It’s been a long time coming. How long can a photographer go without a great headshot of her own? I have a speaking engagement next month and the organization had requested some of my images and headshot for promotion. Gulp!! I can’t believe I didn’t have a headshot. My images of just me consisted of my self-portrait work – and it was never intended to be something to use for my business….just documentation of my personal life and exercises in skill. I have needed to take care of this little piece of business for so long. Thank goodness for good friends. A call to another local photographer and about 45 minutes of shoot time and I had what I needed. And I think my friend Molly Harrell did a wonderful job. I admit I am not the greatest on the other side of the camera, but Molly was great. So she shot the picture and let me do the editing. Here are the results from that day:

Finally having my own headshot taken has inspired me to get moving on some ideas I have had to show you a little bit more of me and who I am as an artist and photographer and a little bit about what it’s like to have a session with me. Molly will be helping me with that project too and I am really excited about working with her again. But more on that a little later when I have some cool results to share;)

One of my goals this year is to blog a little more. I have always gotten such a positive response when I have shared something a little extra here so I am trying to find ways to keep doing that. One way I would like to do this is to answer a frequently asked question once a week. And let’s start tonight! If you have a question for me, just send it to ashley@ashleywardphotography.com and I will put it on my list:)

Weekly FAQ!
“What’s in your bag?”
I am frequently asked what camera and lenses I shoot with. I am proud to be a Nikon gal! I think Canon makes great stuff too….I just prefer Nikon. It feels and handles better for me.
I shoot with a Nikon D700 and I do have a backup body.
I love prime lenses since I really love to shoot as wide open as possible. My go to lens is my 50mm 1.4 Nikkor. It rocks. It’s on my camera 90% of the time. Although, it’s not the greatest for flare….and I do love flare! Typically a zoom would be better for flare, but I have had great success with my 50mm 1.8 Nikkor and I still keep that lens in my bag just for that purpose.
I also always carry my 35mm 2.0 Nikkor with me. It’s a great lens too and gives beautiful sharp results.
Those are my main lenses. I have dabbled with a 60mm macro and a 14-24mm 2.8f that is awesome. I like to stay pretty close to my subjects. I did also recently acquire a lens baby (a tilt-shift lens) and can tell it will be a great tool for tapping into my creativity. I am excited about getting to use it more but can also tell it is going to take quite a bit of practice to get the results I want.
I also use a Wescott TD5 softbox with daylight fluorescent bulbs sometimes for indoor shoots. It gives beautiful light – just like a giant window. And it is wonderful to work with during newborn and baby sessions. No popping of flash to startle my sleeping babes.

That’s about it! I know this question was more geared toward other photographers, but I had to start somewhere. Next week I will answer a question I get from clients:) And thank you for stopping by the blog! Leave a note if you can. I love to hear from you!

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