We were lucky to catch up with Ashton Angle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashton, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Drive. You have to want it. I definitely messed up my fair share of film in the beginning. There have been more than a few shoots that I am not very happy with at all, but those things have made me so much better. Working with clients always has its downsides, but once you find the right clients for you, it doesn’t even feel like work. I have to work every day to be able to support my passion because it costs a lot of money to start a business. I’m sure everyone knows by now how much film costs and has been rising all year. It gets very, very pricey, but it’s something I cannot simply give up. The difference between people who make it and people who don’t is sheer willpower.

Ashton, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started into the photography world from the other side – as a model. I modeled within the Dallas community for about 3 years, but it wasn’t fulfilling my creative needs. I soon realized that my ideas and concepts were not being portrayed how I had originally seen them in my head and this was very unsatisfying. I started using self-timer on my phone and just taking my own pictures so I could have full creative control. This was so fun for me and I did this for a long time. Eventually, I got a polaroid camera. I took this camera EVERYWHERE. I have many, many albums full of polaroids that I would take of my friends, my now fiancé, and of myself. When covid happened, I started realizing that I was actually pretty good at taking photos. I was encouraged by my fiancé and friends to dive deeper into this side of the photography world. I began playing with the idea of starting my own photography business. At first, I thought I’d just do it on my polaroid to be different. I soon realized that wasn’t going to work. In May of 2021, I finally invested in my first official film camera. I gravitated towards film naturally since all I had ever used was my polaroid. I’ve always had a strong connection with the tangible side of photography. Once I had my new camera, I started shooting right away. Many of my wonderful friends volunteered to let me test my camera on them, and it was incredible. I immediately knew that this was what I was meant to be doing. I finally felt like I had found my true passion. From then on, I continued shooting almost every week, and the feedback I received was amazing. I started to get my first clients and have been growing from there. My first full year of being a photographer will be this May of 2022. It’s been so, so beautiful to find this medium that I enjoy tremendously. It’s brought me so many new things to my life and has made me full. I am truly grateful to all the people who have made this possible and believed in me from the beginning.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Currently, I think I’d like to be director of photography for movies. I am in love with film. I go to the movies almost every week, sometimes twice. I love creating worlds that people can immerse themselves into. Once I’ve been on a film set, I think I could consider that a success.

How did you build your audience on social media?

It’s a lot of hard work. I started my account from zero. It took many, many hours of constantly being on my phone, interacting with others, building relationships, creating friendships. You have to engage with your community for them to engage with you. It’s all about give and take. You give love to get love. I try to meet and speak with as many people as possible and find a way for me to stand out to them. It definitely takes time and it’s not an overnight thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jazzandtheblues.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jazzandtheblues

Image Credits
Priscille Ngomege Jillian Antonia Adam Jabari Alexis King Maya Koch Rosa Moran Pheonix Valentine