Meet Stacey Ash | Newborn Photographer and Trainer

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

Hi Stacey, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
This has changed dramatically since first launching my business. Like many others, I would take every session that came my way, when I first started. It didn’t matter that I was undercharging. It didn’t matter what day of the week or time of day. I was just excited that people wanted me to be their photographer. That was short-lived, though. Burnout soon set in. It got to the point where I had to have a serious talk with my husband about whether or not the juice was worth the squeeze. I was missing out on family time and everyday activities were getting neglected. I increased my pricing and that helped some. But, there was one moment that really sticks out in my mind—this one moment transformed my business.

It was a Sunday morning. Even though I had said I wouldn’t work Sundays, I made an exception for this day (I made a lot of exceptions back then). We had to take two cars to church because the session was happening right after. When we got in our cars to leave after church, I watched my husband drive off with my two young boys and was gutted with sadness. It was yet another day of family time that I was missing out on. I vowed that very minute that I wouldn’t do that again. I immediately changed my availability, increased my pricing again, and made no more exceptions. My philosophy was it has to work with these boundaries in place, or I can’t do this anymore.

Setting the boundaries has saved me. I stick to my availability and my pricing. I expect to be out of budget for most people. Hearing “no” is not personal to me anymore. It’s just a numbers game and I hold out for those ideal clients who value my art. I don’t work outside of my scheduled hours. If they really want me as their photographer, they will make it work (and they always do).

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 photograph expectant moms, new babies, and children. My specialty lies with newborns. I am most proud of building my photography business from the ground up. I started with no training and have worked my way up to where I am now, a full-time photographer who was able to resign from public education after 20 years of service. It has not been easy. It took some hard, but necessary lessons to build a successful career out of a hobby.

When it comes to challenges, I have always been a go-getter. I tend to get to work when a problem arises, rather than just sitting in my emotions, For example, when a client makes life difficult, I use it as an opportunity to change my contract and terms. I will not let the same thing happen again. I try really hard to think ahead and address concerns before they happen. I am big on learning from past mistakes. There will be difficult days. That’s a guarantee, but how we handle them determines who stays in this profession for the long haul.

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?
There is a lot of fun in Columbus, Ohio! The must-do items include:

COSI – This is our science center in downtown Columbus. It has regular attractions like the planetarium, but it also has traveling exhibits. It’s great for all ages and never boring!

The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium – One of the best! I took our zoo for granted a bit until I visited other zoos and realized just how special ours is. You can feed the giraffes or ride a boat past the monkeys. Jack Hanna did an amazing job setting it up. You may be familiar with our zoo from Nat Geo’s “Secrets of the Zoo” show.

OSU Buckeyes football game – There’s nothing like this live experience. We have crazy fun fans and traditions, like Script Ohio! We would make sure to hit up the skull session before the game to see the best band in the land!

Alum Creek State Park – There is a lot to do here. We would start by going for a morning hike, then have a picnic lunch on the beach, followed by a day out on the lake. We can rent a boat and have some ice cream at the newly built marina.

Inniswood – This is a beautifully manicured park and perfect for a relaxing walk. The flowers are always beautiful and the paved walkways are well maintained.

Food – I let my guests tell me the cuisine they would like before picking a restaurant because we have it all! I would say Columbus is best known for their steakhouses because we have quite a few that are very highly ranked such as Eddie Merlot’s, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, and Hyde Park.

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?
Many people have inspired me and helped me along the way. I can’t list them all here, so I will focus on the two who have transformed my business the most.

Stacey Wiles – She is why I got into this profession. Watching her pose and photograph my son got me hooked! I knew that I wanted to be just like her. Thankfully, Stacey was kind and understanding. She happily responded to my e-mails and helped me get on the right path toward becoming a newborn photographer. She didn’t turn me down like many trainers would have, just because I lived within 40 miles of her. I try to have that same welcoming attitude as I now teach newborn photography. My theory is that training my “competition” can only better the profession as a whole. I would rather photographers around me know how to safely pose a baby than to try it on their own without proper training. It also gives me a chance to look at their business and help them set profitable pricing. For me, it’s about raising the bar for all of us.

Kyle Goldie – I was a lurker in his group for a while. Hiring him was high on my list of things to do for my business. Finally, the time came that I could do it and I wish I had hired him a whole year earlier! I wasn’t ranking on Google until he helped me. Everything I know about SEO and websites is due to his expertise. Now, the majority of my leads come from Google. My clients value me as a professional and that is because of my high-end website. With his help, I finally grossed over $100K and it has stayed above that every year since.

Website: https://www.staceyashphoto.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/staceyashphoto

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

Facebook: https://facebook.com/staceyashphoto

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@staceyashphotography263

Other: https://tiktok.com/@staceyashphoto

Image Credits
Stacey Ash Photography