Meet Daria M | Destination Wedding Photographer

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

Hi Daria, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I genuinely carte about my couples and my craft. I strive to produce unique imagery that makes people feel everything they’ve felt on their wedding day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Hello hello, I am a wedding photographer and I absolutely love what I do! I treat each session and each wedding as an opportunity to create something new with my couples while capturing a true essence of their love and connection. I cherish the fact that I get to capture people in their most vulnerable moments and that those images will live on in their family for generations. I am a European, so naturally I am inspired by work of my European colleagues and I think that helps me bring a different perspective into wedding photography: blending editorial and photojournalistic styles together to tell a story.

I will say that starting out is hard mentally, there is a lot of comparison, doubt and imposter syndrome creeping in. Having amazing clients and encouraging friends was key for me. I am fortunate to stay friends with my couples even after the wedding is over, messages like ” there is no photographer like you and we wouldn’t want to have anyone else capturing our day” is what keeps me going.

Lessons: to be true to yourself in your art is hard, but necessary to be happy with your work and to draw the right people to your art. Also a big one: consistency is key. It’s a simple truth that everyone knows, but a lot easier said then done and that’s the area that I am still working on personally.

I had to pause and think about the last question and I found nothing. I guess I am just a girl who really loves her couples and wants to serve them well to the fullest, and that’s all that my brand is and stands on.

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?
Oh well! As much as I love Philadelphia I would probably split the trip between Philly and NY, since it’s so close and I go there a lot.

We would start with couple days in NYC walking Brooklyn Heights and peaking into little galleries and vintage shops on the way, also wine shops too haha. Would pick up my favorite pizza at Dellarocco’s on the way to watch the sunset at Brooklyn Bridge Park having heart to heart. Then we would catch a ferry to Lower Manhattan and jump on a train to go to Harlem nights open mic for some jazz.
Next day breakfast at Maman before heading to some kind of exhibit in the museum. We would take bikes this time =) Biking in the city is one of the best things. After exhibit – dinner at “Mission Ceviche” followed by a nice stroll on Medison Ave ( if its winter – ice skating in central park would be next).
Then we would drive back to Philadelphia and go on a beautiful hike in Wissahickon with my dog Rae followed by hammocking and a little picnic on Kelly drive by the water, reading a book and chatting about life, maybe even playing some games.
I can go on a on because I love hosting and showing people around so I would definitely take a guest to Old City, Head House Square area, Rittenhouse and dinner at Parc ( one of my favorite french restaurants), also vintage and coffee shops in Fishtown, Osteria for dinner. Art and Roden museums followed by exploring the Fairmount with Umai Umai sushi at the end.

If some of my fav artists would be in town – concerts are also a go=)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband – Peter. He was the person who got me my first camera and supported and encouraged me along the whole photography journey from the beginning.

Website: dariamphotography.com

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