About Ashley

It's me!

Hello! My name is Ashley Durham and I am the owner/photographer for Ashley Durham Photography (as well as The Secret Pin-Up). I'm 27 years old and have been married to my just-out-of-high-school sweetheart Randy for 8 years, and together we have four pretty amazing kids - Daniel (8), Katelyn (5), Sierra (4) and Noah (2).

I am a 90% natural light photographer ... I do have a studio, but I much prefer to be outside using God-given light and nature as a backdrop. I feel that life is meant to be captured in it's natural environment - even newborns! Not necessarily outside, but I love to go to people's homes to do their newborn sessions (for example) because it really personalizes the experience, and creates a good memory of your baby's first photo session.

I often get asked ... How long have you been a photographer? Well, the short answer is that I've had a camera in my hand since I was old enough to be trusted to hold one! I distinctly remember throwing Barbies up in the air with parachutes attached, trying to get "action shots" at the ripe ol' age of 7 ... I really need to find those, even though they are horrible and blurry, it's such a sweet memory for me and really the first time I can remember being interactive with a camera.

 Sierra (4), Katelyn (5), Me, my husband Randy, Daniel (8) and Noah (2)

Flash forward to my awkward adolescent years, and I was always the one who was taking pictures - I worked in yearbook, news-casting, the school paper - you name it, and I was involved. After my kids were born, I realized how important it was to really document everything with a picture and have pretty much carried a camera with me ever since ... And I finally bought my first DSLR in the summer of 2008 while stationed in Okinawa, right before my husband deployed to Afghanistan.

While he was deployed, I really began to focus on learning how to use my sweet Nikon D40 in manual. Once we moved to Minot ND in the summer of 2010, I told my husband that I was thinking of starting my own photography business and you know what the first thing he said was? "About [darn] time!"

Me & My Love

With that motivation, I upgraded to my current Nikon D90 and invested in a few new lenses (Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 and the Nikkor 24-70mm F/2.8 are my two most used lenses) and began to do some sessions with friends, who encouraged me to keep on going and ... well ... the rest is history! I began to do every kind of session I possibly could - newborns, maternity, weddings, seniors, engagements/couples, families ... I even got to go to a couple birth sessions, which was AMAZING. In the spring of 2011, I branched my business venture off to include a Boudoir and Pin-Up business, which is The Secret Pin-Up.

In the summer of 2011, I began working toward my BFA in Photography from the Academy of Art University, and we relocated to our current and final home - Colorado Springs, CO! I am really looking forward to all the new and exciting possibilities that the Springs has to offer, including the beautiful landscape and the wonderful community.

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me! If you have any questions, or would like to book a session with me, please email me at AshleyDurhamPhotography@gmail.com!

** A big thank you to Nelly Hernandez Photography (Minot, ND) for taking these awesome pictures for me!)