We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Carter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Definitely, yes. When I was in high school, the only option for creative courses was yearbook or general art class. I started looking for other options and found an off campus option. Everyday, I would take a graphic design/photography course learning the craft at an earlier age. My dad suggested doing senior portraits as a freelancer on the side to learn more about photography since that was my main passion. At the time, I thought that was an outlandish idea because I had no idea what I was doing and did not want to put myself out there. Boy, was I wrong. I wish I took my dad’s advice sooner. I have worked as a graphic designer since that course in high school. I have done corporate, private, and freelance jobs. Two years ago, I picked up a camera again for a friend’s family portraits and I found my passion again.

I love the opportunities photography brings by connecting with people and learning their stories. I get to be a small piece of their life by documenting their special moments. I cannot wait to learn and grow more.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was first inspired with photography when I was young. I always had a camera in my hand with family events and travel. I fell in love with viewing the world through the lens of a camera. From there, I was intrigued with graphic design when I was in high school. I attended Samford University where I studied graphic design for four years. I took internships every summer and then graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I have worked as professional graphic designer in a corporate role an now at a church. As I’ve worked at the church, I learned about myself that I love the connections with people more than anything. I appreciate hearing their stories that they are rejoicing in, grieving in, or just want to document. That trust is exactly why I’m so excited to transition into full-time photography.

I invested in a mirrorless camera two years ago and I have not looked back. I learned Adobe Lightroom Classic for editing my photos. I watched YouTube tutorials on how to better operate my specific camera. And I continually look to other photographer’s for advice on editing styles, workflow, client experience etc. There are many talented professionals in our field with a wealth of experience. It’s been humbling and exciting at the same time to learn from their expertise. It’s been helpful as I develop my own style.

I think developing your own style as a photographer is the biggest obstacle. But the most rewarding. I was most proud of this when a potential client reached out wanting to do maternity photos because they loved my style. I finally felt like a professional photographer.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

You need social media to become “successful”. Social media is definitely a great tool in today’s culture and can easily boost your clientele. If you are good at it. I am not one of those that understands the algorithm just yet but I am constantly told that I need to boost my social media to get clients. I follow this outstanding elopement photographer that has several thousand followers on all platforms. Her biggest piece of advice is social media will betray you, don’t rely solely on it. She built up a huge following and then one day her instagram got deleted and erased. All photos and followers gone in an instant. Since then she has explored other avenues to build a clientele and I am learning to do the same. I’ll be revamping my website and working on bettering my client experience!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is surprising yourself no matter how long you have been in the field. Sometimes when it feels like the same session, same location. I’ll explore a different approach and stay a bit longer after the session to chat with the parents or capture some extra shots of the kids playing. I’ll second guess myself that it was a waste of time. Then I look at my photos that evening, and some of my favorite photos from the session were during that “extra” time. When we weren’t trying to get the “perfect shot”. I love those imperfect moments, it helps push me to see a session differently and create one of kind portraits for families.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashleycartercreative.com
• Instagram: @ashleycartercreative
• Facebook: Ashley Carter Creative
• Other: Here is the link for the Facebook page if you need that instead!

  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557561243972

Image Credits

Ashley Carter Creative