The Beginner Photography Podcast

Guide to Staying Creative in Any Season with Ashley Marston

• Raymond Hatfield

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#533 In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Ashley Marston, an accomplished birth and family photographer from British Columbia, Canada. Ashley opens up about her journey from film to digital photography and the deeply personal moments that shaped her career. She shares her method of balancing documentary and lifestyle photography, offering insightful advice on maintaining creativity, engaging with clients, and conquering the unique challenges of birth photography.

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Finding Your Vision: Identifying a meaningful subject that you love to photograph can reveal your potential and passion, just as it did for Ashley.
  • Evolving with Technology: Embracing new tools like digital cameras can open up opportunities to experiment, improve, and expand your skills.
  • Balancing Control and Authenticity: Knowing when to direct a scene and when to let moments unfold naturally leads to genuine, impactful photographs.
  • Staying Motivated: Maintaining a positive mindset and communication with clients ensures rejuvenation and high-quality work despite unexpected challenges.

PHOTOGRAPHY ACTION PLAN

  1. Explore and Understand Lighting: Spend time observing how light changes throughout the day in various settings. Experiment with different lighting techniques, such as backlighting or using reflectors, to see their effects on your photos.
  2. Practice Authentic Moments: Capture everyday moments of your family or friends, focusing on candid shots that tell a story. Choose a relaxed setting and let the subjects act naturally, aiming for unposed and genuine interactions.
  3. Develop a Consistent Creative Routine: Start a Project 365, committing to take and post one meaningful photo every day. Use this project to focus on different aspects of photography each month, such as lighting, composition, or movement.
  4. Engage with Your Subject: Communicate with your subjects before and during the shoot to make them comfortable and involved in the process. Plan your sessions around typical family activities to capture authentic moments that reflect their everyday life.
  5. Set and Track Your Photography Goals: Write down specific goals you want to achieve, such as getting featured in a publication or mastering a new technique. Regularly submit your best work to reputable competitions or communities to gauge progress and receive constructive feedback.

RESOURCES:
Visit Ashley Marston's Website - https://www.ashleymarstonphotography.com/
Follow Ashley Marston on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ashleymarstonphotography/

Learn What Camera Settings to Use in our free guide!
https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Ashley Marston:

When you do a 365 and when you shoot every day, there is no way that you are not going to progress. You are going to get better every day. You're picking up, you're experimenting, you're shooting every day, you're looking through that viewfinder, you're working on your composition, you're going to get better.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, hey, welcome to the Beginner Photography Podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield. And each week I interview one of the world's most interesting photographers to learn what it really takes to capture beautiful images, so that you can start to do the same. In today's Rewind episode, we are chatting with family photographer Ashley Marston about capturing the magic of everyday life. Podcast is brought to you by Cloudspot. With CloudSpot, you can sell your photos through prints, products, and of course, digitals. You can set up a storefront in minutes and start earning more with every gallery you send. So grab your free forever account over at DeliverPhotos. com and only upgrade when you are ready. I found today's guest, Ashley Marston, when I saw that two of her photos were chosen by Nat Geo as Photos of the Year. As I dove more into Ashley's Instagram, I actually saw that she was doing a 365 photo project, which, you know, maybe many of you are as well. So today we talk about creating a daily Instagram account. creative practice for yourself, so that your skills can continue to build. We talk about how to capture more authentic moments and why capturing real life experiences will always be better than staged poses. And we also talk about her work capturing families in birth photography and handling the unpredictable nature that is, well, nature's process. I highly encourage you to check out her work on Instagram, which you can find by clicking the link in the show notes of this episode, because I know that you're gonna love this one. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into today's Rewind interview with Ashley Marston. Today's guest is Ashley Marston a birth and family photographer from our neighbor to the north British Columbia, Canada. Professionally, her work has received notable awards from the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers. And personally, her work has been recognized most recently by National Geographic. And today I can't wait to get into talking about shooting professionally and personally. So Ashley, thank you for coming on the podcast.

Ashley Marston:

Thank you so much for having me.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course, this is an interview that, there's like a series of interviews that I've been doing where I've been reaching out to the listeners of the beginner photography podcasts and asking if you could have anybody on the podcast, who would it be? And your name came up. So I am so excited to have you on. And it is. I know that it's just going to, as a wedding photographer, I don't shoot children, I don't shoot, really anything else, you know, being able to talk to other photographers and hearing their stories is not only helpful to me, but I know that it's going to, uh, expand the horizons of our listeners. so again, thank you so much for coming on. Like I mentioned in your intro, you've received awards for your work. But I'm sure that, you know, you did, Didn't just wake up yesterday and thought, I'm going to get into photography and start winning some awards. So can you share, what drew you into photography in the beginning?

Ashley Marston:

Well, I think I started like a lot of, mom photographers, in the past five years. My son Noah was born 13 years ago. He's 13, my oldest. And, my husband had an old film camera in the closet and so I dusted it off and that's kind of where it began. but I, would just kind of experiment with that for about five years before I finally kind of went digital and that's where it took off for me,

Raymond Hatfield:

Why is that? Why did it take off for you once you started shooting digital?

Ashley Marston:

I think that it's just a lot easier to experiment when you're shooting digital because you can see it, instantly, whereas with film, it would definitely took the progress was a little bit slower for me, but it just got me used to composition and documenting our life and documenting being a mom and my son. And so we have albums and albums of of photos of Noah just Because I mean, I just went through so many rolls of film. So

Raymond Hatfield:

in the beginning, when you have that film camera and you picked it up for the first time, do you remember what shot was it that you took where you thought, you know what, I'm really enjoying this and I think that I can take it somewhere.

Ashley Marston:

There was a shot. My husband is First Nations, and he's an artist, he's a carver, and so we have, various sort of, artifacts around the house, and we had a woven cedar hat, and Noah was outside on, the sun deck, and he was wearing this cedar hat, and he was just sitting up, like he was maybe eight or nine months old, and the shadows coming through the hat and on his face, and that's one of my favorite pictures, and that was the time where it was kind of clicked for me, and it was like, okay, this is how I'm seeing this moment. and then to get the film back and see that it actually had translated from my mind to, the image was like, felt like I was doing something important. It felt like for our family and for myself, felt good. How

Raymond Hatfield:

long do you think it was, from the time that you first picked up that camera till the time that you got that shot and realized that the creative gap that you had in your head to the photo that you got, in your hand was very similar? Yeah. Was that like a years long progression or was it pretty quick?

Ashley Marston:

It was pretty quick. It was pretty quick. But like, I had been artistically inclined throughout high school. I actually took photography in high school, so I think that made the gap a little bit closer for me, that I'd kind of had already a bit of a jump start on it. but like, photographing children and things like, I mean, very different, obviously. But, he wasn't moving too much at that

Raymond Hatfield:

point. That sure does make it a whole lot easier. It makes it easier, yeah. Yeah. So, can you tell me again how long you were shooting film before you switched to digital?

Ashley Marston:

oh, I guess four years?

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay, so in that four years, shooting film, shooting your family, these things that you loved, what would you say was the hardest part about the technical side of photography for you to learn?

Ashley Marston:

I don't know what the hardest, the composition came okay to me, and I think just learning light. was what I worked on the most, for those years and of course it came a lot quicker and easier once, there was a digital camera in my hand and I could really kind of see what I was looking at.

Raymond Hatfield:

Can you expand a little bit more on, learning to shoot with light?

Ashley Marston:

Well, I knew in my, like I, I could see in my mind, like I was noticing it all the time. And this was kind of before things were, on the internet and it would just catch my eye a certain way. And so the kids, and I would just move, you know, I'd start moving the kids into the light. and just expose, like exposing for the shadows and things like that where, I felt that that's where I was kind of really honing in on what I wanted to do and see in the beginning. Everything was, overexposed. And I said, well, that's not right. That's not how I want to see it. That's not how I see it in my mind. So, that was kind of how I moved in that progression slowly at first. And then it kind of just came and then I just, it clicks, right. It clicks all of a sudden. And then you're like, right. Okay.

Raymond Hatfield:

there's always that aha moment when it comes to photography. Yeah. you know, you feel like you're struggling so hard in the beginning Even like every little thing that you learn feels like you just crossed over this mountain like yeah Oh my gosh, this is totally making sense. And as time goes on the mountain. I see that the whole

Ashley Marston:

time

Raymond Hatfield:

Exactly, exactly But at some point there's one mountain that is just so tall that when you get up to the top of it You say oh my gosh, why didn't I see this the whole time everything makes sense now Yeah, and love to hear that because usually It is technical aspect, either like, Oh, the relationship between, ISO and shutter speed, but hearing you say, no, it was the light. It was paying attention, paying attention to the light, finally being able to see it. I think that's a great new take. and I, appreciate hearing a new perspective for sure. So this past year, Like I mentioned earlier, National Geographic chose two of your photos to be in the top 36 photos in a year long international competition, which is just amazing. Insane. It's insane. So congratulations there. Congratulations. Thank you. With over 19, 000 entries. is that right? I think so. That's incredible. That must have felt amazing, right?

Ashley Marston:

Yeah. Well, yeah. It was a bit mind blowing. I kept like, I saw the first one and then I always, of course, I look through everybody's to see what's included in, and the, the collection in itself. And then, Another one popped up, and I was, did I see that? Like, I, I kind of went back and forth a couple times, like, no, that's not, you know, like, it took a little bit for it to compute, and then it's, it definitely just kind of blew my mind for a second. So, well, still is blowing my mind, really. Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

well, I mean, it should be, and congratulations again for that. And those two photos, they were personal works of yours, correct?

Ashley Marston:

One was personal, and one was a birth photography photo.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. Okay. So, how did it come about to, find yourself in being in this position to be chosen, two of your photos to be chosen out of, more than 19, 000?

Ashley Marston:

the beginning of 2018, I set goals for myself and nothing, nothing that I write down and whatever. It's just at the beginning of the year, I don't believe in resolutions, but I do believe in just goals. National Geographic was on my list. I had belonged to the YourShot community, which I think has like a million photographers in it worldwide, for a couple of years and had been submitting here and there, Not anything that I had really focused on and last year I decided to focus on that. and so I had been submitting to them over the course of the year. and had, seven, I think seven photos chosen throughout the year to be part of the daily dozen. So they picked 12 photos every day To feature. So those were huge moments for me. and then, they kind of pop up these assignments that you can submit to or these competitions that you can submit to. And so, those were what I thought two of my best photos of, of the year. And so those were the two that I had submitted. And they were, and they thought so

Raymond Hatfield:

too. Yeah. Yeah,

Ashley Marston:

I guess so.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's awesome. So I kind of want to talk a little bit about personal work here because it's something that, I know personally, I don't do enough of, I thought that it would be one of the like driving factors. It was one of the driving factors to get into photography. but then over time, it's become more and more professional. And now, Really, I just kind of stick with just my iPhone for like personal photography and stuff. It's easier. It's easier to share photos. Um, last year I chatted with Jenny Stein on the podcast who, she talks a lot about, doing a 365, a project 365. So after that interview, some members in the beginner photography podcast, Facebook group started inquiring about a 365 and even started doing one this year. So in the group, Carrie. who is just going hard right now on her project, 3 65 every day. She uploads a new photo and it's great to see her work progress. But when I asked her what she would want to hear from you, what questions she would ask you, she wanted to know, as an established photographer, what are your goals doing a personal 3 65 and how do you make time for it? I know that was a lot of time. I'll give you a

Ashley Marston:

second. My goals for the 365 have changed every year. I'm actually in my fifth year of doing a 365, so At At this point in time like it would feel Weird for me to not do it because it has just become part of our life and part of my workflow And so what I've done every year is I have focused on one thing To work on. And in the first year it was light, because that's where I was at. and in the second year I worked on composition. And in the third year I worked on putting myself in the frame more. because that was what I had noticed looking back on the project, was that I was vacant. Um, very

Raymond Hatfield:

common for

Ashley Marston:

photographers, very common for mothers, especially with two young kids. I mean, we have three children now. Our two youngest are only 11 months apart. So like, we were really in the thick of things and body wise. And, you know, Like, I don't want to put myself in front of a camera, but you have to because otherwise, how are they going to see you, right? So, I think the next year, like I movement, things like that every year, I kind of, honed in on something, something different every year and, focused on that. now in my fifth year, my goal is just to I don't shoot as much anymore. I feel like in the past years, I've been really like, I gotta, I gotta get this. I got it. And I've relaxed. And so I'm just like, I'm just going to relax. My kids are six and seven and 13. So like, they're all in school, and I don't feel as much pressure anymore. I'm just going to document. Document us, as I see us and celebrate us. So that's kind of was my goal this year was to just chill out. I didn't know even if I was going to do another 365. I feel like at the end of December every year, I'm like, I'm not going to, not going to do it. I'm going to take a year off. And then I kind of just. I feel like I would be lost without it, so, um, I just keep going. I just keep going, so.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, you said that obviously the kids are in school now during the day, and then you don't shoot as much during the day. can you tell me what that means? You don't shoot as much cause obviously you're still shooting every day.

Ashley Marston:

Yeah. I'm still shooting every day. I'm very conscious now about getting my shot and then putting the camera down. especially too, because now that they are older, I mean, I've been really lucky that my kids, are welcoming of it. I've heard of photographers starting them and their kids Just like hate the camera they're like get that away from me every time they pull it out. My kids are not like that at all. but I'm conscious of getting what I need and then just putting it away. Like, okay, now I'm just going to carry on throughout my day. And then if I see something later on, then sure, maybe I'll take another shot. But I feel like in the past years it was out all the time and I was constantly striving to get something. maybe I didn't like that shot. Maybe I wanted to get another one, but I feel like my confidence has grown what I want to capture and what I want to preserve for them. I see it. I take it. and then I leave it. So I think that's changed. How long

Raymond Hatfield:

did it take to hone that, that discipline?

Ashley Marston:

it's only really been in the past couple years. I feel like maybe year three it started. Where I was like, okay, yeah. so it's only, like, every so often I'll come up to my computer at night when everybody goes to bed and I'll upload and it, you know, it, it doesn't happen very often where I'm like, oh, no, I don't, I don't like that at all. I feel like I've got it, but that really has only just been recent, but it's been a good progression. I constantly felt like I was getting better. So it's not as if there was this void where like, I wasn't getting better. When you do a 365 and when you shoot every day, there is no way that you are not going to progress. You are going to get better every day. I mean, that's just the fact of it. You're picking up, you're experimenting, you're shooting every day, you're looking through that viewfinder, you're working on your composition, you're going to get better. So that's what I love about it.

Raymond Hatfield:

I think, and I could be totally wrong. So this could be a terrible question, but we're going to try it out anyway. I think that when you have constraints of a 365, like your goal is to get one good photo every day. Right? And then you put a lot of weight on that. So you're like, that one photo has to be a great photo. And every day you go out and try to get something, but, you guys get much snow up there in, uh, it's the Western half of Canada, right?

Ashley Marston:

Yeah. We're on the very, very West coast. Okay.

Raymond Hatfield:

So here in the Midwest, it's very snowy and cold and you really don't leave your house like unless you have to. And in times like this, if we're stuck at home, what do we shoot? what should we be focusing on? What should we look for?

Ashley Marston:

Well, I'll tell you that like not every day is going to be a great photo. Not every day is going to be an award winning photo. And I think that a lot of people struggle with that. I have chosen me and my husband have chosen to share my project on social media. So I'm literally posting my photo every single day and have for five years. and not every one is amazing, but. It's amazing to my kids, right? Essentially this project is for them. So while it's not going to get me 300 likes, it's going to have a connection and have a purpose for my kids and later years. So that's what I always have to think back on. and so that's where social media gets a bit tricky where there's this like constant need to produce this mind blowing work. and. Sometimes you do, sometimes you post something and you're like, wow, like that is my best work. And then sometimes it's like me, but that's one of that ends up being one of the photos that my kids will see. And they'll be like, Oh, I remember that day. And I remember, and so you got to kind of bring it. I always, I was in my mind, I was like, you got to bring it back home. Cause that's, what this is for. This project is for them. And so for me, that's what it is for me. I mean, people can, have their project for different purposes, but for most. Photographers, that's generally, it's a keepsake, right? It's a story of your days. and so, in regards to, having crappy weather and having to stay inside, we get a lot of rain, and so I find that that's when, my creativity comes through. When I can't rely on the beautiful backlight or the stunning ocean views because it's pouring down rain, that's where I'm like, okay, what can I do inside? What can I capture? How can I see this differently? And after five years, like, you know, I've been photographing the same children in the same house for five years. So it's like, how can I reignite this space? how can I see the same kind of subject and thing but differently? And so I use things like prisms. And, double exposures, I've been, I've been working really hard on this year. free lensing and I always, I bring it back to the details because we live on Vancouver Island, which I don't know if you've looked it up, but it is gorgeous. I always do these big, expansive, beautiful shots of my kids in this wonderful place, but I often forget to photograph just the tiny details. And so, in those dark gloomy days, I'll photograph the wisps of hair on my daughter's neck or, my 13 year old son's hands or because those are things that are important as well. So that's always. You know, just kind of bring it back to the details.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. that was an incredibly personal answer. And I think that it's going to be one that, the listeners are really going to appreciate because it is, I know from experience that, just shooting inside, it can become a chore and hearing your take on it, thinking about the future rather than how many likes you're going to get today on social media is really something that, we got to learn how to. control, you know, ourselves and, I got a lot out of that, that statement. and again, I really appreciate that. Yeah. okay, so next question. on your website, it says that, you are a birth, documentary, and lifestyle photographer. So, real quick, for those who are unaware, can you clarify the difference between documentary and lifestyle photography?

Ashley Marston:

That's a tricky one. Um, and a lot of people want to, sort of put themselves in a box. They're either documentary or lifestyle. Or they're either lifestyle, I choose to put both on my website because I am a little bit of both and so documentary essentially is like not changing, not directing, not changing the scene, not turning off any lights, not decluttering, that sort of stuff. Whereas lifestyle has a minimal amount of, direction with your families. And so I really do, I shoot day in the life sessions. Which are like strictly documentary, I'm just an observer, I'm just documenting what I see. and then I, all of my other family work, maternity, newborn, families, is all lifestyle. So there's really minimal direction, I focus on the connection and the love, and families. And I've just chosen, and the birth work is documentary obviously as well. And so it kind of just all mixes really well together. And I've just tried to not put myself in a box and just allow myself to capture love essentially in all of its forms. that's what I've built my business around.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, you said that for your day in the life sessions, they are primarily, documentary type work. So when would it be appropriate to do more of a lifestyle type shoot. how do you decide between the two? If you were to show up to a house today, you know, family, I saw very recently, uh, you posted, I believe it was, uh, a child's like first birthday, like their day in the life session with, uh, So if you were to show up in that situation, do you make a conscious decision on whether or not you're going to just let the day unravel in front of you? Or if you are going to make some small adjustments to the scene in front of you, or is there a hard line in which, in when you do it?

Ashley Marston:

their choice. So when they're booking the session, they're either booking a day in the life or they're booking a lifestyle family session and that's, and I can do, you know, we have the choice to do lifestyle family out in the wild or we can do it in their home. so that's just a bit more of like, Hey, we're going to go in the bedroom now. We're going to come and sit on the couch, come and tickle on the couch, whereas like documentary, I'm literally just like, I'm just sneaking in and they're going about their day. So, that's decided at booking. And so that's how I plan out. That's how I map out my session.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wonderful. I love it. Okay. So then what drew you into, to birth photography?

Ashley Marston:

I've been a birth photographer for six and a half years. I started my business. Sophie, our youngest, our third was only just a few months old when I had discovered birth photography. I came across an article online, in the New York times while I was nursing her, on Lindsey stone, who was the first. and it was kind of just my like, it was my aha moment because I had been shooting families for, probably about three years, kind of on and off as I was having babies. And, I was kind of stuck. I was stuck doing what I thought I should be doing. I was stuck doing what everybody else was doing. And I thought, well, this is the way that I My photography is supposed to be, I guess this is what everybody else is doing.

Raymond Hatfield:

What do you mean by that? You mean like style of work? Just, yeah, like it

Ashley Marston:

was mostly just, posed family photography. You know, you'd go to a park and everybody would sit down on a blanket and they'd turn and smile at you and that was it. And so I would still be shooting the in between moments. And then I would deliver them to the clients with their turning and smiling photos. And I was finding that those were the moments that I was more drawn to. And it seemed to be the moments that they were more drawn to. And so it was kind of a slow progression into a change in my business where I felt that I didn't have to stick with what was kind of expected. and then I'd had my babies and I actually pondered becoming a labor and delivery nurse because I felt so at home in that environment, but I knew I needed a creative outlet. So when I came across the article on birth photography, it was like a light had just, gone on off in my world. And so I had called my husband and said, I think I know what I want to do when I grow up. It was like, Oh, okay. Um, and then I said, you know, I'm going to need, I'm going to need your support. Like you've got to be a hundred percent on board because there is like, there's an on call component, right? We're like, I'm on call. And that affects our life greatly. and also that means I'm building a business from the ground up. and educating the public on what birth photography is. So it was, it was a hustle for sure. And I knew that if I didn't start it then that I would kind of miss the boat on it. And it was a tricky time. like I said, my two youngest are only 11 months apart. My youngest was only three. Like I was raising these two tiny babies and starting a business and up in the middle of the night shooting births and just trying to get the work out there to show people what it was. Because at that point in time, there was only a handful of us that were shooting birth. And it was, you know, Unknown, really, now, of course, it's more mainstream. So, that was my start into birth photography. And that's where my business just went, like it skyrocketed. It took off from there.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's awesome. you talked earlier about shooting, Day in the Life sessions, which I think is so cool. That's got to be something that I've always had this dream of like when I was in high school to be able to just like follow A band around, right. For like six months or like have some sort of like long term project to where you don't know what's going to happen by the end of, your journey, but you want to be able to capture it all so that you can go back and tell that story. And when it comes to like day in the life, family sessions, that's kind of how I see that as well. Right. You show up in the morning, you don't really know what's going to happen. And then by the end of it, you're hoping to have, a nice little portfolio of images to deliver. So can you kind of walk me through stuff? Like. Time requirements for something like that and then also what is your goal for those day in the life sessions?

Ashley Marston:

Well, my day in the life sessions are booked in four eight or twelve hour sessions. So the family gets to choose how long they want me there for and then they also get to choose what they want to So questions that I ask them are like, what's important to you in your day? what are some things that you want to capture? Do you want to go somewhere? Do you want to just stay at home? so these are all conversations that I have with my clients beforehand and I find that a lot of people, it's the morning. The mornings are very sacred to families, and they're sacred to us too. Like, our Saturday or Sunday mornings are, they're wonderful, right? I mean, I'm sure I would love to actually capture the hustle and the craziness of a school morning, but, you know, Saturday mornings are slow and they're easy. And so, when I say to them, like, we can go to the park, we can go to the beach, we can go to the grandparents house, I follow, wherever you go, I follow, we can go to the grocery store, and so, they decide kind of how the day is going to be mapped out, and I just document All the little moments in between. I kind of started doing these because. I knew that it was something that I would want for my family. So when I'm capturing these families, I kind of put myself in that position where I'm like, what kind of keepsake would I want to end up with? and so it's kind of a mixture between the conversations I have with them, with what they want to capture and then what I think as an end product is You know, when they're looking at this, when their kids are graduating or when they're having grandchildren, what is the memory that you want to preserve for them from this one day? and not every client chooses to have film, but I do these little short family films for them. And so in my, the end product, I want them. To be able to feel the feelings they felt that day. I want it to trigger memories, smells, tastes, like, you know, the creak of the floorboards in the house or just things like that. So I want to make sure that I'm capturing those things because You never know for people what, part of an image is going to trigger that memory for them, what sound is going to bring them right back to that moment. So, that's kind of my goal, is to provide something timeless for them to watch 20 years from now.

Raymond Hatfield:

And to just be able to immerse themself back in that moment. Totally back, back in that morning,

Ashley Marston:

back in that day. Yeah. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

So if you've never been to like a client's house, this is something that I've kind of become very interested in, just recently. And it's kind of like this, this creative, really want to know more about how the creative brain works. And there's more than just one way for, that creatives work. So do you think that creativity for you involves just. Putting your heart and soul into your work, just planning out every little detail, becoming a perfectionist, or is it letting your mind just flow freely to witness whatever happens?

Ashley Marston:

That's a good question. I feel like it's a little bit of both. Am I allowed to say, I pick C. I am very controlled. I have that like sort of A type personality, but as a documentarian, I have taught myself to step back and observe and document. And so part of me is trying to be creative, but also be true to what's happening. So it's a bit of a balance, especially with those kinds of sessions. And it's sort of true for my 365 project too. I'm trying to document what's happening, but also in a creative, creative way. So I don't know if that helps your answer a

Raymond Hatfield:

lot. No, no, it does. It does help. Uh, for a little bit more clarification, can you give me an example of maybe a personal shot that you've, that you've taken? taken where, maybe you wanted more, strict, you know, following of the rules for a photo or the complete opposite where maybe everything was going too, you know, down the line and you wanted it to be more whimsical? Or if you don't, like if you can't think of one off off the top of your head, what would you do In that situation.

Ashley Marston:

In the situation where I was documenting something, but wanted to put a different spin on it. Is that?

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. I suppose like you were having trouble putting your own spin on it.

Ashley Marston:

Well, I think it kind of takes me back to like, the indoor rainy, you know, raininess of the West coast of Canada. and, Where, you know, I remember this one time, it rained for like a week, it just rained and rained and rained. And we were, we were going squirrelly, like we, we were going squirrelly inside the house. And I wanted to document that, but I, I didn't want it to be it's like, well, I guess I could bring the kids out in their umbrellas and, you know, whatever, and then that's where they create, I'm like, well, I could, somehow do a double exposure with this, right? I could create sort of the somber look of what we're going through inside, but then bring the rain in. And so I, took a portrait of my son, a black and white portrait of my oldest son inside. And then I photographed the rain. And then I did an in camera double exposure and I, photographed the rain on our windows and then, put them together. and that was a few years ago. Like they were kind of double exposures were kind of just coming out at that point in time. and it was, I had to Google how to do it.

Raymond Hatfield:

You know, I'm sure people still today Google. We're still

Ashley Marston:

Googling. Yeah, we're still Googling how to do it. It's very tricky. So that was when I was kind of trying to, capture, but then wanting to kind of break the rules and mix it up a little bit. So,

Raymond Hatfield:

okay. Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. Is there something that you do to put yourself in a creative mindset?

Ashley Marston:

There's not something that I specifically do. No, I think that I don't leave that space. Well because especially with capturing your family every day like, you know, the camera is out and I'm constantly looking and I'm constantly aware. And as a house of creatives, I mean, like I said, my husband is an artist and the kids are artists. Like playing music and drawing. I mean, just a creative environment. So we're always kind of in that, we're always kind of in that creative cloud happening.

Raymond Hatfield:

Do you ever feel like you show up to a, like a day in the life session or a birth and think to yourself, just feel like you're not feeling it that day. I'm like, I gotta go to work, you know, and so I'll be honest, I feel that way sometimes showing up to weddings, you know, and it's not, it's still, a good day, but you know, you do it for, for several years and you're bound and determined to have at least one of those days. Is there something that you do in those moments to kind of put yourself back in line?

Ashley Marston:

I think for birth, that's true for birth, especially because, often, you know, you've been on call for months at a time. Often you're called out in the middle of the night, you don't want to get out of bed. maybe it's been a rough day at home, and now you gotta like, Yes. to go to work and you've got to be on like you can, there's no, you can't do this half it halfway. Right. and so there's been times where I've definitely sort of slugged my way along. but once I get in, once you're there and you're in it. it just like, it just turns on. Mm-Hmm. right. It just kind of turns on and that's kind of what I rely on where I'm like, I know that once I get there and I get going, it's not gonna be an issue. Right. and so day in the life, you know, there was just recent, actually the little boy who turned one while I was there that weekend, I shot his birth and I had actually had a birth on the Friday. So I was scheduled to see them on the Saturday and I had a birth happen on the Friday and so I just emailed them and I was like, if we could change it to Sunday, like you're going to get the best version of Ashley Marston that you possibly can, because if I come Saturday morning, like it's, I'm just going to be honest, like, you know, and, and they're like, Oh yeah, no big deal. it was not an issue at all. And that's, a conversation even that I have with my clients because I mean there's always a chance that I'm going to get called out to a birth and so if you're going to book a session like that and, there's always a slight possibility that we might have to change things up. So everybody's pretty on board and I think it's just being, you know, knowing yourself and being like, okay, if there's room, to change this, then let's just Make some adjustments. And then I showed up Sunday morning and was, my was a hundred, was

Raymond Hatfield:

your best self, you know, a

Ashley Marston:

hundred percent my, my best self.

Raymond Hatfield:

I looked through the whole blog and it was, just great, incredible photos. And I know that I would be, thrilled to have photos like that, of our family, especially the photo with everybody in their robes, with mom and dad drinking coffee with, uh, know with a little boy in, I know that was such a great photo, such a great photo that

Ashley Marston:

wasn't like, totally they synchronized, like was not even remotely. I didn't even tell them to do anything. They just all sat down on the floor by themselves. After I took the photo I laughed and I said to them like, You guys completely, like, synchronized coffee drinking. And then he looked right at me and I was like, that is the perfect shot. Ha ha ha. That sums up parenthood with a one year old all in one frame.

Raymond Hatfield:

I love, I love those happy accidents for sure. I know, me

Ashley Marston:

too. Me too.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, Ashley, I have, taken far too much of your time. You've been so gracious with me. Oh, this has been awesome. And, and answering. every question that I have thrown at you. I got one last question and that is, I want to know what advice you would give to somebody just breaking into photography. It doesn't necessarily have to be birth, but just somebody who's smart and they're driven and they want to make a go at this, whether through a business or just through personal, what advice would you give them?

Ashley Marston:

I would tell them to shoot. What they love. Find what they love to shoot and go for it, because if you're trying to be somebody else, if you're trying to go with the masses and shoot what you think you should be shooting, then your success will not come as quickly. I think that it really shows in your work when you are shooting things that you are really passionate about and people see that right away and they're drawn to it. be yourself and shoot, shoot what you love. Beautiful,

Raymond Hatfield:

beautiful, beautiful. Ashley, can you let the listeners know where they can find you online to follow along and check out your work?

Ashley Marston:

on Instagram and Facebook. and I post every single day, so you can definitely follow along, with what we're doing

Raymond Hatfield:

daily. So perfect. Ashley, again, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I truly appreciate you. and I can't wait to follow along more in depth into your own three, six, three, six, five, I was gonna say three 65. And then I decided halfway through your own project. and hopefully, hopefully start doing something like that for myself. So yeah, thank you. Never too

Ashley Marston:

late. Thank you so much.

Raymond Hatfield:

Why don't you come join me and more than 6, 000 fellow listeners of the podcast over in the free and amazing beginner photography podcast community so that you can learn and grow your skills. So just if you want to join, head over to beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group now. Thanks again for tuning into today's episode. And until next week, remember the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.