When Dan DiPietro retired after 22 years in the United States military, he found a new path that would allow him to combine his passion for photography with his desire to interact with people. 

Starting his own photography studio in Milton, DiPietro found that his experience as a military photographer allowed him to take a unique approach to family portraits. 

Serving in the Air National Guard, DiPietro was a photographer for the military from 2006 until his retirement. His experiences photographing for the military informed almost every aspect of him opening his own studio.

“I would say that a lot of my work photographing in the military was photojournalism,” DiPietro said. “So I wanted to try something different.” 

Throughout his military career, DiPietro contributed to numerous national commercial productions, crafted graphics for Air National Guard units across the country and received multiple accolades for photography and videography.

“When I retired, I knew I didn’t want to leave photography behind,” he said. “I really wanted to work with people, and I enjoyed my own photographs that I’ve done with my family and kids so I wanted to extend that to other families in my community.” 

In his younger years, his creative endeavors really started out with his background in graphic design,  but he quickly grew interested in photography and videography.

“I guess I am just creative at heart,” he said. “And I’m an entrepreneur at heart.” 

With a reputation for being kind and playful by nature, DiPietro said he tries not to take life too seriously and when he is taking family portraits, he has fun with it.

He’s dedicated to making each family photo shoot a delightful experience.

“A way that I think differentiates me from other photographers is I see a lot of them just go up, shoot something and they don’t spend too much time interacting as much as they could or should to make a beautiful scene,” he said. “I want people I work with to remember their experience taking family portraits, and think ‘Well, that was really fun. I enjoyed that.’”

When DiPietro isn’t taking family portraits, he can be found illustrating fan art for role playing games, fishing and spending time with his children. He and his family have lived in Milton for seven years now.

DiPietro is at the Milton Farmers Market every Tuesday promoting his studio and engaging with community members. 

“Half of my job is actual photography and the other half is really being charismatic, friendly and jovial with the families themselves. I want parents to feel disarmed or comfortable in the process, too,” DiPietro said. “Honestly, none of us are models so a little bit of conversation and direction with the families goes a long way.”

For those interested in booking a session with the veteran-turned-family-photographer, DiPietro can be reached via email at dipietrodesign@gmail.com or by phone at 802-598-8539. 

“Vermont fall photoshoots book up fast,” DiPietro said. “People can set up a time right on my website.”