Meet Ashley Mercado | Photographer & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Mercado and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
I have a few affirmations I like to tell myself in the mornings to kick start my day.

1. I have plenty of time to accomplish everything I need and want.

2. I can do anything I set my mind to.

and lastly,

3. I do enough, I have enough, I am enough.

The last quote is one I sometimes say more times throughout the day especially when I’m starting to feel burnt out or when I am trying so hard to do many tasks that in reality is too much. It is a reminder to myself to take a step back, breathe and take it one step at a time. There is no need to rush things or over exert myself trying to finish. There is no time limit, just the one I set myself but it isn’t set in stone. Life is a roller coaster and sometimes things don’t always turn out the way you’d like them to and that’s okay. All that matters is that you’re trying your best and still accomplishing what you’ve set out to do. Breaks are very important to help replenish the battery. These affirmations help me bring me back to reality and manage my time so I can edit client photos, plan out the next shoot, eat a meal, promote business, network, work the day job, have a social life, have some time for self-care and reboot with a goodnights sleep.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I would have to say I am most proud of being able to the images I picture in my head when I’m looking into the lens to life in a photo. I think its fun trying to add a little dreamy, cool, colorful aesthetic edit. There is so much that gets me excited about shooting. Seeing the progression of comfort you gain with your client to when doing a photoshoot to better capturing their candid moments and then when they ask to see the photo… The glow in their face is instantaneous and always makes me smile. When a client is really excited about about the final product, that’s instant gratification to me and a pat on the bag for job well done. Sometimes big hugs for those stressful times. When it comes to shows, capturing a mind blowing and memorable shot of an artist on stage with the energy of the crowd. Capturing the energy. That is key for me. If you can feel the energy, see the lights, hear the music and shouts from the crowd from a look at one of my photos, then I feel really accomplished. It’s also like your taking a glimpse of what I see and what goes on through my noggin. I’m big on imagination. *cue SpongeBob rainbow*

It took a bit of risks, courage for putting myself out and my work out their, lots of mistakes but many lessons learned, networking, emails, a lot of no’s, continued determination to get a yes, and overcoming a lot of nerves.
I kinda started my career out on a whim. I didn’t really know much of anything going into photography, let alone how to start working with artists. All I new in the beginning is that I really enjoyed taking pictures at music events. started with my phone to then picking up my moms unused camera and starting to sending photo inquiry emails to managers and artists pressing send with my eyes covered hoping for the best and reminding myself “the worst you can get is a no.” I was surprised by some of the yes’s I’ve received and am forever grateful for every opportunity! I had my list of my favorite artists whose music I would sing at the top of my lungs. I would tell myself when I started to grow a bit more in my business and sharpen my skills, I will work with them one day. Maybe this was the first time I started to believe that manifestation really works because I put it out in the universe and it came true. Unforgettable moments. Lots of those :D.
Was it easy? Not at all. It became very challenging to keep the motivation up when you are really trying your best to grow, consistently creating, promoting, unpleasant encounters while working at times, mistakes from no contract moments (aka chasing payments *lesson learned: contracts/agreements are your saviors*), fighting burn out and trying to recover from it, meeting deadlines, heck even posting on social media can be draining.
Taking breaks, learning to self care better, giving myself some time to work on projects so I don’t rush and stress that they aren’t done. Exploring the world more. Learning how to develop safe business and personal boundaries. Learning to be patient with myself. Dabbling in other non photography related activities like painting, playing video games and having the itch to voice act so messing around a little with that. It’s like I got lost in the business part of the job that it drained me but doing all of this is helping me learn to have fun again.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So out of all the questions, this one is probably the toughest because I am not the best planner *guilty* but I’ll name a few places I think are cool to check out and munch out. My favorite spots with beautiful views and can even have a cute little picnic are Ascot Hills Park, Rocketship Park, Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro (sunsets, definitely go during sunsets.) Little Tokyo is one of my go top’s especially for the food. The ramen there is amazing. China Town at night is really pretty to visit with all the lanterns and neon lights :). A good night of Korean bbq with great company in Korea Town with a nice glass of Soju. Cheers. Sunny Blue (omusubi/onigiri/rice balls) and Hurry Curry of Tokyo (Japanese curry +more) are the top restaurants I would highly recommend. Looks like this friend trip is going to be more of a foodie adventure. Nothing wrong with that haha.

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?
I definitely would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the constant support from my parents, family and close friends. Shout out to my parents for being understanding about my career and life choices. It was a rough start in the beginning as I agree being in the creative field does have its drawbacks and difficult to find stability but you have both have helped me find the motivation to keep pushing forward because it is my passion and for reminding me to finish what I start and have a positive outlook and sense of responsibility on everything I do. I want to shoutout so many people, Javi. Sonia, Joseph, Mike, Matphilly, Thorwald, Bryan, San Holo, Eastghost, Detreks, Yasi, David Suh for the fabulous posing videos. Frank, everyone who has booked me and trusted me with their vision, and there are so much more of you. You know who you are! Thank you for you’re constant support and believing in me and my work and hyping up my work making me feel even better on what I create. I am forever grateful for the other creatives and artists for their music, paintings, doodles and for being an inspiration! Thank you Insomniac for creating environments where people can just be themselves and enjoy music. Also want to shout out anime for influencing and building up my imagination with its animation, art styles, and story telling. Shout out to Blue Period, an anime I would recommend those in the creative field to watch.

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