Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ashton.
Mary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Prior to photography, I worked in Sales and Advertising for a major Cable company back home for over 5 years. We re-located to Washington when my husband got stationed there and that is truly where I fell in love with photography. While we were there I needed to find something to occupy my day, I get bored very quickly sitting at home. I tried painting, knitting, drawing, as well as cross-stitching. But, nothing stuck and gave me the feeling I was looking for. Then one day, my best friend asked me to tag along with her to a photo-shoot. It was then and there that I fell in love with photography. I had so much fun and excitement learning poses, lighting, exposure variations and everything else that the next day she went with me to get my own camera! I took many courses and classes and still take them to keep myself up-to-date with new aspects of this ever-growing and changing career. I also practice many new items on friends as well as our 3 children, who have learned when mommy brings her camera with us that I may ask them to do some silly or smiley faces. I truly love capturing lifestyle moments during every photo session, which are everyday moments that we all wish we had on our walls. The greatest joy I have doing what I love is being able to share it with my clients and future clients. There is something very exhilarating about seeing someone breakdown in happy tears looking at a photo that I took that lets me know I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would have to say that my biggest struggle that I am still attempting to overcome is our move. Being a military wife and having both my parent retired Army, I am used to moving around quite often. But, it is very different when you are moving a business across the country. When we moved, I had to find areas to do sessions at, new companies to partner with, as well as how to market to this new area. I am always learning and of course, still driving around finding new spots to take gorgeous photos at!
Mary Ashton Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am the photographer, editor, marketing director, sales and advertising rep, as well as new content person for my company. You could say I wear many hats, as I like to do most things myself (I may have slight OCD when it comes to things like that). I specialize in lifestyle, fantasy and boudoir photography. I know that these are very different genres in photography, but honestly, I love each of them so much that it would be very difficult for me to pick one type and just roll with it. I love doing lifestyle shoots as each one is always different and they bring so much personality to every photo session, I try to incorporate at least 5 photos from each session that are lifestyle for this reason. Fantasy is a whole different ball game. These photos are styled, and set up to look like something that cannot be real. For example, a little girl touching the moon, or a little boy almost tapping his finger on a huge tiger. These cannot happen in real life, but with the help of Photoshop and lots of out-takes, I can help turn children’s dreams into reality. Boudoir is one of those sessions that I believe everyone should have done at least once. You will leave the session with so much confidence, you will seriously feel like Beyoncé or Jennifer Lopez going home with your photos. There is just something so satisfying about helping women see how beautiful they are. I hope by reading everything I have written, you are able to feel my passion for what I do as I don’t think I can put into words how incredibly joyful this career makes me!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was after a boudoir session with a client in Washington. She had just gone through a very dramatic weight loss, and still saw herself as she was 5 years ago. So, when we had her session, of course in the beginning, she was very timid and shy, but by then she really opened up and let her fierceness shine through. Then, about 3 weeks after her session, we met up so she could go over her photos and pick out the ones she wanted for her album for her husband’s birthday. When I opened her folder, I had created a slideshow for her so she could quickly see all her photos at once and then we would go through them one-by-one. During her slideshow, she just started crying. At first I was nervous that she hated them. People don’t just start crying like she was when they see their photos. We were about a minute into her slideshow and she just turned and gave me the biggest I can re-call from a client. She was a crying, hugging, shaking mess. But, they were all due to happiness! She couldn’t believe what she saw in front of her on my computer screen. She kept saying that she knows she has lost weight but couldn’t make herself look at herself like that and just couldn’t fathom that that person was her. It was the proudest moment yet. I helped her see who she truly is and how amazingly beautiful she is!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maryashtonphotography.com
- Phone: 254-251-8995
- Email: maryaphotos@yahoo.com
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