Meet Daria Taylor | Owner & Principal Photographer at Daria Taylor Photography

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

Hi Daria, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
There are so many different factors that have gone into landing me where I am today. Aside from the obvious (luck, a high tolerance for risk, and tenacity in the face of unpredictability), I think my natural curiosity is the number one trait that propelled me into an entrepreneurial lifestyle. Before starting my business in event photography, I tried my very best to work behind a desk in corporate America. Surprise! It didn’t work out. I spent my 20s learning that I can’t handle knowing how the next days, weeks, months, and years will unfold. In my personal life and in business, I need to continuously be on the move–learning new things, exploring new ideas, and understanding different perspectives. If I sit with one thing too long I start to get itchy. That same itchiness that made me a godawful office worker turned out to be an enormous benefit in business, where I truly have no idea what tomorrow will bring and have to approach each new challenge with curiosity and adaptability. Lucky for me, I’ve always had that odd combination of bullheadedness and naive self-belief (some may call it stupidity) that happens to work in this very specific environment.

Beyond the business operational side of things, my curiosity helps me connect deeply with my clients. I ask a LOT of questions about who and what I’m photographing. Being an event photographer is like having unlimited backstage passes into different lifestyles, industries, and experiences. Every day is completely different. This year alone, I’ve captured events including educational talks about the new era of space exploration to a graduation ceremony for incarcerated firefighters, to a Fighting Oligarchy rally with Bernie Sanders. Regardless of the subject of the event itself, the goal is always the same: to capture raw moments that explore who and what we’re experiencing in this moment and to timestamp them for future reflection. I approach each event with curiosity, openness, exploration, and respect. Capturing different types of events with different types of people has taught me that there are so many different avenues life can take you down, and I’m continuously grateful for mine.

There’s no shortage of great photographers in LA, but I think what sets me apart is that I’m not interested in shooting for the trends– I’m interested in capturing real, honest moments and exploring people and events with genuine curiosity. While that certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone, those who get it, reaaally get it. And it makes for honest, authentic images that cut through the noise of all of the other stuff floating around out there.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the owner and principal photographer of Daria Taylor Photography, a woman and POC-owned business specializing in providing strategic, goal-driven photo and video services. Our team partners with corporate and private event organizers to target event goals through impactful and well-rounded image assets. We work with major brands including Apple, META, Delta Airlines, Hilton, NBCUniversal, and more. We’ve been fortunate enough to have our work featured in publications including BizBash, INC.com, Angeleno Magazine, San Diego Business Journal, and others. While we’re based in Los Angeles, it’s been an honor to serve clients all over the United States and internationally.

There are two main things that set my brand apart. The first is that we capture photo and video content strategically, in a way that is designed to address each of our clients’ specific goals. Our clients trust us to ask the right questions and to create a game plan that achieves their objectives. Combining the creativity of photo and video with the more pragmatic aspect of marketing around their event is an exciting challenge. And it’s one that we’re uniquely set up to handle. That, along with the fact that we offer both photo and video content under one brand allows us to deliver aligned visuals that match in quality, style, and messaging. So many events are produced with separate photo and video teams with totally different styles and conflicting intentions. Our photographers and videographers are on the same page and we’re delivering high-quality assets with a strategy in mind for how everything will be used cohesively after the event. Clients find it’s a lot more effective, and it allows us to serve larger and more complex events that require a greater level of care and attention to detail.

The second factor that sets my brand apart is that our work is heavily candid. Our team blends into each event by observing from within: we’re connecting with attendees and are in the middle of the action with our cameras. In other words: we’re documenting, not directing. Because of the way in which we engage with our clients, we understand their story and what makes them unique. We gain access to authentic moments and capture the full breadth of emotions that unfold with empathy. Our work can be heartfelt in one moment, buoyant the next, and is usually captured with a healthy dose of humor. And as a viewer, I think you can feel it.

In Los Angeles, event photos are often carefully curated and hyper posed. When I started my business, I felt pressure to conform. More senior photographers told me that there were all these rules to running a photography business– that you needed to play monkey-see-monkey-do and keep up with the trends in order to survive. Since I’m not a great rule follower, I just stopped listening one day. And that’s when my career really took off.

If anyone cares to take any lessons from what I’ve learned: it would be to ask questions obsessively, use your powers of critical thinking to cherry pick the advice that works for you, and to get curious about how your unique strengths define your brand. For me, it’s truly been about observing clients and figuring out how to showcase the layer of beauty just beneath what is being presented on the surface. That can apply at an individual or organizational level. And it’s always more complex, more interesting, and way more awesome than anything that could be staged.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love everything that involves movement and being outdoors. I’m a proud Eastsider, so when I have friends in town I’ll start by taking them for a hike in the Angeles National Forest followed by an al pastor burrito at Angel’s Tijuana Tacos in Eagle Rock. We can enjoy the best burrito known to mankind while watching the sunset in Elysian Park.

I’m based in Atwater Village, so I love showing off downtown Atwater. There are so many unique little shops on Glendale Blvd to explore, and Dune has a beet sandwich that I dream about at night. On Sundays, the Atwater Farmer’s Market is a great way to support local vendors. I’m there every week and the cheese man says I’m his favorite customer.

I also love to take friends to the west side to show how different LA neighborhoods can be. We’ll typically walk around the Venice Canals (for the novelty!) and go rollerblading down the boardwalk for a classic LA people-watching experience. If the friends are game, I’ll take them to Malibu to attempt surfing. My favorite restaurant is Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica–it’s an unbelievable farm to table restaurant and the menu changes depending on the season.

I’m not a huge nightlife person, but if they were feeling like grabbing a drink I’ll take them to Black Cat in Silverlake. I’ll probably fall asleep after one drink. Did I mention I’m not a great nightlife host?

At the end of the day, my favorite place in the world is my garden. I’ll string up a hammock and watch the hummingbirds and lizards all day. Los Angeles has unbelievable biodiversity and coming from Chicago, it never gets old. I find that taking out of towners for a walk around Atwater just looking at all of the incredibly unique architecture and landscaping is a wonderful way to show off my neighborhood and what I love most about LA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe 99.97% of my success to my big brother, Jay. I wouldn’t be who I am without him.

Website: https://dariataylor.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daria-taylor-73100487/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daria-taylor-photography-los-angeles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DariaTaylorPhotography

Image Credits
First photo (of me) by @sodafountainphoto

The rest of the images are mine!