Pet Portraits

Last summer in my spare time, I had the chance to practice a little bit with pet portraits. Here are a few pictures of my boyfriends' sisters' kitty, Skittles. He is so cute, and I had a blast watching him and taking pictures of him. :)


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I think they turned out pretty good for my first pet portrait photo shoot, but let me know what you think! @Wings1227. I will definitely consider expanding my business to fit in pet portraits. So if anyone is interested, contact me! I always love to have the opportunity to practice and expand my experience, as well as play with cats and dogs. :)

On another note, I have some great news to share! I have been planning things out very carefully, looking at every aspect to make sure I can do it. And I made sure I had the approval from my boyfriend, which he is being 100% supportive of. :) So anyway, it looks like I will be working part time at McDonalds again, although the other part of my time will be filled with my Photography. It is that moment I have been wanting so badly... I am planning to start my business!!! I hope to really kick things off this summer by booking photo shoots and weddings. If all goes well I will continue to do Photography part time during school. If not, I will be working at McDonalds. The same thing goes for next spring semester. Then by the time I graduate, I hope to have enough support that I can do Photography full time. It is going to be A LOT of work and I will have to sacrifice some things, but I am all up for it! And what makes this whole plan even more worth it, is having the support of my family and friends. :D

So everyone please keep me in your thoughts! Get the word out that I am starting my business! ;) I hope to be posting some packages and prices very soon. I also ordered business cards just today. So keep on the look out for those as well.

Thanks for reading,
-Ash-

Wow...It Has Been Way Too Long

Hey hey everyone!

Man...I has been almost a year since I have been on my blog last. That makes me soo sad. But I have a good excuse! There has been a lot that has happened in the past year! And it seems as if things are starting to finally slow down finally. But also pick up in other areas. Anywho...I am back again to share what has happened in the past year and to hopefully keep posting the rest of this summer. :)

So, where to begin? Well, it seems as if that last post was last July therefore I will start from there! Lets see... Last August is when my boyfriend and I moved into an town house together. The move was okay, accept that it was during a stressful time for me. We moved right as I was going back to college. But it all worked out in the end. We are all settled in and loving almost every moment of being adults. Everything accept bills! Unfortunately we found out that bills is what comes along with adulthood. :P

College has been going great. The first semester back was a success, passing with A's and B's. :) It seems as if it flew right by and the holidays were near before I knew it. Which the holidays were fantastic, celebrating with family and friends.

Just a couple weeks ago I finished my second semester at HACC. I really enjoyed this past semester because I was fortunate to take a business class that required writing up a small business plan. As of now it is just a rough draft, but I can certainly change things and expand it to fit my needs. It is definitely one more thing I have accomplished that I will be able to use to establish my business in the future.

Other than school, I have still been working at McDonald's. Although recently I have been offered a new job in town. So work is partially up in the air as of now. But I have been generating a few different ideas relating to Photography that I might pursue instead. I'm still thinking things through first and trying to do what is best right now. We shall see where things take me. ;)

Anyway, back to Photography. I have some pictures here that were from last summer that I finally had time to edit this past week. The first ones are from Virginia Beach. I Just bought the new Lightroom 3 and was having so much playing around with the editing tools! So here is a couple that I thought turned out really beautiful.

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And if you want to let me know what you think about these pictures, hit me up on Twitter!!! @Wings1227. Just put the picture number in your tweet to specify which picture you are commenting on. Any questions/comments/advice would be greatly appreciated! And thanks so much! :)

I will have more pictures to share in the next post. Thanks for following!

Yours truly,
Ashley @--/-

Second Photo Shoot!

Heyyy folks!

I finally got my second photo shoot pictures edited! It took quite a bit to find the time do get them done, but I found it. My boyfriend's mother set me up with a lady from her work that is expecting her fourth child. So I took her maternity pictures and family pictures. They are a very beautiful family and I can definitely see the mothers' love for her children. So here are some pictures:











I also wanted to share with everyone Sarah Barlows' blog that she posted about her internship that I attended this summer. She has a few pictures and wrote about our week together. There is also a video she posted on the blog too. While I was down there, Sarah, Kristen, and I made a music video to "Airplanes." It was such a fun time making it! I absolutely LOVE the video and I seriously cannot stop listening to the song we made it to. CHECK IT OUTTT!

sarahannephotography.blogspot.com

So besides all that stuff, it has been really hard to find time to work on my Photography. I really don't have much to do right now either. Besides experimenting and trying to set up some packages and prices. I will be taking some newborn pictures very soon. My friends' baby finally made it into the world. :-D But I am going to wait a little bit until he becomes a little more comfortable in this world.

I have tons of people interested and possibly going to set up times with me. It is just finding the time they want me to take them. My manager from work also told me the other day that everyone is raving about his wedding pictures I took and want my contact info. So I might have some other things lined up in the future. :-)

So it is a slow process. There are times where I really wish I was a couple years in the future, when I have my business and all I am doing is my business and making a living off of it. But I keep reminding myself that the time I am taking now to make my business is very important and I just have to keep pushing myself and work hard so I can get to where I want to be. This time now is what will make me in the future. So I am staying positive and learning all that I can and doing all that I can to get there. It is going to take time. It will be an adventure for me. :-D

Ok, well I will post again very soon! Stay awesome everyone!

Love, ME!

Pictures From My First Maternity Photo Shoot!

Hey there!

I'm sorry it has been awhile again since I have had the chance to write a new post. It's been crazy busy here. With getting back into the swing of work and everything after I got back from Tennessee, more work, photo shoots, trying to find an apartment and move out, and my computer not working for two weeks. Yeah... just craziness. But! Everything has been so great and like I mentioned, I had some photo shoots. :-D

The first one I did was with a friend from work. She was pregnant and I had the chance to take her maternity pictures. And notice I wrote "was" pregnant. She had her baby already! I still have not had the chance to meet him yet. But I definitely cannot wait to! And once he's settled at home and everything, I will be taking his newborn pictures! :-D CANNOT wait. But anyway, I took some maternity pictures of just her. Then a couple days later I was able to take some more of her and her husband together. They are such a cute couple. They are always cracking me up and their love for each other is just amazing. I love them both so much. Here are some pictures.

























So that's my first photo shoot! I did another one the same day I did my first one. I just haven't had the chance to edit those pictures yet. But those will be up very soon. Other than that, just working still. I was without my computer for two weeks. So I wasn't able to do too much during that time. Now that I have it back, I have been on it nonstop.

The Art Gallery is supposed to be having a photography art show next month. I would like to enter some pictures into the gallery for the show, but it has to be pictures I have not already added to the gallery. And with getting ready to move and my photography supplies packed away, I'm not sure if I will have time to make some pictures. But I am definitely going to try.

School also starts up next month. Sooo excited for it. Now that I finally have a major decided, I cannot wait to complete my major and graduate. Which will hopefully be in a year and a half. :-D In between classes and semesters, I hope to find some photography classes or Adobe Photoshop classes to take on the side. My biggest thing I want to work on right now is editing in Photoshop. Which I am slowly figuring out myself, but I know there is so much more I can do with my pictures.

Anywho, hope you like my pictures. Leave comments if you can. I will have more of my second photo shoot up soon hopefully. Hope everyone is having a good summer. Stay cool! I will write soon!

-AshleyElaine-
<3

Sarah Barlow Internship 2010-Nashville, TN

Hello hello!

Wow. Time definitely flies by when you are having fun! Well, I gave all the smaller updates on my last post. So here is the bigger update for you.

Nashville, Tennessee!!!
The most amazing U.S. city I have ever been to so far in my life! I went there for the Photography internship I have been saving up for for the past year. And might I say that it was the best thing I could ever save up for and be a part of. It was for six days, with two travel days. I left on June 15 and came back June 22.

First of all, Sarah Barlow is the sweetest person I have ever met. Along with being very knowledgable, helpful, and very successful in her business. It was just me, her, and one other intern-Kristen. We started the week off by getting settled, going grocery shopping and meeting tons of Sarah's awesome friends. Everyone is Nashville was very welcoming and sooo nice!

Then the week officially begun. Sarah taught and talked about everything we would ever need to know about our business and even more. The first day we discussed who we are, what drives us, and what our "brand" is. It was a really good way to start the internship so we can define who we really are so we can incorporate it into our business. That way our clients really understand us and our work. It was very beneficial. We also discussed what we want our business name to be. Which I am proud to announce that my Photography business will be called "Ashley Elaine." :-)

The second day I was there was actually the worst day out of the whole trip. Unfortunately I got food poisoning. The worst thing I have ever had experienced in my life dealing with being sick. So all day I pretty much slept and rested. Thankfully I was 100% better the next day.

During the internship, we had two photo shoots set up. The first one with Sinead Burgess- an awesome singer working on her first album in the U.S. She was so sweet, beautiful, and funny to work with. Throughout the photo shoot Sarah, Kristen, and I took turns directing Sinead. A new experience for me. The second photo shoot we did was with a couple-Allie and Leo. They were so cute together and so much fun to work with. During these photo shoots, Sarah forced us to shoot in Manual. Which was very hard for me at first. I'm still figuring out how to shoot in manual. But Sarah encouraged me that is a learning process and it all comes from practice. After these photo shoots our next task was to upload, downsize, and edit in Lightroom. Which was a very good learning experience for me as well.

Then throughout the week we also learned about getting to know our clients, photo shoot experience, editing, taxes, business bank accounts, and everything else. We covered EVERYTHING. And since there was only two of us interns, we got through things quickly and were able to have a lot of leisure time. All in all, I had an amazing time. The week went by so quick. I did not want to leave!

So that was my awesome internship I attended. The next major plans coming up is going back to school. I start August 24th. Which I am so excited for! :-) Besides school, my only other plans are to take some Photography classes on the side. As well as setting up photo shoots! So far I have four set up. Which I cannot wait to get started on.

Other than those exciting facts, I just have to keep working hard. My goal is to start my actual business in 3 years. So hopefully with my hard work and dedication, I can achieve that goal. So I hope to update you very soon on some of my accomplishments!

Thanks for reading,
Ashley

Small Update

Hello everyone!

It has been WAY too long since I have posted on here. Grrr. Well there is just too too too much to write about right now. But here are some small updates...

I got two more pictures in the local gallery. Very excited about. None of them sold yet, however. But that's okay with me. I'm just happy they are up, people are looking them, and I'm involved in the gallery.

Better news... Which I do not know if I said anything before about it, but my boss asked me to take his wedding pictures. So I did that the weekend right before I left for my internship. I was VERY nervous about it. But with some help with my wonderful boyfriend and friend, they gave me some pointers. However, throughout the wedding I grew more and more comfortable. I'm not completely satisfied with my pictures, but with some editing and tweaking I think I can turn them into some pretty awesome pictures. Especially with the things I learned on my internship.

As of right now, I am still in Nashville, TN for my internship. Meeting the most fabulous people, learning sooo much, experiencing so much, and seeing so much. So I will have allllll the details when I come back.

I'll post about it in a couple days!
<3Ash

Making Some Progress!

Hello!

So I have some great news to announce finally! I have actually had some spare time to edit some pictures to put in the Art Gallery! :-D I got them blown up and printed at Wal-Mart the other week. Luckily, I have a mother that works in the Photolab at Wal-Mart that could edit them and make them look extra pretty for me. Now all I have to do is buy frames for them, and then I can finally put my first picture(s) into the Gallery. I am so excited! My mom and my dad love the pictures, as well as some other friends I have shown them to. Here is everyone's favorite:



I have to say I am very proud of this one. But this one is my favorite:



I have also had the chance to meet up with a good friend of mine and take pictures with him at Cadorus one day. He has been taking Photography classes through school. I have seen his pictures on Facebook and think he does a really great job. We have been talking for several weeks about getting together to do some photography. And we finally had a chance. But I haven't had the chance to upload them and edit them yet. That is on my list of photography things to do.

Some more good news... my manager from McDonalds came up to me at work the other day and asked me if I could take pictures at his wedding this summer. :-D I was so flattered when he asked me. I did tell him that I didn't think I had enough experience yet, but he said that he's sure I would do a good job. So I said yes! But I am hoping I can take some kind of photography class before then, to gain a little more experience first. It is my manager, so I would like to make a good impression. Besides that, I need to sit down and figure out what price I should set to take the pictures. Which I cannot decide. But I have plenty of time to figure that out.

I still have not taken my friends' family pictures yet, due to work and other situations. But it is still in the works to find a day soon to take them. I also have other friends that are expecting a baby in July. So I asked if I could take their newborns' pictures. They said "Definitely." So I have that to look forward to. I also asked my sister if I could practice taking pictures of her this summer. She didn't agree to it at first but eventually did, as well as my dad saying I could practice on him too.

So I definitely have had the time to work on some things and set up some plans. Now all I have to do is find more time to do them. :-P But since it has been getting nicer out, I have been gaining more motivation. And with the days staying lighter later, I have a better chance of finding more time and opportunity to do more. I am also planning my summer with other classes to take. Sarah has still not posted dates for the summer internships, so I am making a back-up plan of classes to take in place of the internship. Just in case. I'm still hoping I will go though. I have just received the summer classes booklet from HACC. They are offering a Photography Certificate Program. So that is definitely in the back of my mind.

So yeah. That's all the good news I have this time. So now I just need to keep it up and achieve more plans that I have. We shall see how far along I get in the next couple weeks.

:-D
-Ash-