Meet Vanessa Hankins and Johnny Garantiva

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Hankins and Johnny Garantiva.

Vanessa and Johnny, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Vanessa: I started my journey as a photographer in tenth grade in photography class. I spent as much time as possible in the dark room until I graduated in 1997. Since then I have gone to college and university studying photography and taking as many classes that allowed me to work in their dark room. That is my happy place. I find that when I shoot and process film, it slows me down to a meditative state and also allows me to be very careful with every shot I take since film is so expensive. About 9 years ago, family friends started to ask me to photograph their children and families and the idea of being able to make a living using photography as a medium became a reality. I started my first business Moondance Photography. Moondance being my favorite song from Van Morrison.

Recently, my husband who is a film composer/musician and sound engineer started to also create videos and it was just a natural progression for us to work together. We started dating in high school and vibe off of each other so it felt completely like the perfect thing to do. So we decided to rebrand Moondance Photography into Vanessa + Johnny and now we are doing weddings, portraits and events together!

Has it been a smooth road?
Looking back, the biggest struggle has been marketing ourselves. Nowadays with social media, it seems to be easier to reach our ideal clients.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Vanessa and Johnny – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are Vanessa + Johnny, a husband and wife photography and video duo. We specialize in weddings, events and portraits but we have known to shoot real estate as well. We are most proud to be able to have created this company on our own. There is no glass ceiling that we have to break. We can follow our own rules and our gut. The fact that we are a husband and wife team sets us apart. It gives us a very dynamic approach to what we do and our clients feel very comfortable working with us a team. Being a husband wife team there’s a balance at play with our artistic and professional approach.

In our industry it is not uncommon for there to be a tension between photographers and videographers who don’t know and work together. We do not have that issue. We can communicate non-verbally and know how to work around and with each other.

Another thing that sets us apart is our vast background. Vanessa’s in street photography and Johnny’s in music. It is so awesome that we can custom create a piece of music to a video. It takes it to another level and our clients tell us what an amazing experience watching the videos are.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love living close to the beach and its diversity. There are also so many beautiful neighborhoods and spots to make each session with us unique.

Pricing:

• Portrait Photography packages started at $300
• Wedding Photography starts at $1,800
• Wedding Photography and Video starts at $2,700

Contact Info:

• Address: 500 S. Federal Hwy
  852
• Website: www.vanessaandjohnny.com
• Phone: 3108196544
• Email: hello@vanessaandjohnny.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaandjohnny/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessaandjohnny
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/vanessa-johnny-hallandale-beach
• Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/vanessa-johnny-hallandale-beach/98ddd7b66b200367.html#faq

Image Credit:
Vanessa Hankins / Vanessa + Johnny : Photo and Film