Check Out Ashley Ludwig’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Ludwig.

Hi Ashley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been photographing weddings for 15 years as of 2025, and it’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve done portraiture and maybe a concert once or twice, but I instantly found my home in documenting weddings and relationships. When I first started, I rented my gear every time because I couldn’t afford to purchase it outright. Borrowlenses.com and I became very close friends! A couple of years later, I decided to keep doing this for real, so I invested in the gear and committed. I’m a big reader & analyzer, so while I didn’t take workshops or classes or anything, I studied, experimented, and worked hard to figure out what this world looked like. Eventually, I realized how big of a role human psychology, service-mindedness, boundaries, communication skills, quick problem-solving, and decisiveness play in my work and goals. In wedding photography as an industry, if you can’t communicate and therefore don’t know how we as humans perceive and listen and reciprocate, I don’t think you need more talent to compensate for that gap, short of someone dragging you along with them. When I honed in on who I was and what I truly wanted out of this and saw a vision of where I would be, I could see the clear road to get there. Relationships with vendors, other photographers, planners, jobs I had before, and my experience as a mom and as a person living in this world all contribute to how I see and shape my business and stay true to the bigger picture I hope to achieve along the way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Growing up, I wasn’t part of a wealthy or well-off family. My sweet mother worked paycheck to paycheck, and I went to college on my own assumptions, so finances were always a struggle. Knowing you want something to be your career and being able to eat food at the same time is hard to balance, especially with a specialty that requires $4,000-$10,000 worth of gear as a base level. Of course, we can get by with less, but the tech should be included in the conversation to surpass and reach goals. It becomes a tool you constantly learn from and with. Moving through life, I was able to rent a lot, and with a lot of stubborn commitment, I just never let myself quit. Eventually, of course, I was able to buy my gear and cross one struggle off the list, but there are so many little nuanced details you have to figure out along the way. Your pricing, your editing style, education to support change in both categories, your market as defined and marketing in general, what you’re willing to pay for vs. what hat you’re eager to adorn; I don’t think there’s a smooth way to exist in this industry in general given all the details involved, but I do think you get good at adapting and expecting the bumps so you can bob and weave. Now, when I approach a bump, I view it as a new puzzle to solve rather than a mountain to climb. Perspective is everything.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
Specializing in wedding photography has always been my home. Through a ton of valleys and peaks, I’ve found my way to this current 2024 version of Ashley — she enjoys accurate color representation, consistent processing, reading about and analyzing tech, studying psychology and therapy modalities, and cross-comparing how it applies to our creative industry.

Something I’m most proud of, which is also the most consistent feedback in what sets me apart, is holding space for running a business and being a person at the same time. I can pour so much of myself and my personality into my business model because I know the must-haves. They are so woven into who I am that boundaries walk hand in hand with joy and encouragement and speaking up to be creative. My ambitious mind can live inside the structure of the necessary walls and frees up a lot of space to connect with my couples in a way that people don’t take the time to do or enjoy.

You have to love weddings to succeed internally on paper. I’m grateful and proud to know myself and who I am so that that can guide everything. As a service-driven, gift-giving, words-of-affirmation type of human, all those things combined to make what feels like the best experience I can give them outside of my actual service.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Bitterness and jaded feelings will break through the surface if you hold them in. If something is changing in you, your goals, aspirations, needs, wants, etc., do not just continue hoping it goes away. One way or another, our emotions and minds must be respected, or they come out in ways that are detrimental to not only your mental health and burnout but to your clients, too. I chose to get comfy with my boundaries and ability to see confrontation as an invitation for communication, not something to avoid and run from. Your business will thank you.

Pricing:

• $5,800 | Full-day coverage with 2 photographers, engagement session, film + print extras, timeline planning, etc.
• $7,200 | That same full-day coverage but for destination locations that are travel bases as it does include travel costs
• $450 | All sessions regardless of reason/inspiration (family, engagement, newborn, etc)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashley-ludwig.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ashleyludwigphoto

Image Credits
All photos taken + edited by, as well as copyright ownership belonging to, Ashley Ludwig Photo