A Story about Grit: Photographer and Knitter Diana Levine
A student checks in with her mentor to discuss shooting Kardashians, unexpected Covid pivots, and why working for free isn’t necessarily bad—sometimes.
Diana Levine is a born soloist. By the age of 21, she launched not one, but two magazines at her alma mater Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Upon graduation, she dove into the New York photo scene head first, quickly becoming the go-to photographer for young musicians, actors, and media influencers.
Diana Levine
Her strategy for coping with the uber-competitive celebrity scene of New York? Hustle all day long then, some nights, head up on the roof of her Brooklyn apartment and sob.
When the time came to start a family, she decided to leave New York and do it all over again in her hometown of Boston.
Starting from scratch, she rebuilt her client portfolio, designed and built the studio of her dreams, and was flourishing — only to have it all close down when the pandemic hit.
More tears followed, but then she did what came naturally — she picked up an old hobby — knitting — launched a YouTube channel, and wrote, designed, photographed, and self-published a knitting book.
Naturally it became a best-seller on Amazon.
This is a story about grit.
