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

Alright, Ashley Rose thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

This is such a hard question because I have worked on so many wonderful projects that have been near and dear to my heart. I have captured countless love stories and a few special projects for Strike Magazine Athens, but I think my most meaningful project to date has to be my very first styled shoot.

I had always seen photographers offer countless content days and styled wedding photoshoots, but I had never seen any that truly encompassed all of the elements I was looking for in a styled shoot. I am obsessed with disco and anything retro, as well as certain western elements. Upon scrolling through Pinterest, I stumbled across a Kacey Musgraves inspired wedding, and that’s when the idea hit me. But, to me, this seemed like a mere idea, i.e. nothing that I would actually do. But when I mentioned it to my mom, she encouraged me to go for it. I figured I had nothing to lose so I created some mood boards on Canva and started reaching out to local vendors to see if they were interested in participating.

Within a week or two, I had compiled an amazing list of local vendors that had all agreed to participate, as well as a set of models that consisted of some friends and family that I recruited to be my brides and grooms. I was so pleasantly surprised with the amount of vendors who were eager to work with me! After I had finalized vendors, models, and bought some wedding gowns online, I began to post about my styled shoot on various Facebook groups. At this point, I thought maybe I’d get a few responses. In no way was I prepared for the amount of messages I would be getting from photographers who were driving from all over to come to this styled shoot.

Once I had sold all of my photographer tickets, the planning continued. I finalized pickup and drop off times for all of the vendors, as well as scheduled all four of my brides for hair and makeup. When the shoot day came around, I was so overwhelmed with the fact that this was real life. I couldn’t believe that I had pulled off a styled shoot day, organized every detail, and made my vision come to life with the help of my amazing vendors.

What once felt like something impossible became a reality right before my eyes. I truly couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the day. I was able to curate a specific vision and get some amazing photos along the way. I also got to meet the most amazing vendors, many of whom I will be working with again on my upcoming styled shoot in October.

The execution of this shoot taught me a lot about myself. It made me more confident in my craft, allowed me to explore different styles of wedding photography, and taught me a lot about how to be a leader. It was a true testament to my craft, as well as to the wedding industry. It was such an incredible experience, and will be something I found helped me grow my business, as well as my confidence.

Ashley Rose, 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?

For those of you who don’t know me, I started pursuing photography when I was 14, but officially started my business, Lucky 15 Photography, when I was 15 years old. It all started when I went over to a friend’s house and she let me use her camera to take some photos of her around her neighborhood. The camera felt so natural in my hands, and I immediately knew it was something I wanted to do. Later that year, my parents gifted me a camera for Christmas, and I began to take photos of anything and everything. Around this same time, my mom was pregnant with my little sister. I took my mom’s maternity photos, as well as my little sister’s newborn photos and from that moment on, my sister became my muse. My mom encouraged me to post some photos I had taken of my sister on Facebook, and before I knew it, I had some neighbors ask me to take some photos of them. I’m pretty sure I only charged them $15! What I wasn’t aware of at the time was that these neighbors would be the first of hundreds of people I’d be able to capture over the next few years.

From there, Lucky 15 Photography was born. I captured my first wedding that year, at 15 years old. I will forever be thankful for the couple who chose to take a chance on a 15 year old- who’s mom had to drive her to their wedding- to handle their wedding photos. It meant the world to me, and I couldn’t have gotten this far in my business without that first push into the wedding industry.

Now, I specialize in lifestyle photography, wedding photography, and just about everything in between!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The absolute BEST source for new clients has been word of mouth. That is how I got my original base of clients, that then expanded to their friends and family, that then expanded to friends of friends and friends of family members, and so on. I have also grown my business on social media, through my clients tagging me in their posts. Overall, I really have to credit my amazing clientele for recommending me to their friends and family. Being tagged in social media posts and my clients leaving reviews on my website and Facebook page helps a ton! It has really helped me to gain new clients.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Some tips I have for social media:
-Follow and engage with local photographers and vendors in your area.
-Use hashtags! Use hashtags for your location, your specialties, and use hashtags that a lot of people follow.
-Tag feature accounts in your posts! Many times this will lead to a bigger audience for your page!
-Make Reels if you’re using Instagram! I don’t use them too much, but I find that whenever I do, I get new followers and new accounts engaging in my content.
-Host a giveaway! I hosted a giveaway about a year ago that really helped to boost my social media following!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lucky15photography.wixsite.com/lucky15photography
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucky15photography/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucky15photography/

Image Credits
All photos from @lucky15photography’s Styled Shoot! Venue: Red Star Equestrian @red_star_equestrian Hair: Emily Sullivan @manesbyemilysullivan Makeup: Sadjr Williams @skelsingartistry Accessories: Simply Thompson @simplythompsonboutique Dresses: @lucky15photography Cake: Erica Hunter @sweetloiscake Floral Arch: Bloom and Ivy Weddings @bloomandivyweddings Bouquet: Rita O’Brien @rrsecretfarm Invitations: Beth Compton @tinlizzydesignco Mobile Bar: The Bar @the_bar_ga Champagne Cart: Bloom and Ivy Weddings @bloomandivyweddings