Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlei Tabor.
Ashlei, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I first bought a camera to take photos on a trip to Haiti. However, I had no idea how to use it, I had always used point and shoot cameras. Lucky for me, I had a friend that was a photographer, and he let me shadow a couple of shoots he had and taught me some of the basics. I didn’t pay much attention, and for over a year, my camera pretty much lived in my closet. Then I moved to LA! I wanted to make friends and went to a photo meet up. I had so much fun meeting so many creatives and learning. It pushed me into going to weekly meets with my friend (who also helped me a ton) and really honing in my skills.
One night I had a couple of friends over, and at this point, I have had a few meets under my belt. Spontaneously I felt like shooting and asked my friend if she would model for me. We dressed her up, wardrobe, makeup, and even a wig, then began shooting. I loved the pics! We only took them in my closet and bathroom so we could use mirrors and my flash would really reflect. Feeling pretty proud of myself I decided to submit them to magazines. I was thrilled when I found out Arsenic Magazine wanted to do a story on my shoot and another magazine picked up the series.
That’s when I really started becoming confident in my work and decided to start deep diving into photography. Now I shoot for brands, models, and editorials. Its been such an amazing experience and opened so many doors for me.
Has it been a smooth road?
Oh my no! This road has not been easy. Starting out I was just taking shots and wondering why my photo looked like garbage compared to other people. What I had in my mind for the shot wasn’t actually translating to the photo. Then framing finally caught on! In the beginning, people would say ”center your shot,” and I thought I was because I would frame a person’s face directly in the center. There would be a huge gap above their head! Haha, so long story short framing was my biggest struggle.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the AshTabor.photo story. Tell us more about the business.
For my freelance work, I mostly shoot models and editorial stories. Those are just things I enjoy. What I’m really good at is lifestyle and product shots for social media. For those things, I’ve signed under LyranSeed Creative agency.
I think when it comes to product placement, it takes having a great eye. You don’t have a model to express how the photo should feel so it’s up to the photographer to create the entire vibe for what the brand wants to express.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think the industry will continue on the trends that are currently popular. Its actually pretty funny how we rotate through “trends” of previous eras: ’80s, the 90s, etc. I think we will make another era loop and creatives will put their little spin on it.
Contact Info:
- Website: lyranseed.com
- Phone: 405-223-3977
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: ashtabor.photo
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