Ashley Lilinoe

As an artist, there is indescribable joy that I get while I shoot photos. To see this same joy in another artist while in their element is something that really connects to me deep down. Ever since I came across her YouTube channel, I've been wanting to do a shoot with Ashley Lilinoe, as her personality and enthusiasm about her own music really stood out. Unexpectedly, we connected through Wilhemina Models a few weeks ago, so I was pretty stoked to get a chance to work with her! My vision for this project was to capture the real Ashley, as I haven't seen any images that convey the raw side of her. To do this, we did the entire shoot at her house, which also serves as her studio. We kept wardrobe to just a couple simple outfits that really speak to who she is as a person.

Ashley and I hung out for several hours, and I loved it when she would either play music or would be deep in thought about song, because it seemed like the whole world just dropped away from her. It all comes back to a response that Ashley gave me via email before our shoot: "Music would have to be the career aspect [for me], thought it's not much of a career as I'm just doing me. I am my music."