Daniel Brandenburg has transformed his love of photography into his very own business, spreading joy one photoshoot at a time.

Daniel Brandenburg, a freshman film and television major at LSU, started his business DS Photography in October of 2024, the idea coming to him after his sister asked him to take pictures for her maternity shoot.

“It was really fun,” Brandenburg said. “I really enjoyed it a lot. And that shoot was really the first time I ever thought about doing that as a business. Something that I love to do, creating my own business through that.”

Since then, Brandenburg has done senior photos, acting headshots, couple shoots and individual portraits, and his portfolio is only growing.

Brandenburg’s affinity for photography extends long before he founded DS Photography. Growing up, he would use his parents’ camera, but most often he simply used his iPhone. Now in college, Brandenburg applies the lessons and principles he has learned as a film major into his photography.

“A lot of the stuff that applies to filmmaking also applies to photography, because if you just take a snapshot of a film, it’s in itself photography,” Brandenburg said. “So there’s different elements that I’ll learn in production or cinema language that can apply to photography.”

Still, running a business by himself can prove challenging at times. Brandenburg takes his responsibility to execute his clients’ visions seriously, but making sure every single photo is perfect can be daunting.

“The biggest challenge for me is that I am kind of a perfectionist,” Brandenburg said. “I like all my work to be my best work, and so I can be hard on myself sometimes.”

On top of his business, Brandenburg is a full-time student, a video intern at Regina Caeli Academy and a cast member at Petite Princess Company. He also participates in local theatrical productions, whether it be through a community theater like the Christian Community Theater or a club-sponsored show through LSU’s Musical Theatre Club.

Despite his perfectionism and busy schedule, Brandenburg is passionate about photography and is grateful to have the opportunity to capture his client’s special moments. After editing the pictures and putting them into a Google Drive, Brandenburg sends the completed shoot to his clients, looking forward to their reaction.

“It’s really exciting, because I’ll send it to them and they’ll give me feedback, saying, ‘I love these pictures. They’re really good,’ or ‘can you fix this?’” Brandenburg said. “And that’s really rewarding to me, just having other people appreciate the creative work that I do.”

DS Photography is still in its early stages, but Brandeburg hopes to see it continue to grow over the upcoming years. Once his business is more established, Brandenburg plans on doing bigger events like weddings and expanding into videography as well. Still, he is content to take things one step at a time.

More information about DS Photography can be found here, on instagram @danielsebastianphotography.