Powerhouse couple follow their creative passion from weddings to brand photography

Creative couple Luke and Ashley Beasley have turned their love of photography into a thriving full time business.

The self-taught photographers from Hampton, Virginia are well versed in wedding photography (they even run courses to help other businesses grow!) but have recently turned their attention to brand styling to expand their creative repertoire. They took the chance to partner with Creatively Squared to help build their brand portfolio and haven’t looked back! They are now one of our go-to creator teams with their vibrant style, creative eye for detail and professional manner.

Luke and Ashley are always up for a challenge and any project or brand that inspires them to test the limits of their creativity. They’ve photographed everything from alcoholic drinks for Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Copper & Kings to luggage styling with Samsonite and American Tourister.

This duo always amazes us with their stunning imagery, which keeps getting better with every project they tackle. Keep scrolling to meet Luke and Ashley for yourself and be inspired by their rags to riches creative journey.

Let’s meet Luke and Ashley

Hello, it’s Luke and Ashley Beasley! We do photography full-time as a husband and wife team, and the truth is we got into photography because we were broke - had $86000 in debt, on food stamps and were making $1200 every month.

Mainly we shoot weddings but brand work has really pushed us to expand and try new things. We love our images clean, timeless and authentic and are always up for trying new things!

We are self-taught and when we were starting out could never get enough YouTube videos. After each session, we would analyze our work on what we liked and what we could do better for next time.

One of the favourite content we produced was for a company that opens cans, and we have shot some pretty cool stuff for them.

Joining the team at Creatively Squared

We don’t particularly remember how we discovered Creatively Squared, we probably saw their work on socials and inquired about working together.

Our first project was a bit challenging, we were clueless on what to do. We have never had a shot list from the client with certain requirements because we were used to just showing up and being creative. We learned and thankfully the team kept us around!

After coming across Luke and Ashley’s profile in our database, I knew I wanted to work with them! Their bright, clean and colourful vibe just jumped out at me and I knew we’d have some projects well suited to them. I’ve now personally worked on 8 projects with Luke and Ash, and they have completed 11 projects all together in the space of a year. I absolutely love working with both of you - you’re both easy going, relaxed and super friendly and I feel confident booking you time and time again as the quality is always great! - Kate Wilson, Senior Account Manager at Creatively Squared

Tools of the trade

We shoot with Canon R6 Camera, Canon RF 28-70L and use Lightroom for post-production.

For props, we love using anything inspirational we have on hand. We also use natural light and neutral colours for backdrops to allow pops of colour. Also we love working with great people. Since we don’t own a studio yet we shoot anywhere we can to make the project work.

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The creative process

When having a shoot, we were just winging it at first, now we are storyboarding. We also use an app called Milanote. This is a collaboration tool that lets us and the client brainstorm, plan, and ensure we are all on the same page.

Inspiration wise, we really don’t follow too many people on Instagram or social platforms. Comparison kicked our butts a few years back and since then we have just done our own thing.

When we want to get into the creative zone, we listen to music and just take a day or two off when we know we need it - No photography-related work allowed!

Top creative tip

Our top tip for photographers is to do something by trial and error and just keep shooting. Experience has come from us being very hands on and active. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. There are going to be a lot of nos, but you only need one yes.

What’s next?

We want to learn more lighting and propping techniques.

Thank you Luke and Ashley for sharing your journey so far with us and being an instrumental part of our creator team. You can see more of Luke and Ashley’s work by following their Instagram @lukeandashleybrands or visiting their websites Luke and Ashley Education where the duo offer courses and share helpful blog posts, and their wedding photography site.