Hello Everyone!

One of my goals this year is to stop comparing myself to others. To stop worrying about what other
photographers are doing with their business, to stop comparing myself to other artists, to just stop bringing myself down in general. One of the areas I’ve really struggled with this in my business is blogs. I know they are important and that I’m supposed to do them but they fill my soul with dread. Will it be good enough? Do I actually have anything to say? Are people even interested?? So I thought I would start this year fresh. A brand new blog, a brand new year, and hopefully big beautiful changes in how I perceive my work and self as an artist.

So, without further ado, I’m Ashley and here is a little look at my life. I’m a mother of a wonderfully sweet soul named Jubilee (I swear there couldn’t possibly be a more fitting name). She’s wild and curious with an affinity for nature and exploration. I’m married to an incredibly supportive, kind, and charming man named Shannon. Seriously, I don’t know where I would be without him. He is so wonderfully patient with me. I truly don’t deserve him. We also have a couple of pretty awesome cats living with us named Smokey and Firby.

We call Sioux Falls, SD our home and live in a charming old house that may need more work than I care to admit. It’s perfect though. Perfect for us and our little family. I truly love living here it’s a place that puts my soul at ease.

I’m a homebody for sure but a little adventure always brings my spirit to life. One of my favorite places to visit is the Black Hills here in South Dakota. For real you guys, I probably love South Dakota more than most people just so you know.

I love a good book even though I don’t get much time to read these days. Running a business by myself and having a toddler in the house really makes it hard for me to find ‘guilt free’ time to just read a book. I love a good cup of tea but even more than that I love a strong cup of coffee. Over the last year, I discovered the best way to start my day is by visiting my local Barre3 studio (I’m sure I’ll talk about this more another day because it has seriously changed my life!).

I am incredibly passionate about being a photographer. This is something that developed when I was in high school. I’ve always been relatively introverted. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am shy but I am certainly not exuberant in my ways. Photography allowed me a way to show people how I viewed the world. It allowed me to create a connection without actually having to say or write anything which is awesome because I don’t fancy myself to be much of a writer either.

The idea of photographing people is always a little nerve-wracking for me. Not because I think I’ll do a bad job but because I don’t want to just take your photo. I want to document your story, your memories and those moments with your family, the season of life you may be in, the size of your babies toes, and the look on your face when you see your partner for the very first time on your wedding day. These moments in time are always incredibly powerful for me. There is one thing I promise every single person when they hire me to photograph their wedding and that is that I will cry. I will cry with you, I will cry for you, and I most certainly will cry during the speeches. Honestly, they don’t even have to be that good and I’ll cry.

This is starting to get a little long but I wanted to end with one more thing and out of all of this I promise this is the most important. Always remember that photos aren’t for you. They are for your children, your friends, and your family. They are there to help pass on your legacy. So often I notice that parents just want photos of their kids (you know for that Christmas card or grandma’s fridge) but what you need to remember is that your kids want photos of you. Your family and your friends they want photos of you. So I implore all of us, myself included, to step in the frame a little bit more. Despite all of our perceived flaws.