Danae Smalley : Free Engagement Session

Danae is awesome! Just finished doing an event with her and she was literally everywhere at once. Super sweet, not pushy, a true class act. I’ve worked with probably over 100 photographers in Atlanta and she was the easiest and most fun.

Danae did both our engagement session and our wedding and we couldn’t be happier! She was so friendly, accommodating, and devoted to both sessions. We heard that the photographer is one of the most important investments for one’s wedding, and we know we made the best choice!

Danae was amazing. She made us so comfortable during our engagement session. She stayed in contact constantly and always hyped me up for my wedding! So happy we chose her. Just got our sneak peeks from the wedding and I’m in love.

My son and his new bride hired Danae for their destination wedding in Blue Ridge. I cannot find enough positive words to describe how awesome she was. She was so kind and patient and had a smile for everyone! Her talent as an artist was breathtaking. She captured the true beauty of the happy couple and the love and joy our family & friends have for them. I am so glad she was a part of this special day, and we feel like she is a part of our family now.

Danae is an absolute sweetheart! She made our weekend absolutely perfect! Not only did she capture every special moment perfectly but our family and I just totally adored her. She was fun and connected with everyone. We absolutely love her. I have never seen anyone care about her work and her clients more than her. She puts all her heart and magic into her photos and we could not be happier she is amazing!

I wish I could leave Danae 10 stars! When I left my inquiry on her website in February, she called me the same day, and I immediately knew she was the one for me. She has THE BEST personality, is so fun to work with, and is incredibly talented. Over the past few months, we’ve gotten to be really good friends, which is more than I could ever asked for in a photographer. Our styles mesh so well together and the chemistry the two of have is unreal. She really goes above and beyond for her couples, and I even found out on the phone the other day that she was making me a bouquet for my engagement shoot after we talked about how much I love flowers. Today, we finally had our engagement shoot! And it was INCREDIBLE. We got dinner together and went up to Cloudland Canyon State Park to do some waterfall shots. When we got there, we found out that the waterfall wasn’t running and was a 30 minute walk from the entrance. She was still down to do the shoot since we were already there and offered another waterfall session, which was unbelievably generous. At the park with no exact plan, she was incredibly creative and was amazing at going with the flow and thinking on her feet. While walking around, we found the most amazing spots and she made us feel so comfortable and beautiful. And when she turned her camera to show me what she caught, I was almost in tears with excitement. This woman is incredibly talented! My fiancé is not a fan of taking photos, but with the experience Danae gave us, he had so much fun! The entire experience has been amazing so far and I cannot wait to have this woman by my side on my wedding day. If you like beautiful, colorful photos and want a friend on your wedding day, Danae is your girl. Really thank you so much again for an amazing day and I am so excited for March!!

I was so pleased with everything about Danae! Not only did she capture perfect and dreamy pictures, she also was part of the reason I had such an amazing day even though it rained. Right when she arrived her presence automatically lifted my spirit! I was so nervous about what my wedding photographer would be like, what if she made me feel weird or what if she acted stressed about the rain as well. But nope it didn’t faze her! She reminded me that whole time that all mattered was that Tucker and I got married! She was professional, kind and so much fun!! There is so much more to being a good photographer than just taking good pictures, it is the passion and love for your clients and work as well. And she definitely has so much of it!! She is the whole package. I not only walked away with so many beautiful and unique wedding pictures but also a friend! I am forever grateful I found her. 💕

I’m not a person to write reviews, especially bad ones. I’m writing this because I don’t want these things to happen to any other bride. Danae is very nice and sweet but that’s only when she is trying to sell you something. My wedding was absolutely perfect, except for the photography. The first problem I had with Danae is that she went off with a separate family (she had photographed this couples wedding previously) to do a little mini shoot with them, at my wedding during the reception. Now from what I have been told they were only gone for like 5 minutes however witnesses have told me otherwise. I wouldn’t be upset over something like this if I was given the respect of asking me if it was okay to go off and take separate pictures for someone else since I was the one PAYING her to be there, and I would not have been upset if we had gotten the pictures my husband and I wanted. My husband and I didn’t even get any pictures with our grandparents which I realized after the wedding day. The second problem I had is that she left HOURS before she was supposed to. Now when she asked if she could leave, I just went ahead and said yes because I was distracted dancing with my friends and my new husband having a good time I seriously did not have a care in the world. Plus she told me that she had so many shots that she thought she had enough so I believed her and I let her go. I regret that more than ever now. The whole thing with Danae going off with a whole other family and taking pictures for them personally, when Danae learned that I was upset about it she told me it was a normal thing for photographers do and she took other pictures with other families too. However now that I have received all my pictures I know that is far from the truth. There isn’t one picture of any other family AT ALL. My husband only got ONE picture with his mom during his mother son dance because Danae seemed to be too focused on that same family who wasn’t even paying her to be there or take pictures for them. Another lie Danae told me is that the contract I signed stated that she has a 12 week turn around time so that made her try to sell me on “expediting” my wedding pictures. It’s really hard to wait 12 weeks so about 5 weeks after I asked her if I could pay her a certain amount to have them sooner. She told me that if I paid her that certain amount I would have it in 2 weeks so I went ahead and paid her because I was just so excited to see them. After looking at our contract now I see that it states that her turn around time is 8 weeks, not 12 weeks. That is just another thing she lied about and I stupidly gave her extra money to get my pictures only a week before the contracted time because she told me that the contract said 12 weeks. I should have looked back on the contract myself but I trusted her and that was a mistake. There are more problems that I have had with her recently like the fact that she has been ignoring me when I ask about prints that she said she was giving to me for the “misunderstandings”. I have still yet to receive those AND the re-edits she said she would do since I was not happy with some of the pictures in the gallery (she said she would have this done by July 27th, it is now September 19th.) I know I probably sound like a bridezilla and that this review is all over the place but Danae did me wrong in so many ways I just had to make others aware because your wedding day is a special and a day that you can never get back.

Sara is absolutely the best. She made us feel so comfortable. The has the innate ability of capturing the perfect perfect moment in a photo. I’m so happy with how my wedding photos turned out!

Of course Danae gets 5 stars! I am in LOVE with the photos of me and my husband. She made us feel so comfortable and it really was a blast to work with her. She captured such beautiful moments and I'm so thankful to have these photos. She's magic and I would highly recommend her!

Danae Captures memories that will last you a life time. My husband and I hired her for our big day, she quickly became just like a part of our family with her fun, outgoing, kind personality. She is quite possibly the most talented photographer I’ve ever met. I would absolutely recommend her for anyone looking to find not only an outstanding, photographer but also an outstanding person.

We had an in-home couples session that was an absolute D R E A M. Danae captured the most incredible, intimate, sensual shots and I swear she can somehow make the love between people a tangible thing one can see in the final images. Her creativity and willingness to get the perfect shot is both admirable and hysterical, putting both myself and my husband at ease. I would recommend her a hundred times over and, with the bar set as high as she did, will trust no one else with an intimate session!

I could honestly write a novel series with all of the great experiences she has captured for my family. She is not only talented- in every aspect of her work- but she captured the moments that meant the most to us. Sure you can pay someone to capture the typical “posed pictures” but she goes far beyond typical. She really focuses on the moments that you never wanted to forget-but didn’t think of asking for. The photos constantly take me back in time and fills my heart and home with that beautiful occasion. Her attention to detail in her editing is astounding- she truely knew how to keep a natural moment, yet enhance the beauty without losing its true self. She has been a warm, personable and friendly guest in our most precious moments. I could not- and would not- hire anyone. Highly, HIGHLY reccommend!

Danae was so lovely to work with for our engagement photos. She is so kind and creative and her shots came out beautiful! We knew from the moment we spoke to her we had made the right decision in booking her. I cannot wait to work with her next year at our wedding!! UPDATE: I am not allowed to post 2 reviews of the same vendor per The Knot, but here is an edit for the wedding: Danae is simply the best around! You are doing yourself a favor by hiring Danae. Not only did she do our wedding, we also had her shoot our engagement and my bachelorette party. Her personality makes you feel so comfortable - I am usually shy but she made me feel like a model! I got so many compliments on our photographer’s personality at the wedding. Besides Danae herself, her work is absolutely incredible. We cannot wait to get our wedding photos back because we know they will be beautiful. I need you all reading this to do me a favor and just reach out to Danae to see how she can make your wedding dreams come true!

Professional, Punctual, Hilarious; she had me in stitches to ease the jitters. Her shots came out fantastic (exceptional use of contrast and lighting) and at a great price to boot. Highly recommended!