The Camera Lens is Dana Romanoff’s Global Passport

Dana Romanoff aspired to be “a bit of an Indiana Jones with a camera”, and it’s fair to say she’s done just that. Photographer, director and activist, her camera and passion for storytelling has taken her across the world, documenting the likes of Marriott Bonvoy, Google and Budweiser, and picking up a slew of awards along the way. 

Most recently, it landed her on the roster at Undivided, the Toronto production company setting out to disrupt the status quo, creating work that’s representative of the diverse community that it exists within. The perfect home for someone like Dana, who uses art as an expression of activism.

Like many, Dana first picked up a camera at high school, with her classmates and friends acting as muses as she became ‘hooked’ on photography, exploring the medium and developing films inside the school’s dark room. As her confidence behind the lens grew, so did her ability to uncover a story, realising that the ethnographies she was writing during her social sciences class were far more compelling when they included a visual component. 

“I always had my camera with me and always had an audio recorder. I loved interviewing people and getting the stories directly from people. So I would put together multimedia slideshows. I was just really drawn to understanding other people's lives and way of living and being in the world. I guess I didn't know that you could have a career doing that, but that was my passion, and what I loved doing.”

A job assisting a photo editor at National Geographic Magazine marked Dana’s entry into the world of professional photography, introducing her to photojournalism, and where she tells us she “met some of the most incredible photographers in the world, and really learned that visual storytelling is a career”. Years later, Dana returned as a photographer for the magazine and shot the story  ‘No Man’s Land: The Women of Oaxaca’, highlighting the women and children left behind in rural Mexico, showing the other side of the immigration story and Dana’s talent for nuanced, considerate, storytelling. 

Following this path led Dana to grad school, and then to South America, where she taught herself photography thus opening up a world of storytelling opportunities. As a photojournalist, Dana found new ways to interpret the world around her. “Looking through the lens was my way of understanding the world and engaging with it”, she says. Always searching for ways to uncover stories and hidden meaning, Dana’s photography was usually accompanied by audio interviews - so marrying the two formats was a natural progression. “I started to teach myself to shoot video and tell those more journalistic stories and character driven narrative stories in a video sense”, she explains.

“In 2013 I co-created ‘National Park Experience’, an independent film series leading up to the centennial of the National Park Service here in the US, highlighting diversity and youth in the national parks. And that's where I cut my chops at really being a director, just having my own film series of small, short independent films.” Her debut short film, titled ‘Noah’ saw Dana awarded the Spirit of Activism Jury Award at the Crested Butte Film Festival, amongst other accolades, thanks to its sensitive and sincere documentation of a young man trying to change his life for the better. 

Dana’s philosophy as a director stayed true to the love for storytelling that first inspired her to pick up the camera. “My goal has always been visual storytelling - as a director, or as a shooter. It’s to foster that empathy and break down barriers and build those bridges of understanding, whether it's across oceans, between neighbourhoods, between backyards and so as a director, I do that by creating work that feels authentic, with spots that connect people on a deeper level, where people can see themselves.”

As a photojournalist, documentary filmmaker and commercial director, Dana has immersed herself within countless communities and experiences, from documenting female rafters in Grand Canyon to climbing a 19,000 foot peak in Ecuador with a team of amputee athletes, describing herself as “a bit of a chameleon in the most genuine way”, adapting to the subcultures and places that she finds herself within. 

For Dana, it’s all about the impact that her work imprints its audience, reflecting that she’s “not just here to sell products or push information”, and, refreshingly, is, “driven by the desire to craft campaigns that pull at heartstrings and draw people in closer, to inform, entertain and inspire people.” Her body of work is testament to this, with campaigns for the likes of UPS, Best Buy and Budweiser “standing the test of time” and showcasing her ability to display human emotion and experiences on screen, as she dares people to watch her Budweiser Father’s day commercial, ‘For the Fathers Who Stepped Up’ without “shedding a tear.”

It’s fair to say that Dana knows how to make each moment count, and her knowledge of photography has led to this. Sharing how the two disciplines compliment each other, she explains, “being trained to really encapsulate and make the most impact in that one frame, that one image, has really helped me as a director, it's knowing how you really tell the story and get the heart of what's important, and make an impact as quickly as possible.”

Joining the roster at Undivided was sparked by an immediate connection between Dana, and founder and fellow director, Nikki, saying that they bonded “as artists and entrepreneurs, but also as people driven to change the system that we're working in.” Coming on board at an exciting time for the production company, which has also recently welcomed a new EP in Barclay J. Maude, and fellow director Luciano Ruiz, Dana tells me that she’s eager to join the studio, to be “a part of something in its early stages”, believing in the vision and the journey to come. 

“Dana’s ability to create work that is both visually stunning and profoundly moving is rare and incredibly inspiring,” says Nikki Ormerod, founder of Undivided Creative. “In a landscape often overwhelmed by content, her vision brings clarity and purpose, making her an invaluable addition to our team. Undivided Creative is committed to curating a roster of directors and photographers who push boundaries and create work that stands apart. With Dana Romanoff now part of the family, the company continues to elevate its offering to both national and international clients.”

Guided through the world camera lens first, this signing marks an exciting new chapter, brimming with opportunities to “work with new creatives, and with a new pool of talent.” Let’s see where she lands next.