My Journey: From UK IT Desk to Czech Portrait Mastery
In March 2013, I followed a daring dream: leaving a secure IT job in London to chase portrait photography in the Czech Republic as an Englishman without the language or a safety net. It was a leap of faith, but deep down, it felt like destiny calling. With my wife Eva as my voice and our 3 month old daughter Amy as my inspiration, I let my passion and images speak for me.
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill
No backups, no Plan B I poured my soul into mastering light, colors, styling, and authentic connections. Practicing on Amy, we styled shoots that anchored my emerging vision. By month six, clients flooded in, leading to our first studio; by year’s end, over 120 sessions. My excitement shone through every shoot, bridging language barriers and turning strangers into loyal fans.
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair
Through 13 years of triumphs and trials pandemics, economic storms, and cultural shifts I’ve forged a resilient system: efficient, creative, and foolproof for delivering breathtaking results time after time. This isn’t just survival; it’s thriving on pure passion.
“I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.” – Wayne Miller
If I can build an empire from scratch in a foreign land, imagine what you can achieve with your vision. Let’s ignite yours together. Daniel Venter
Jeff Carson –
If you’re looking to step up your photography game, this is a great place to do so. I love the great detail into which he goes concerning the lighting considerations and subject placement. His post procedures are straight forward, well explained and comprehensive. Glad I’ve subscribed to the full year’s worth of tutorials.
alonso.castaneda51 –
amazing tutorial, easy to follow, easy to understand.
Cynthia Armstrong –
Thank you again Dan for such an informative tutorial. I love that you include the downloads for us. I have used the frequency separation , dodge and burn and magic eyes and love what I can do with them all. They have taken my photos up a level. I am interested in knowing more about the Adobe Color profile you have mentioned in this video. I do own the Canon R5 as well. I see you have included something for it in the downloads but I am wondering if this is a read file or does it go straight into Lightroom. I have been unable to do either with it. If it is a read file, what should we be opening it with? You did mention in this video you had a tutorial on the Color Profile. What is this tutorial called? Thanks again.