Hi, I’m Danielle Donders, but my friends call me Dani, and the Internet calls me DaniGirl.
I love to tell stories. That’s what makes photography magical and addictive to me – the ability to tell stories with pictures. I’d love to tell the story of your family at this moment in time.
Over the past few years, I’ve realized that while I enjoy posed family portraits, what I truly love is capturing candid, genuine moments of people interacting and at play. Those are the moments when a family’s true personality shines through – the laughter, the soft touch, the quick glance full of affection. Those are the photos I love of my own family, and those are the ones I want to capture for you and your family. Your portraits should tell your story.
Kids grow up so fast, and sometimes we’re so busy living our lives that it’s easy to forget how much things can change in just a few weeks or months. And being a mom has given me helpful insight into how to wrangle kids who freeze or run the other way at the sight of a camera! I’m proud of my ability to put kids (and grown-ups!) at ease and build a rapport with them that makes them trust me and my camera. You can see some of my favourite photographs of people, families and events in my portrait gallery.
I also have more than 900 images available for license through Getty Images. Through Getty, my photos have appeared in Macleans and Good Housekeeping magazines, been used by brands like WalMart, Dell Computers, Vanity Fair, Microsoft, Rolling Stone, Sainsbury’s Bank, FedEx, Cosmopolitan, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal, among many others. They’ve also been used as book covers, in textbooks and on the cover of the Ottawa west version of the Yellow Pages directory. You can see some of the fun uses of my photos in the commercial gallery.
If you’d like to know more about me, you can check out my blog, Postcards from the Mothership. Better yet, drop me a note; I’d love to say hello and talk about how we can work together to capture your family’s unique personality in a custom family photography session! (By the way, in case you were wondering, that’s where the name “Mothership Photography” comes from – when I launched the photography business in 2011, I’d already been blogging at Postcards from the Mothership for many years. That name was inspired, in part, by the Carrie Fisher novel Postcards from the Edge. It’s a strange name for a photography business, but at least it’s unique!)
I also sell gift prints of many of my images. If you are looking to recognize someone’s birthday, anniversary, retirement, long service, or any other occasion, I’m happy to work with you to create a piece of framed original artwork to give as a gift. Please contact me for details.