Meet Ashley Roberts: Photographer

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

Hi Ashley, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I definitely have had to take complete risks to be where I am in my career. Starting with spending all of my money and going into debt taking a huge risk to buy expensive photography equipment and the cost of traveling to LA from WA multiple times to do shoots. Honestly if you don’t take the risks you can’t achieve your dream most of the time. Fear is what holds you back. I could have said I shouldn’t try photography because I probably won’t succeed and I need to keep a stable job. Taking the risk of not having a steady job and signing a lease in LA was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. I truly believe risks are required to obtain big success.

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 truly feel my photography has its own style. I do all my own editing on each photo by hand. I don’t use presets and each photo is hand edited. I’m very excited for future projects. I’ve been taking photos for album covers and the covers for music videos recently. I’ve really enjoyed doing that and being apart of the music world as well as fashion. I’d love to do more editorial shoots for magazines. I’m also doing my own YouTube channel now showing vlogs of photo shoots with public figures. It definitely wasn’t a smooth easy road to get where I am, I think the biggest key was I tried until I got what I wanted. I didn’t give up and was willing to take risks both financially and personally to achieve it. For one example, I had wanted to shoot with Jordyn Jones for about 5 years and I just shot with her last week. Even though I shoot with lots of influencers and public figures now that was a shoot I’ve wanted to do for so long and the fact that I finally made it happen felt very exciting. I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is you can’t get discouraged or give up and you have to be willing to spend money to make money.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
With covid it’s a little harder, not sure if you mean during covid or if covid didn’t exist. My friend was actually just here for a couple weeks and we did lots of fun outdoor things in spite of covid. For someone who’s never been to the LA/Southern Ca area this is what I’d suggest. Sunday- Santa Monica Pier is definitely a must if you’ve never been. Lunch at Urth Cafe is great! Shopping at the Promenade and 3rd street complete with getting soft pretzels. And stay and watch the beautiful Santa Monica Sunset. There’s also a great club in Santa Monica called 41 ocean if you’re into the nightlife (pre-covid) Monday- Explore Beverly Hills. Going to Rodeo drive to shop and take photos is always a big thing if you’re not from LA. Get Sprinkles Cupcakes from the cupcake atm on rodeo. Go to the Beverly Hills Hotel and take photos outside. I’ve done so many shoots outside near the Beverly Hills Hotel. Such amazing lighting and beautiful grounds and fun tourist spot near the sign. Then eat at the Cabana Cafe. Tuesday- Go for some hikes on Runyon canyon and go to see the hidden swing by Elysian Park. Of course get In-N-Out Burger when you’re in LA! Wednesday- One of my favorite things to do in CA is go to Santa Barbara! It’s my absolute favorite place! I love the beach and the outdoors. My favorite Beach there is Butterfly Beach. It’s a beautiful very chill beach near the Four Seasons Hotel and Coral Cafe. Then in the evening go to Sterns Warf Pier and walk around the Pier and shop and eat. Thursday- Definitely going to Malibu is another must! Go to the Malibu Farm Pier for lunch and exploring the Pier. Then go down to Point Dune. Friday- As you can tell I love the beach! Laguna Beach is probably the most beautiful beach in California. We’d drive down to Laguna or Dana Point. The Ritz Carlton in Dana Point has a great beach complete with cute food stand to get lunch. Saturday- Another fun thing to do is walking around and shopping at the Grove! Then going to the Saddle Ranch Chophouse on Sunset Blvd Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d definitely love to dedicate my shoutout to my mother who passed away in January 2019 as well as my Grandma Kathleen who has always supported me in my photography. I’ve had many people not be supportive of me pursuing my photography and not seeming to be happy for my success. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my grandma Kathleen. She helped me financially to be able to take trips and buy photography equipment when I couldn’t afford it and spent all my money on it and always encourages me to keep going and pursing it. Without that help from her it would have been impossible for me. And my Mother would have been so excited for what I have archived and around the time right before she passed away she was so supportive and excited for what I was doing. It breaks my heart I can’t share it with her but I hope she is proud of me.

Website: www.ashleyrobertsphotos.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashleyrobertsphotos

Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/AshleyRobertsPhotos

Other: Tik Tok Ashleyrobertsphotos

Image Credits
A List Nation, Jazmin Whitley, Olivia Ponton, Jaclyn B Make-up, Cassie Randolph, Jordyn Jones, Marni Seabright, Coco Quinn, Jessica Belkin, Teala Dunn