Meet David & Ashily Vo | Wedding & Family Photographers

We had the good fortune of connecting with David & Ashily Vo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David & Ashily, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
It’s certainly no surprise that starting your own business involves a multitude of risks, and we definitely were no strangers to this reality either. However, when it comes to what you love and what you’re passionate for ~ the perspective of “taking a chance” for us was more of a necessity than a risk.

When we first started manifesting our business endeavors, the first 2-3 years involved expenditures that exceeded much more than what we were actually able to bring in. Though it was something that we had planned for and anticipated, it was still daunting at times for us, especially with having a mortgage and not having the ideal income that was needed to sustain our way of life. Sometimes riddled with moments of discomfort, we contemplated giving it all up and going back into our traditional 9-5’s again.

In the end, the results of patience and perseverance outweighed our doubts and fears. In our experience thus far, we’ve come to also recognize that taking a risk for what you love and are passionate for didn’t just end with that either. Not only did our love and passion need to be there, but also various facets of support as well. After all, you wouldn’t bungee jump without a bungee, nor would you skydive without your parachute. For us, that support came in many forms ~ first, as a husband and wife team, it was the support and comfort we had in one another. Secondly, it was making sure to anchor ourselves, not only together as a team, but also individually in confidence and determination for what we believed in. And additionally of course, through our family, friends, and various educational resources that we sought after to invest in to further advance our skillsets as well. With all of these factors combined, what was initially labeled as “risks” eventually transitioned into blessings for us.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A unique aspect about Vo Photo Co is that we run our business together as a husband and wife team. With the hundreds of weddings and events that we’ve been able to photograph/document together, being a husband and wife duo has shown to be quite beneficial in many different ways. In particular, we’ve become more in sync and in tune with each other’s rhythm and flow. While this took some time, trial and error, and late night discussions to achieve, we’re now at a point where our movements are mindful/tactful to create an end product that both our clientele and we ourselves can be pleased with. While we’re proud of the system and work flow that we’ve established, we’re doubly excited about the creative vision that we’re able to achieve as well. We have been photographing events/weddings for over a decade now, yet it was only within recent years that we were finally able to hone in our craft. Our core and focus is set on capturing moments with a clean and timeless aesthetic, along with taking a documentary approach in our work ethic to be able to record sincere and genuine moments.

Though the journey at times felt long and arduous, being able to work with each other in this niche made it all worth while. We naturally have become an anchor of love and support for one another, especially when faced with the difficulties that this industry has to offer. As a result, it strengthened and matured our relationship together allowing us to bring facets of that growth and learning (such as patience and tenacity) into our small business as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles: ~ Best coffee joints (in no particular order): Stereoscope Coffee in Echo Park, Coffee MCO in Koreatown, MARU Coffee in Arts District, Intelligentsia Coffee in Silver Lake, Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo, and Copa Vida in Pasadena
~ Eateries: L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, The IZAKA-YA by KATSU-YA in Manhattan Beach, Yuchun in Koreatown, El Taurino, Daedo Sikdang, Shabu Shabu House in Little Tokyo, Grand Central Market LA
~ To take a stroll/walk around & hangout: The Grove LA, Santa Monica Pier & 3rd Street Promenade, The ROW, Old Town Pasadena, The Getty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County
~ Drive down to Oliboli Donuts in Orange County for some of the best donuts ever ~ then spend the day at any one of the amazing OC Beaches (Laguna, Newport, Huntington)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to our parents! John & Ruth Vo, Song Chon Kim, and Kyung Ae Kim. Furthermore, to ALL of our clients who have entrusted us with documenting their story through photos and continuing to support us in so many different ways, we share our love and gratitude to you. To our “friendors” in the wedding industry ~ thank you for your constant perseverance, your tenacity, your grind, and always working hand in hand with us to provide our clientele with the best of the best.

Website: https://vophotoco.com

Instagram: @vophotoco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vophotoco

Image Credits
Vo Photo Co