Meet Ashly Nicole | Photographer

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

Hi Ashly, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Most times risk in my field involves taking chances and asking questions that might not result in what you want. My outlook on taking a risk, is as long as it doesn’t harm anyone or any relationships, you’re golden; the worst thing that can happen is rejection, and then you try again.

Risk can mean, asking for that press pass, sending your resume to a company for a potential interview/job, trying something new and creative, something you’ve never tried before (like film or building a set, styling, trying a new way of editing etc)
You have to take risks in order to grow as an artist!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m not at all where I expected to be in this point of my career, but I’m definitely not upset about it. When I first started taking photos on a more professional level, I dreamed and imagined I’d be working in music for the rest of my life, but boy was I wrong haha

I still work in music, but it’s not my full time; I currently work as a full time product photographer for a company I truly love and have been a fan for, for nearly a decade. Music was something I always wanted to be involved in, but I think in ways it’s good it’s not my everyday right now. Being in the music industry can be physically and mentally exhausting, I think one day I might find my way back to it, but for now, I’m happy doing it for fun and for hire every once in awhile.

The road to where I am was not easy, many challenges faced involved learning how to navigate “mean girls”, people who want to tear you down & don’t want you to succeed or “surpass” them, even though success is not linear. It came with learning how to keep my head down and focus on my work. I’ve learned that sometimes being outspoken about things even if you’re right, doesn’t always mean it won’t harm you or your career; that doesn’t mean don’t speak up about injustice or stand up for yourself, it’s about knowing the right time, place, and way to handle a situation. It’s something I still am learning to navigate, but something everyone should know and learn.

I just want the world to know that I strive to be kind, helpful, and make people who see my work feel.
My goal is to always do what I can to build other people up, be as nice to as many people as I cross paths with, and be the mentor that others have been to me when I was just starting out.
With my work, I want to convey emotion; I want people to feel something, to feel like they were in that moment with me when I took that photo. When people tell me they can feel emotions through my work, that’s the best feeling in the world.

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?
My go to is just always Disney! (Seriously) it’s my very favorite place and I love taking people.

This question makes me think I need to get out more. I always bookmark places on Instagram and tiktok that I want to visit and go to. If you just want a quick casual lunch & love all kinds of drinks, Galco’s soda pop stop in highland park is one of my favorite places!! You can grab a sandwich from the sandwich counter, browse the aisles and aisles of unique sodas, and grab a little bag of truffle kettle chips on your way to the check out. I also really love donut friend in highland park, and if you end up bopping over to echo park, cinnaholic is also super good if you’re in the mood for sweets + it’s vegan.
Crystal and oddities shopping is also super fun, and I love going to house of intuition (highland or echo park), and Ghoulish Delights in Granada Hills for all your cute spooky, and oddity needs.

Another thing I love doing is going on night drives down the PCH a little passed Pepperdine, parking, and walking along the beach in Malibu (be safe about it though & don’t go alone!!!)

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?
Oh gosh, there’s so many people who deserve recognition in my story and journey. One of the first people to see potential in me was my senior year photo teacher, Ms Carpenter (she also introduced me to marcel the shell & I love him to this day haha), she let me be as creative as I wanted to be and taught me so much about thinking outside the box, how things work, and more about both film and digital photography.
When I first started my deep dive into the music world outside of performing myself, my friend Atreyue was one of the first people to give me a shot & let me learn the ropes while giving me the platform to do so. He had an online publication called Restless Press, and he’s the person who got me my first photo pass, my first on camera interviews with bands and artists I loved, and the first person to let me write stories on a public platform. If it wasn’t for Atreyue, I wouldn’t have met the people I have and I wouldn’t have gotten to be a part of Warped Tour, I genuinely think he put me on that path.
Someone who inspired me when I first got into music photography, and someone who helped me so much & has always been a mentor in some capacity is Maysa Askar. Her work, knowledge, and drive have always been inspiring to me, and she was someone I modeled my own work after. She’s still someone I talk to and sometimes still ask advice from; she’s a wonderful person and creative.

Website: ashlynicolephoto.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/ashlynicolephoto

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlykirk