daily to-do list and it feels so good marking off those line items, really that never gets old! I edit with yummy coffee from 7-10am daily. Some days I leave at lunch If I have a business shoot for drone work; I go knock that out during the kids school hours. Off the the kids school pick up I go at 2:30pm. I love the flexibility in this career to be that face my kids see every single day at pickup. It’s a non-negotiable really. We then get home and start on homework, practices and off I go for an evening sunset session for a family or senior! So many other details in a day that all creatives and business owners can relate to!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Along with working with over 175 families annually documenting their family photos, I have been busy building my corporate portfolio documenting large scale projects from the sky! I am loving getting to tell a different kind of story for these companies through my drone still shots and videos. This year I rolled out a monthly marketing program for business owners that aren’t quite large enough to hire a full-time social media/marketing employee, but still have a story to tell! We get to build a plan each month and work to tell their stories through highlights in amazing projects, visual before and afters and documenting customer testimonials.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
This is an easy one, God! I know each of us are created for a purpose before we are even on this side of the world. We are given specific and unique gifts that God designed in us to share with everyone. I didn’t always know what mine were yet, but now I do. I know I am suppose to be sharing His goodness through the blessings of other people’s families, their love, joy and life that He has given us all. I feel so honored to be the one to help freeze time for moments that generations will get to see.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Whew, comparison! This is a hard one. With everyone highlighting such beautiful work and projects in my industry, it can be easy to always compare. In the first few years of my business I always looked to add pieces of other peoples work I loved into mine, but now I am comfortable in my middle lane just creating how I know tells my story the best. Once we can move past comparison, we can truly be free to create and share through our eyes! What is that famous saying afterall? “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes!!!! I am always sharing exactly who I am with the world. I am rarely looking cute, always in athleisure clothing with my messy hair just running to my next appointment. I am blessed with the BEST clients, and I feel a lot of that comes with the fact that they already know me on a more personal level because of all the non-photography related content I share with them. People are more interested in the brand of a service provider, meaning their interests, life, hobbies, and what makes them who they are vs. just the service they provide. I believe in loving all people and leading with kindness. I always say, when joy is a habit love is the reflex!!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
As a business owner who runs a full one woman shop, it can be very time consuming with doing ALL the things. I never want to let that get in front of my marriage or my children growing up. I started this business to get out of the 9-5 desk job grind so I could have the freedoms to make my own schedule and be present each time they need me. I will never regret this looking back, but boy would I regret this forever if I didn’t strongly define those lines of boundaries in running my business and letting it take me away from my family and all the kids activities!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imagesbyandria.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagrams.com/andriadamrell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndriaDamrellimages
- Other: Google Business Profile – AD images
Image Credits
AD images
