Today we’d like to introduce you to Agnes Donnadieu.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After my first divorce at 26, I had a boyfriend who I thought had no talent for photography. So I asked him to sell me his camera. He did reluctantly and we never saw each other again. A few months later, tired of Montreal, I was on a bus to Mexico. After hitchhiking my way through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize for a year, I settled in Mexico city to live with Xavier, a young Mexican psychologist who was happy to practice French with me. I had taken tons of pictures during my trip, and after many odd jobs like teaching French I decided to go to the local newspaper, The Novedades, to become a photo reporter. They loved my work and hired me to shoot light stories. Then through some friends at the university of Mexico I ended up giving photography workshop to beginners, mainly the zone system, (I loved Ansel Adams), and took headshots for a book of anthology of writers. I met Gary, my second husband in Mexico. He was a photographer and graphic designer from Chicago. I met him by accident. On a Christmas Eve I went with friends to New York to see Dizzy Gillespie. My camera got stolen that night in the hotel room. Back to Mexico I saw an ad in the newspaper. Gary was selling his Canon F1. I bought it and asked him if I could become his assistant for free in order to learn studio photography. After a few months we became lovers. We were around the same age. It was beginning of 80s. When the pesos start falling sharply, we decided to move to Chicago. We had to get married to stay together. Once in Chicago, Gary rented a large studio of photography and I started selling his work to ad agencies while studying at Columbia College to get my BA in film/video.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing has been smooth in my life. But it’s nothing compared to what refugees are living today. After his divorce, my father moved from Algeria to settle in the Province of Quebec with me and my older brother. Bernard Pierre Donnadieu who became a movie star in France. He died of prostate cancer a few years ago. We were raised in a few foster homes until my father remarried.
I was never very close to my stepmother and my father, an artist himself, always was discouraging my own creative ambitions, whether it was drawing, acting, or learning piano. I left home at 19. Three years later, I married a man 12 years my senior I met at work, He was verbally abusive and sometimes physically violent. I left him 5 years later.
Jumping to 1984, after graduating from Columbia College in Chicago, I could not find a job in the film industry, people throwing at me all kind of reasons, so I formed my own production company, The Shotmakers. I hired a friend of mine who was supposed to get me clients but instead she put me into bankruptcy after spending too much of my money, A great lesson for me: don’t trust anyone. I did get a few film/video jobs thanks to 2 art directors who liked my work but one died a year later and the other one decided to change the direction of his company. After that I went back to sell my photography work to ad agencies but most of the time I was getting answers like “Great work, but I don’t know how I could use it.” I was getting a few jobs here and there enough to pay the bills but it was like pulling teeth.
After 9/11, the ad world was starting to change. But by then I had met my third husband Kai, a German musician, 20 years younger than me, and I went into the music distribution business with him. Meanwhile I kept taking pictures for a few clients and I was also in charge of the company advertising. Meanwhile I kept studying Photoshop since digital was replacing film. The music business went bankrupt 10 years later because of the internet in 2000 pretty much when we decided to part ways. Same year I learned how to do websites and got a realtor license. That’s when I decided to target realtors, builders and architects… who are today my main clients.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Donnadieu Photography Studio – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I have two businesses really Donnadieu Photography Studio and Zigzag Design Group for graphic and web design. But people know me more as a photographer because that’s what I promote mostly. I don’t want to confuse people. Today I do mostly portraits, headshots and interior/architectural photography. I would not say I am proud of anything I do because every day I have to prove myself. I cannot take anything for granted. The competition is so fierce out there that I feel that I am never at the top of my game. What sets me apart from other photographers… I don’t know. There is a lot of talent out there. But what I can say is that I am straightforward. I don’t settle for mediocre or what I feel is mediocre.
I still like to take some creative risks… not always appreciated. People are very conventional. And finally my prices are too low… I was told.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am doing a coffee table book of photography compiling studio work and photography done in Mexico, I am also currently learning how to use PTGui software for stitching 360 panoramas. I have been stitching for years interior photography but never 360 panoramas. And finally, hopefully I can create more abstract digital artwork. You can find some on my website. I would like to find some time to do some volunteer work. I have volunteered in the past for Paws Chicago and the Anti Cruelty Society.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://donnadieustudio.com/
- Phone: 773-862-3886
- Email: photo@donnadieustudio.com
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/donnadieu-photography-studio-chicago?osq=donnadieu+studio
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/donnadieustudio/?eq=donnadieu%20photography&etslf=2640
Image Credit:
A combination of studio photography and photos taken in Mexico.
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