We recently connected with Ashly Nicole and have shared our conversation below.

Ashly , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge with making a living off of your art in general is how people not only value you, but also your work. I of course have more experience in the field of photography and more digital art, and the issue is a lot of people think everything is just automated and you’re not doing any “actual work”, causing them to kind of devalue your art.
It’s such a steep slope you have to climb to almost convince people to respect your time and work, and in some capacity, it never changes.

The biggest misconception is the amount of celebrities I photograph or work with, people think I’m making a ton of money from it, but in reality, that’s my “for fun” photography (concerts/music), and my bread and butter is product photography; most times the more glamorous and fun side to something like this isn’t what’s paying your bills, unless you get really lucky and get picked up by someone full time.

Another big thing is people think it’s “just pressing a button” and don’t understand the amount of time that goes into travel, setting up, taking the photos, and most of all, editing. I think a lot of people also don’t understand the reason art costs (and should cost) so much is not only the effort put in, but the initial costs; artists are paying thousands of dollars to even START their career. We’re not only trying to make a living, but trying to afford the equipment we need to set ourselves up for success.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started out as a hobbyist in high school, primarily learning film photography, and being on tumblr honestly inspired me more to pursue photography. Originally I was an aspiring actress and musical theater major, but that didn’t pan out the way I planned, and photography soon became something I could incorporate into being around performance and music.

My very first “gig” was Warped Tour when I was 19. I was doing coverage for a then publication called Restless Press, and it in a way catapulted my career into photography.

For the first few years I was photographing concerts for fun, then in 2016 I got picked up by VANS Warped Tour, which was my first big paying and official job in both photography and in the music industry. I had the most amazing opportunity to be the Pit Reporter for Warped Tour in 2017, which led to a couple more tours after.
When music started to dwindle down for me, I sought out other forms of photography I could build my skills in and monetize, which has put me where I am now, primarily focusing on lifestyle and product photography for brands and other creatives.

I think I’m most proud of my ability to adapt and learn new facets in my field. My goal is to continue always learning, growing, and helping others as much as I can along the way.
My goal is to help build others up as I grow, and inspire others to chase whatever their heart desires, but to be a good person all along the way.
If I had to define my “brand”, it’s just to be a nice person.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Networking, making connections, and just being my genuine self. I’ve found it’s a lot easier to connect with people when you’re being authentic, but the key, again, is kindness.

I think that when on your path to success, you HAVE to network and build relationships not only with people who can help you along your path, but also your peers and people that you can in turn help as well. While no persons path to success is linear, being someone who’s helpful and known for building others up definitely boosts your reputation in your field, and honestly I feel it helps get your name and work around even more!

Everyone wants someone who’s easy and nice to work with.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Honestly, word of mouth and amazing friends and acquaintances. Most all of my clients at least in the past 5 years have all come from recommendation of someone else.

When building your network and brand, again, those genuine relationships are key. People will share your name and your work in a room you’re not present in and it can do so much for your career.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ashlynicolephoto.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ashlynicolephoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlykirk

Image Credits
the Grimace photo was taken for Loungefly x McDonald’s