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
firefly090 –
This was great for fixing skin tones and overall tones. I was able to pause and continue the video while editing my own image to follow the steps.
Heather Kazmierczak –
This was such a detailed tutorial! I learned many knew things and I’m grateful for that! What a great teacher you are!
Christine Chadwick (verified owner) –
Very helpful!
alsparkman5 –
Marvelous…..Love watching you work…..
alsparkman5 –
Another great tutorial……
Andrea Ditta –
great!
Clifton Yaney –
Another top-notch presentation. As before, the walk-thru of the scene, arranging the subjects to optimize lighting and talking the viewer through your thinking and decision-making add great value to this lesson.
Question: With the great detail and precision you place on perfect colors, are you proving digitals or prints to your customers? If digitals, their results may not live up to the quality you put in. If prints, do you use Soft Proofing in LR or PS? Thanks!
Daniel Venter –
Hello Clifton! Thank you so much! Yes I offer both prints and digital to clients. I don’t use soft proofing in either as printing services are pretty good with sRGB files these days.
terry Bell –
I was a natural light photographer but wanted to use a strobe. I wish I had found this tutorial and your education in general, I would have looked at and for natural light photography differently. I do now though so I am going to start using your suggestions.