Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Distad.
Hi Brian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always been a very visual person. I went to school for photography and video production, and when I graduated I landed a job in the federal government creating motion graphics for training videos. Think very corporate, very utilitarian. I tried to pursue photography on the side, but at the time I just could not make it work in a meaningful way.
So I leaned fully into that career. I went back to school for IT and spent nearly fourteen years in the federal government in roles spanning programming, data science, and project management. It was stable, challenging, and rewarding in its own way, but it kept that creative part of me on the sidelines.
After the last election and the formation of DOGE, the stability of my position suddenly came into question. It forced me to think about my career in a way I never really had before. My wife and I had some very real conversations about what I wanted the next chapter to look like. After a lot of soul searching, I realized I wanted to pursue something completely different, something creative and personal. That is what set my journey into interiors in motion.
Interestingly, when I originally studied photography, interior and architectural photography was not even on my radar. That changed a few years ago through my brother, who builds homes in the Annapolis area. Hearing him and his now business partners talk about their experiences having past projects photographed opened my eyes to a type of photography I had never really considered.
I began following interior and architecture photographers on Instagram and found myself thinking, I could do that. What started as a quiet idea slowly became a real dream. In April of 2025, I finally made the jump and committed to pursuing this full time.
This is my first year, and I have already completed over seventy shoots with twenty-six different clients, including interior designers, architects, and builders across Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It has been equal parts terrifying and exhilarating, and it feels like I have finally aligned my career with the way I see the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been anything but smooth. The best way I can describe it is a roller coaster that occasionally breaks down mid-climb and then suddenly launches you forward when you least expect it. Some weeks feel like you are stuck in place. Others move so fast you barely have time to catch your breath.
I stepped into this with an extremely compressed timeline. I had to build both a portfolio and a business at the same time, and I did it while raising three little kids between the ages of two and six with my wife. We were making the leap as a family, not just as a career move, which made every decision feel higher-stakes.
In every photography community I joined, the number one piece of advice was always, “Don’t quit your day job.” I did the opposite. That added a very real layer of pressure to every choice.
On top of honing my craft, I had to learn how to run a business, build a brand, and actually get clients. Those are entirely different skill sets from making a strong image, and I was learning them all in real time.
Interior photography is a niche, but it is a competitive one, especially in the DMV and Mid-Atlantic region. There is no shortage of incredibly talented photographers here. Finding my own voice, my own visual language, and carving out a place among people I deeply respect has been one of the hardest parts.
There have been plenty of moments where it felt overwhelming. But that pressure has also sharpened everything. It forced me to be intentional, to move quickly, and to trust myself. The road has been bumpy, unpredictable, and occasionally terrifying, but every challenge has made the work stronger and the direction clearer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an interiors and architecture photographer working with interior designers, architects, and builders to create editorial, portfolio, and marketing imagery. While I photograph both, I’m definitely more drawn to the interior side of that world. There is something endlessly compelling to me about translating how a space feels, not just how it looks.
I love lighting, and I love problem solving. Interior photography is incredibly technical, both on site and in post-production. Every room comes with constraints: tight spaces, mixed color temperatures, reflective surfaces, shifting daylight, and real people living real lives just outside the frame. I thrive in that environment. Each project feels like a puzzle, and figuring out how to shape light and perspective within those limitations is what keeps the work exciting.
What I’m most proud of is the way I show up for my clients. I believe what sets me apart is the effort I put into truly understanding their goals. It is one thing to make a beautiful image. It is another to really listen, to understand what a designer is trying to communicate, what a builder wants to highlight, or how a space fits into a larger body of work. My job is not just to photograph a room, but to help my clients tell their story in a way that serves their business and their creative vision.
That combination of technical craft, problem solving, and intentional collaboration is what defines my work.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Most people are genuinely surprised to learn that, for the fourteen years before this, I was working in a completely different field. My background is in programming, data science, and project management. On the surface, it feels worlds away from photography. What makes it even more unexpected is that, between graduating from college and this past year, I did not even own a camera. Photography was not part of my day-to-day life at all.
But in a lot of ways, that chapter quietly shaped how I work today. That technical foundation influences how I approach problems, how I plan a shoot, how I think through workflows, and how I run my business. What looks like a sudden creative pivot is actually built on years of structure, systems, and analytical thinking. The medium changed, but the way I think did not.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.briandistadphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briandistadphoto
Image Credits
Portrait: Melissa Barrick
1: Sidney Sharkey Design
2: Summit Builders
3: Wisteria Interiors
4: Clara Rose Design
5: Studio B Interiors
6: Tonya Maggio Interiors
7: Moore Architects
8: Spire Architecture
