Personal Update » Now Accepting Clients in Japan + Honorable Mention Award
Exciting news: Dani Benton Photography is now officially open for business in Japan! We arrived on Ōmishima island last February, started remodeling an abandoned house in April, received a Startup Business visa in June, opened Benton Guesthouse in November, and received a Business Manager visa in December. It’s all been very fast!
Read More»Commercial Photography » Three Different Headshot Session Styles
This week, we’re looking at three very different headshot portrait situations: first, a natural setting for a beauty pageant; second, a professional setting for a federal marshal; and third, a fast-paced conference setting culminating in a total of 450 headshots. You’ll see how each session is tailored to the needs of the client.
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » Tilt-Shift Study in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
In stark contrast to most of our 14 months traveling 21 Mexican states in 2021 and 2022, our short time in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz was spent puzzling over the seemingly abandoned Gulf coastal waterfront. The long stretch of malecón had more abandoned buildings than occupied, despite the nice beach, warm temperature, and calm waters for swimming. I decided to create a short series of tilt-shift photographs to document the bizarre crumbling structures.
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » CDMX Mexico City
During our 14 months living in Mexico, we had the pleasure of visiting Mexico City on three occasions. Each time, we stayed in a different part of the big, beautiful city, to get a different perspective and new experience. Mexico City (CDMX for short) is incredibly huge. The population of Mexico is 130 million, and 22 million live in Mexico City alone. It’s both deeply historic and super modern, with all the amenities one could ever want: great public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, diverse global cuisine, and a perfect mix of both upscale restaurants and bafflingly affordable food carts.
Read More»Personal Update » “Hasta Luego” (for now) to Mexico » We Moved to Japan!
Konnichiwa, friends! We made it to rural Japan, and have hit the ground running to work towards building our new life here. Let’s take a brief first look at our new surroundings, a brief explanation of how and why we’ve ended up across the sea, and what we hope to accomplish here!
Read More»2022 in Review » Mexico Travel Photography + New Print Shop!
January is always my favorite time of year for reflection, in life and in business. 2022 was an incredible year, and wow, it’s hard to put into words. Fortunately, I feel like these Mexico travel photos do a pretty good job of speaking for themselves, so let’s take a gander back at the past year, driving over 9,000 miles through 21 Mexican states. This is also a perfect opportunity to announce a new addition to my website: a photography print shop!
Read More»Sam + Kelly » Surprise Proposal » New Orleans City Park
Sam + Kelly were the last surprise proposal I had the honor of photographing, before we left New Orleans. I’m always happy for the opportunity to capture such a special moment, paparazzi style.
City Park makes for a stunning backdrop any day, but Louisiana really put on a show for us this day, giving us a dreamy golden sunset while he asked for her hand in marriage. This very sweet couple from out of state were so gentle and calm in each other’s company, and I wish them all the best!
Read More»Repeat Clients » Kind Words & Happy Memories » Josh + Sarah
One of the greatest gifts I can receive as a photographer, is when clients continue to choose my services over the span of many years, easily becoming friends more than clients. This week, let’s take a look at another client I’ve had the pleasure of working with numerous times.
Read More»Couple » Engagement » Fontaineblueau State Park in Louisiana
Louisiana’s climate is so diverse and beautiful; during my five years living in New Orleans, any time I had the opportunity to photograph outside of the city, it felt like a whole different world. This couple’s engagement session at Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville felt like a dream, with the oak trees and Spanish moss, swampy cypress trees, and a white sandy beach along the lakefront, all in one location.
Read More»Pattee Family » 30-Minute Portrait Session » New Orleans Garden District
Over the course of 15 years running my photography business, I’ve worked to create three different session options that can fit most family and portrait client needs: 30-minutes, 1.5-hours, and 3-hours. I chose to share this session, as it’s a great example of what we can capture in a 30-minute timeframe. Despite the big Louisiana rain drops cutting the session a little shorter, the Pattee family still got a nice variety of settings, family groupings, the kids, and the parents.
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » Teotihuacán Pyramid Complex & Hot Air Ballon
This week, we’re taking a look at one of Mexico’s largest and most well-known archeological zones: Teotihuacán. This massive complex includes the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, a Temple of Quetzalcóatl, and a whole city of smaller structures. The highlight of this trip: viewing the layout of the site from the vantage point of a hot air balloon, shortly after sunrise!
Read More»Shields Family » Portrait Session » New Orleans Audubon Park
I’ve been looking forward to sharing this session for a while, as it’s such a great “real life” example of family portraits with babies and young toddlers. You know, sometimes they just don’t want to sit still for even one second, and that’s ok! I’m always happy to chase kids around, and get on the ground, to try to capture the essence of what your children are truly, unapologetically like at this age, without getting them to “say cheese”. Their younger baby, of course, was all smiles and giggles!
Read More»Faithless Saints » Band Promo + Live Performance » Irican Productions in Portland
Going a few years back in time, this session with the band Faithless Saints holds a special place in my memory. Since they’ve released a lot of new music lately, it seems like good timing to feature them on the photo blog this week. Erik and Bobbo (Robert) are two of my oldest friends still making really awesome music together. I have so many good memories of seeing them play live over the past two decades.
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » More PaperShoot Camera + Personal Updates
We’ve been exploring Mexico for nine months, have driven our car through 15 Mexican states, completed a handful of long road trips, and have begun our journey house-sitting. I’d say it’s time to take another look at some more PaperShoot camera photos!
Read More»Woody + Kacie » Proposal » Puerto Vallarta, Romantica Zone & Playa Rosita Beach
I absolutely love it when I get to include good friends on my photo blog! Kacie and Woody came all the way to Puerto Vallarta to visit for a week of delicious food, swimming, snorkeling, beaching, and exploring Mexico.
Kacie is a talented photographer herself, so of course, vacation plans included a couple’s portrait session. But what she didn’t know (wink, wink) is that the session would also include a surprise proposal and a very sparkly ring! What better time and place for a proposal than sunrise, overlooking the Romantica Zone. Just look at these cuties!
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » The Great Pyramid of Cholula & the Quetzalcóatl Festival
Did you know that Mexico is home to the largest pyramid in the world? Tlachihualtepetl, commonly referred to as the Great Pyramid of Cholula, is almost twice the size (by volume) than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. It’s located in another Pueblo Mágico: Cholula, Puebla. Both the city and the pyramid were high on our list of “must see” places to visit. It was worth the hype.
Read More»Repeat Clients » Kind Words & Happy Memories » Amanda Marie
I don’t think there’s anyone I’ve photographed more than Amanda Marie! She’s a model, makeup artist, creative, adventurous spirit, and a good friend. We’ve worked on countless modeling projects and super fun collaborations, so let’s take a look at some of my favorites.
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » Pueblos Mágicos: Tepoztlán
Welcome to the first in a series where we’ll take a stroll through the numerous Pueblos Mágicos that can be found throughout Mexico. These “magic towns” are a curated list of the top 100+ particularly vibrant, artistic, interesting, beautiful communities, designed to increase Mexico’s tourism for both locals and foreigners.
Today we’re taking a closer look at Tepoztlán, Morelos: a colorful small town surrounded by the treacherous but impressive Tepozteco mountain, a formation like nothing I’d seen in person before. We had a strange, surreal experience during the few hours we spent exploring the town.
Read More»Sam + Layken » Engagement » New Orleans French Quarter & Audubon Park
When Sam and Layken contacted me for an engagement session, they chose to book for a full 3-hours. This gave us ample time to thoroughly explore the French Quarter, stop by Jackson Square, order some coffee and beignets from Cafe Beignet, then head Uptown for Audubon Park. A full New Orleans experience!
Read More»Mexico » Travel Photography » Three Pyramid Sites: Tula, Xochicalco, and Manzanilla
Let’s take a look at some pyramids! For my first blog covering pyramids, I chose three sites that are each very unique, and also very different from each other: the Tula Archaeological Zone, the Xochicalco Pyramid Complex, and the Manzanilla Ball Court.
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