Congratulations to the First Place Winner of our 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition: Ashley Marston of Ashley Marston Photography! We are excited to introduce Ashley to you not only as a winner of the competition, but also as our Featured Photographer of the Month for February 2021.
Please enjoy the interview below from Ashley where she shares …
Congratulations on winning First Place in our 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition and being our Featured Photographer of the Month, Ashley! Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into birth photography.
Thank you so much! What an incredible honour it is!
I have been shooting births since 2012. I consider myself to be one of the oldest in the business as I came in with the first wave of birth photographers and we had to work really hard to show the public exactly what birth photography was!
I photographed my first three births for free with a model contract signed so that I had images to share with the public. The first birth I missed by minutes (A good lesson right away
in the unpredictability of birth ) and the second one was for a family whose son was diagnosed with Spinal Bifida. It was intense but beautiful and really made me realize how important the work we do is.
When it comes to editing, you have a very distinct style. How long would you guess you spend on average editing a photo?
Over the years I have fine tuned my editing process so it really doesn’t take me long at all. I just finally (after years of people asking for them!) Put out an incredible preset collection and included in that 25 preset collection are 5 of the Black and Whites I am most known for.
https://store.clickinmoms.com/a-daily-occurence-preset-collection-by-ashley-marston-for-lightroom-acr/?fbclid=IwAR2ZfA0-FnGM1kRba832IdXHHn7UbXnnB0p_0knCystjeH1qE5Rn6uV6bRA
Will you share with us one of your favorite editing tools or tips?
I am a moody shooter and so I often under expose my images and bring them up a bit in post if I need too. It really helps me let light be part of the story in my images.
What do you think makes a good photograph stand out from the average?
I think great photographs are made up three main parts. The moment, the light and the composition. If you’ve got all of that it will stop people in their tracks.
Be ready for anything, don’t be afraid to get creative and move your body!
Let’s talk birth bags! What lenses are in your camera bag at a birth? Which is your favorite?
I am a 24mm girl through and through. Its all I use for 90% of my images. Birth, Documentary and Lifestyle. I do also have a 85mm I use, but rarely at a birth.
What is an absolute must-have for you in your birth bag (besides camera equipment, of course)?
My Moccasin Slippers. I bring them to every birth. They are quiet and comfortable and at last nights birth I lent them to the mom as she had nothing to wear but snow boots into the NICU. You never know when they will come in handy!
In your opinion, what is the most rewarding part of being a photographer?
There are so many rewards that i have seen over my 10 plus years as a photographer not only with my client work but also in my personal work.
You can never underestimate the power of a photograph. Even the seemingly most insignificant moment captured can mean a great deal to someone.
And finally, whose work has influenced you the most?
Ohhhh….There are a few photographers that I really look up to. Kyla Ewert, Summer Murdoch, Nikki Boon and Rebecca Coursey.
Love and laughter comprise the primary subject matter for Vancouver Island-based photography Ashley Marston. An award-winning and published Birth, Lifestyle & Documentary photographer/filmmaker (and busy mother of three), Marston strives for images that capture those two staples of family relationships, as well as the quiet moments that might otherwise go unseen. Always seeing life through a lens, Marston also photographs her own family daily, cherished images she shares on Social Media through her year-long A Daily Occurrence project. Whether the photographs capture moments with her family or a client, storytelling is the heart of all her work.
Ashley’s work has been seen on the Huffington Post, National Geographic, ABC News, BabyCenter, Rangefinder Magazine, Click Magazine, Today’s Parent Magazine, The Today Show, Cosmopolitan, STERN Magazine, The Daily Mail, Redbook Magazine, Women’s Day and various celebrated Photography Blogs and Podcasts.