Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Ashton.
Ellen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my photography business while going through treatment for a life-threatening, but curable illness at the raw age of 21. I guess you could say that my career as a photographer started as an outlet while going through treatment and just snowballed from there. However, my love for photography really started when I was just a teenager.
My parents had just moved across the sea to the country of Scotland, and because I was an America teenager living in a foreign country, I was dealing with severe culture shock. Taking photos of the Scottish countryside with my white and blue polaroid camera was my way of escaping my troubles of missing our home.
I graduated high school at the raw age of 17 and moved back to my home state of Texas to go to college. While in my Junior year, I did a summer internship teaching English in the Philippines to university students. It was there that I really started to love photography again.
One day, we went to a very poor village and it was there that I took some of the most moving images I’ve ever taken with my point and shoot camera, it was also the day I contracted tuberculosis.
Fast forward 2.5 years later. I had just graduated college, married my sweetheart and found out I had spots on my lungs-all within a two-week period. This was one of the most divesting time of my life, but little did I know that God would take my circumstances and give me my life calling.
While I was going through treatment, I felt so lost, so helpless and just defeated. I had always talked about maybe one day starting a photography business but was way too scared of failure to give it a real go. It was during this hardship that my husband did the sweetest thing he has ever done for me. He bought me my first DSLR camera. He handed it to me and said, “I know you’re scared to try, but I believe in you.” From there, I photographed anyone who would let me, sat on my couch and researched anything and everything I could to learn photography and grow my craft.
In 2013, I started Ellen Ashton Photography and never looked back. Today, my work has been in over 50 publications, I get to travel around the world to photograph some of my client’s most treasured memories as well as editorial shoots. I always encourage people to follow their dreams and to remember that fear is a liar. I would never have imagined that one of the darkest times of my life would turn into one of my greatest joys. I never know that indulging in my interests could turn into a thriving business.
Matthew 19:26 is the verse I cling to when it comes to my business. “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
With all things in life there are bumps in the road- running a business is no different. However, I choose to think of obstacles as life lessons to learn from. Positivity is the key to success no matter what the challenge is.
The hardest challenge I learned was that sometimes saying “no” is a good thing. As a business owner, you want your craft and business to always be growing, but sometimes in the process saying no is the best thing for your business. Not every opportunity is the right one for you. Knowing your brand is key to helping your business grow in the right direction. This one was a hard for me, but accepting it was such a freeing thing!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ellen Ashton Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
My business is Ellen Ashton Photography and I am a fine art wedding and portrait photographer.
I specialize in local and destination weddings.
Ellen Ashton Photography is known for delivering quality, romantic, and timeless images. I am also known for my editorial, yet journalist style. I want for all my brides to look and feel like they walked out of a magazine.
I am so proud of many things when it comes to my company. I was so humbled when I won my first photography award and so thrilled when I saw my work in a major publication for the first time. BUT my happiest, most accomplished moments are when my brides open their wedding or engagement galleries for the first time and are moved by what they see- that is my proudest moment. Being a photographer is so much more than creating beautiful imagery… It’s making people feel beautiful and showcasing a love story that is one of a kind. It’s being a memory keeper, a fly on the wall at times. Photographs are moments frozen in time, and memories to last a lifetime.
What sets Ellen Ashton apart is the boutique experience our clients get. I like to get to know my clients very well so that I can portray the love they share in a genuine and authentic way.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I truly believe that everyone is born with a special purpose in life and if you seek that purpose you will find it. I feel like my purpose is to see the beauty in people and showcase it in an artistic way. Making people feel beautiful is one of my greats joys.
I’m not sure if luck has anything to do with it, but I am certain that God has covered me and my business with a “shield of favor” and blessed me in ways I could never have imagined. That’s not to say there haven’t been hardships. bumps and bruises along the way- but the good far outweighs the bad.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2060 Kenley St. Fort Worth, Texas.
- Website: www.ellenashton.com
- Phone: 8063924843
- Email: ellen@ellenashton.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenashton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllenAshtonPhotography/
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/ellen-ashton-photography-fort-worth-tx-986378
Image Credit:
Ellen Ashton Photography
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