ABOUT THE
Artist
Ashley
I am Northern Ca. girl, who hopscotches back and forth between Folsom and the Bay Area for life/work { and I love to travel too!} I have three insanely sweet kids named Kyla, Hayden and Violette..who literally make me cry every day because I just love them so much. Motherhood is hands down the most beautiful and rewarding experience, and lets be real, craziest venture in the history of ever. Its truly a constant teeter totter of losing myself and finding myself on the daily. I never knew my heart could love like this, and I thank God everyday for allowing me to be their mama. I am a simple girl, who's favorite activities are: coffee shop hopping, getting lost by myself in recycled clothing stores, sitting on couches with girlfriends- talking a million miles a minute because we don't know when we will see each other again...and honestly, eating good food with the ones that I love. I'm a die hard Avett Brothers Fan...and if making headbands were an Olympic Sport, I'd probably place:) I feel most myself when I am laughing, when I am writing cards for people, and when my babies fall asleep cuddled up next to me. XOXO
To me, photos have always been a diary. A reminder. A breadcrumb trail of where I have been, and also to where I am going. To me, they are words and sentences, and chapters... that strung together, are telling my story, and everyones story around me. Growing up with my mama being a photographer, I quickly learned that photography is not just looking, its feeling. If you can't feel what you are looking at, then you are never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your photos. The simple truth to me was, if I want to feel something about who I am photographing, I need to KNOW who I am photographing. I feel like God has always given me a passion for desiring to know peoples details. Yes, I have even been told that I occasionally interrogate with a zillion questions, but I tell ya what- it comes from a good place. A deep desire that I have always had..is to truly be seen and known by others. I feel like when we take the time to get to know people..their hearts, their flaws, their strengths, their quirks, their insecurities, and the unexplainable things that make them feel alive, and ultimately feel safe enough to be their TRUE self.....if we could really SEE those things, we would know how to love them. We would know how to encourage them. We would know when to give grace to them, and learn how to see them in the best light always. In my case, knowing people, helps me see a clearer picture of who I am trying to photograph. I don't want to just take a photograph of what they look like, I truly want to capture WHO THEY ARE. With every client, and person I have had the incredible pleasure of photographing..whether it is weddings, an expecting mama pregnant with her first baby...or a family trying to get all their kids in one photo before they start growing again {why must they keep doing that??}....It is my goal to see them and know them..to step inside their world for a bit, exactly right where they are, and to help them remember it. All of it.
I am so grateful for being raised in a household that truly cherished moments above things. For parents who supported my dreams..and even let me go to Fashion Design School, simply because I lovvvved fashion, even though I knew I was probably going to carry on the family business of photography instead:) It is a job that has opened so many doors and windows into the lives of people I might not have otherwise met. People who have blessed me with their stories, and who have even helped me cope with experiences of my own. To clients who have become best friends. Those who continually let me photograph baby number one, two and three, well after the wedding is over. For those who constantly refer me to their engaged friends..you are the heartbeat of my business, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you {you know who you are!}.
Lastly, to those I have yet to meet..whoever you are, wherever you are...I am thankful you are here. I would love to help tell your story.
"Watch carefully, the magic that occurs when you give a person just enough comfort to be themselves. "
-Atticus
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