Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiara Harris and Ashlei Hulschulze.
Hi Tiara and Ashlei, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We share a love of photography but we began as two separate entities. We’ve been best friends since we can remember, so it only seemed right that we come together and create something amazing out of what we both love. Thus, Ashlei Devonne Photography was born. We started with only taking outdoor photos and later had the idea to repurpose a bonus room into a small home studio. This eventually leads us to rent studio space with aspirations of having our own one day.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road has definitely not been smooth thus far. Our first official year of business was interrupted by COVID-19. We began to pick up momentum at the start of the year but business came to a halt in April of 2020 due to the mandate to stay home and for fear of putting our clients and ourselves at risk. We began to take clients intermittently in the summer of 2020, but only outdoors. Once business began to pick back up, we ran into another issue- finances. We realized that in order to continue to operate successfully, we would have to raise our prices. Keep in mind that part of the reason we started was to provide an affordable option to our family and friends. We worried that these individuals, as well as potential clients, would not be willing to pay. We struggled with the decision for weeks but ultimately, it had to be done. We finally raised prices at the beginning of 2021. We were met with a drop in inquiries from potential clients but things are slowly starting to pick up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are portrait photographers at our core. However, we enjoy photography as a whole so you might sometimes find us stepping outside of that niche. We pride ourselves on being very personable and relatable when it comes to our clients and we’ve heard first-hand from them that they love our tag-team effort during sessions. Our combined charisma, along with sharing in responsibilities during sessions, allows us to provide the client with an experience that is fun, comfortable, and, most importantly, memorable. Our editing style is also something we feel sets us apart from many photographers right now. We offer custom retouching services tailored to the needs of the client vs. using a generic preset filter for all of our photos. That way, the client gets a unique look still true to the style of Ashlei Devonne Photography.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We’re genuinely excited about what the future holds for Ashlei Devonne Photography. We’re open to new ideas and concepts for set design and making the visions of our clients come to life. We hope to expand into areas such as boudoir and videography in the coming months.
Contact Info:
- Email: ashleidevonnephotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photosxashleidevonne/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photosxashleidevonne
