Dani LeFrancois: From Amateur to Professional

In our interview series “From Amateur to Professional” we will be asking established nature photographers to share their photos and see how their practices have developed, changed, and improved over time. 

You’ll get to see the progression of their images, learn how they got started, and find out how they transitioned from amateur to professional.

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Dani LeFrancois is a landscape photographer and photo guide based in the beautiful Canadian Rockies.

Dani has been pursuing her passion of photography for 22 years and has been enjoying passing her knowledge through teaching for the last 11 years. Her biggest inspiration is the Canadian landscape and all the unique beauty we have around us every day.

When and why did you first catch the nature photography bug?

I caught the fever when I was quite young. I was very much an outdoor kid and spent all my summers at YMCA summer camps being outside and exploring. I was the weird girl that caught frogs and wasn’t scared of bugs.

My mom and I would go on summer road trips around Ontario, Canada, and the east coast of Canada, and it was my job to take photos. I eventually got a “state of the art” 2MP point-and-shoot camera in anticipation for our first trip out west to Alberta.

This trip was the start of my obsession with photography.

It snowballed into taking a photography class in high school and realizing I had a natural eye for composition. I had a very brief intermission with college for photography, but nature photography was where my heart was, and they don’t teach that in college.

This sent me on the journey to try and find my own way into the nature photography field.

Show us one of the first images you ever took. What did you think of it at the time compared to now?

I often look back at my old online accounts where I used to share my photos and remember how much I loved a photo thinking that it was so amazingly groundbreaking.

I look back at those images fondly. They weren’t groundbreaking for everyone else, but they were for me. They were shots I experimented with, whether with delayed shutter effects or found moments. I remember how much fun and new everything was. 

This image I called Dual Vocals.

Show us 2 of your favourite photos – one from your early/amateur days, and one from your professional career. Why do you like them, what made you so proud of them, and how do you feel about the older image now?

These two photos, although wildly different, are very similar in how they were taken.

The first image of the leaf was from a field trip while in college to a waterfall that we were to photograph. It was one of the only nature photography trips we had.

While everyone ran down the stairs to head to the waterfall, I noticed this pretty leaf with water droplets on it. I spent far too long photographing it due to the low light.

The second image is from a not-often-photographed perspective during golden hour. This location is close to several other spots that most photographers, including myself, most often choose to photograph over this one.

This scene presented itself while on the way to another spot.

I feel proud of both of them before they remind me to follow my instincts. The older image is still one of my mom’s favourites and I cherish the memory it reminds me of. 

When did you decide you wanted to become a professional photographer? How did you transition into this and how long did it take?

I think the idea started in high school when I realized that you could go to college for photography. That’s when it felt like a real career’, not just something you did as a hobby.

I was pretty naive to how professional photographers worked and kind of thought they had “real jobs” and were creative as their side hustle.

After that I did a couple semesters of college and one professor told us we were all professional photographers now because we had pursued higher education for our craft. So I guess it didn’t take too long.

But in reality, I left college and started doing wedding photos, concert photos. and portraits to gain experience. I think that could almost classify me as a professional photographer.

When I moved west, I was ten years into actively focusing on photography as a full-time career. I started my own business at twelve years into the photography obsession, and then seven years after moving west and seventeen years in photography, I ‘retired’ from my ‘real job’ and became a full-time professional photographer/photo guide.

I put retired in quotes because I was 32 years old and all I ever wanted to be when I grew up was retired and or a photographer.

Was there a major turning point in your photography career – a eureka moment of sorts?

The biggest turning point for me was when I switched my focus of trying to be a professional photographer to being a photo guide and educator. I had a protégé of sorts. A friend who I was actively helping with their photography and their photographic vision.

I used to feel like photography was a bit of a competition – whoever got their image posted first would get all the glory.

However, as time went on and I started to help more photographers in the field and help fine-tune compositions, I started to feel pride in their images and the competition melted away. 

Now, I feel lost if I’m not helping someone with something because my joy is seeing others succeed, even if it overshadows me and my own work. 

Are there any species, places, or subjects that you have re-visited over time? Could you compare images from your first and last shoot of this? Explain what’s changed in your approach and technique.

I absolutely love revisiting places. I’d say most of my portfolio is a story of revisiting the same place and capturing moments and the landscape as it changes and evolves.

My focus when revisiting is to capture something different from the familiar, whether it is changes in light or the landscape.

My approach to photography is very intuitive with no real structure or forced technique. I do what feels right for the moment.  

Has anything changed in regards to how you process and edit your images?

I haven’t changed the way I edit in many years. I don’t enjoy the editing process. I get uninspired behind the computer. The majority of my images are 2-5 minute edits.

I’m sure there are easier and better ways to do things. However, I feel like I am a bit ‘old dog new tricks’ when it comes to editing, so I just do it the same way I’ve always done; I am resistant to take the time to learn new ways to do things. 

What was the biggest challenge you faced starting out, and what’s your biggest challenge now?

I would say the biggest challenge for me has always been confidence in every part of photography, except when I am in the field out shooting.

Because I shoot intuitively, I am focused and in the zone when I am shooting and I’m not overthinking the compositions or the elements.

However, every other part of photography that’s not spent behind the camera is always a challenge to find where I fit in.  

What’s the one piece of advice that you would give yourself if you could go back in time?

Biggest piece of advice I’d give myself is to take a business class and learn how to back up your old photos better.

I feel I would be better at the business side of photography and have all the old photos I remember taking but don’t have copies of anymore.