Hi! I'm Ashley.
"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies."
-Diane Arbus
Photography is an exhilarating part of my life, and my excitement about it hasn't been tarnished by time. In high school, it served as a mysterious and confusing hobby, a way of connecting with others, a channel anxious energy. In college it became an outlet, a service, and an escape. After that it became a business and a passion. Still later, it taught me discipline and confidence. And now, it's a whirling, ever-changing mixture of all of these things: and the more I devote myself to it, the more vast the possibilities seem. It feels like a friend, one that's always waiting to teach me no matter how distracted I become.
In the past, I've been told that students of photography were taught that their specialty and succinct and identifiable visual language were paramount and required to succeed. If you were going to be a wedding photographer, you were a WEDDING photographer. If you were going to shoot still life, you had better specialize in only still-life. Better yet, be the guy who shoots spoons better than anyone else. That way you'll be sure to book all the spoon jobs. I’m not the spoon guy: I spin a lot of plates.
I'll take that expired Polaroid film you're throwing out and use it. I want to shoot your clothing company's fashion editorial spread in the studio. I’ll shoot your band’s promo pictures. I want to make your image in wet plate collodion (tintype) out of a tent in the middle of the woods. I would love to shoot your wedding or elopement, whether you prefer a modern digital style, or on black and white film. I aspire to someday master printing in historical processes like platinum palladium, salt, and albumen printing. I get my hands dirty developing my own film. All of these applications of photography fascinate me, and I don't feel the need to choose. Photography is cool. Photography is an adventure. There's more to learn.
I hope we can get together soon and talk about your big ideas, and the ways in which my experience with all these interests will inform your experience as my client.
Let's Connect!
tintype website // www.alchemytintype.com
Instagram// @ashleyjenningsweddings / @ashleyjenningsphoto / @alchemytintypestudio
What about weddings?
You have a difficult task, shopping for a wedding photographer. The market is saturated with great options, and it gets more competitive each year as technology improves and becomes more accessible.
My advice: meet your photographer first! Pay attention to the chemistry. Skilled wedding photography isn’t just technical, it’s interpersonal. The more comfortable you feel, the better you’ll look in your wedding photos!
If you choose to work with me, you’re benefiting from experience (20 years of weddings means I’ve seen and rolled with it all), technical versatility (I can make you photographs in many different ways), confidence (in knowing what it takes to get the job done, but always with kindness), and my ability to make clients comfortable (the #1 feedback I receive.)
I shot my first wedding in 2006, and loved everything about it. I feel so privileged that I get to be there with the couple on what is quite probably the most important day ever for them, watching and capturing the few seconds that they'll think of their entire lives. I love that I still sometimes tear up during the father daughter dance, and that sometimes I catch myself walking through the reception grinning because I'm having so much fun. I love the friendship I always end up making with the flower girls, and cracking jokes with the groomsmen. I love watching your big Jewish Russian family teach your husband's quiet Texan family how to dance the Hora. I love when you turn tradition on its head and walk each other down the aisle to punk music. Elopements? Courthouse weddings? Yes. Traditional or not, religious or not, as long as you're having a great time, I'm up for anything. Let's do it.
I'm proud and happy to photograph people in love of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
If you’re ready to think about investment, reach out and I’ll send you a detailed pricing guide. Most couples choose to invest $2900-$5000 in their wedding packages. My goal is to provide every couple with a completely personalized experience and beautiful photographs.
If you’re ready to learn more, let's set up a time to get coffee or happy hour drinks and get to know each other!
Can't wait to meet you.
