Pam is amazing! She is smart and kind and BEAUTIFUL! I met Pam some time ago when our daughters because friends at school. Her daughter is as brilliant and sensitive and beautiful as Pam, by the way. I instantly liked Pam and thought she was a lovely woman. When she contacted me about about headshots and portraits I was thrilled! And while Pam (or any of the ladies I photograph for that matter) don’t need a professional hairdresser and makeup artist, and don’t need to dress up in fantasy wardrobe pieces, and don’t need professional lighting and detailed posing instruction and careful use of camera angles that flatter and accentuate all the best parts of their physical presence to be beautiful inside and out, what these things can do for a woman’s heart and spirit is amazing! And I am so happy to give women the opportunity to see themselves in a beautiful new way.

I’d like to share just a little testimonial she sent me this morning:)
“Like most women, I was hesitant to spend time doing something just for me. But, after seeing the beautiful portraits Ashley created of other women, I knew I had to try it. And I’m so very glad I did! From the moment I arrived at the studio, I felt like a movie star! Amy Schaming worked magic on my makeup, and turned my straight, flat hair into gorgeous, flowing curls. Ashley chose poses that would accentuate my curves (and wow, they did!) and made sure I was comfortable and having fun the entire time. Ashley and Amy are not only incredibly talented women, but they’re also very fun to hang out with! And the result? Absolutely gorgeous portraits! I can’t even describe how incredibly beautiful they turned out. Let’s just say that when my husband (who’s currently deployed overseas) saw them, he said he was going to start walking home. I am so very glad I took time for myself, and I now have beautiful portraits to share with my husband, to pass on to my children, and to enjoy myself. Every woman should invest in herself and do a beautiful or pin-up session with Ashley. You deserve it! And you’ll be very happy you did!”

And on to the images:

And enjoy the video of all the images:

As a full-time working photographer, I’m usually shooting for my clients. But sometimes I shoot for myself. The shoots I do for myself are to give myself a little change of pace and to keep fresh and inspired for my next client shoot! This photoshoot was one of those creative ventures. The styling and inspiration for the shoot was the work of Amy Schaming, who is an exceptional hairdresser and makeup artist, and also the creative behind the hair and makeup of the Beautiful and Bombshell sessions at Bijou. Amy showed me several photos of Gaga and Tilda Swinton that made her feel inspired and we created this look and shoot based on those images. Special thanks to our amazing model, Lydia, who is beautiful and creative as well. She rocked that bit of tulle fluff we gave her!! Check it out!

This is one of our favorite times of the year. We love Halloween. The absolute joy children feel when dressing up and becoming someone else is like magic. My daughter, at the age of 13, still LOVES this Halloween and professes that she will NEVER stop dressing up and participating in the Halloween festivities. And we LOVE to decorate the house too. Seriously….we LOVE to go all out. Giant spiders, bigger than human ghoulds, moving and howling ghost that travels up and down our porch, graveyard…..we love it all.

Yesterday my husband decorated for the big night and it got me thinking about all the precious trick-or-treaters we will be seeing very soon! And then I thought how wonderful it would be to offer tiny Halloween sessions at the studio this year! So that is what I am going to do! These will be short and sweet and will produce sweet images of your little princess or superhero, ghost or ghoul. Fur babies are welcome as well! There is limited availability for this special day so act quickly to book your space!

Although I love photographing newborn babies in my studio these days, I still visit the homes of those clients that want me to visit their home for their session. Visiting this family in their home to meet and photograph the newest member was an absolute pleasure. And this little girl was so sweet, and obviously adored by everyone, including big sister and brother!
Just a few images from their in-home session: