FAST FIVE Crystal Clear masterpieces with Ashley Browning

Meet Ashley Browning, because it's important to get to know your photographer. Ashley is a mom of five humans, married to one and she is a plant mom to over 300 variations of plants. Her home is her happy place. It was built in 1996 by her dad, Michael Kinzer. He built it for her mom and in 2022 she and her husband bought the family home. Ashley is a huge fan of anything outdoors: hiking, gardening, finding rocks, fishing, hunting. There isn’t much in the outdoors she doesn't enjoy, except the burs that get caught on clothing during hikes. Ashley is always taking photos, that’s how she embraces every occasion. She takes photos for the memories they will remind her of. "I have never met a stranger," Ashley said. "I love people and their energies so much. I am energetic and I am always smiling. I remember an old boss saying to me, 'No one smiles all the time,' and I responded with, “I do.'"

1) How did you get into photography?

I was a single mom who needed to make a living for me and my son. I have clients who are constantly pushing me to do more new things and pushing me to the next level of experience. Photography is a way for me to give people my favorite parts of spending time with them, the Crystal Clear Memories (crystalclearbyak.com).

2) What are a few of your favorite things about capturing the natural beauty of your subjects, and what are your favorite subjects to capture?

I love being able to take a moment that has never happened and freeze it forever for a client, like their son's first family photos. I started a new venture with my photography. I came to the conclusion that this is the only version of my photography that I want to do anymore. Aside from weddings and such, I now offer dates for "Pay What you Want" (PWYW) sessions, and it is literally that. The family that nestled this thought into me was one that lost something precious. I held open dates in December 2022 for PWYW and one family brought a picture frame that had a photo of a little girl, around my own daughter's age. I didn’t know their story, but when I went to send them their photos, I saw on the mom's Facebook the reason for the picture frame. They lost their daughter, the little girl in the picture frame. The note they wrote me for their session had a sentence that I have said forever and in this instant, everything told me that this was my meaning in life, to capture everyone's moments, no matter what they could afford. She said, “Since that day, we have come to treasure photos more than ever before.” I say, “Photos are memories you can’t get back." This is a time I get to freeze for my clients, for when one day that person in the photo isn’t here, you will have this of them.

As for my favorite subjects, those are actually easy. I enjoy capturing kids. They are very sincere and if they don’t want to smile they don’t. I also enjoy the boudoir photography side, making women feel empowered and untouchable is my goal, and it's a great victory when I watch them leave and they feel it deep in their soul.

3) Who are your photographic influences?

I actually never had many photographic influences in life but I did have one woman who helped me get started, her name was Lana and she planted the seed of photography in me.

Aside from her, my influences come from people I capture and people who lift me up in my ventures. I had a boss back in 2018 that I wrote a whole school paper about in college. She was what I wanted to be when I grew up and I still tell people about the kind of boss she is. Sheri Jones made an impact in my life and the way that I go about certain things professionally. I got to see her take on so much through a window in front of my desk, I strive to be the kind of boss she is.

My dad will forever be my most impactful influence, I’ve seen that man break his back to make sure that we as a family had everything we needed. I watched him work so hard and smile while doing so.

4) What's something people would be surprised to know about you?

In my short life thus far I have aimed to master many things and not give up when learning something new.

I learned to drive a manual in a 20-minute driving lesson from my husband, in a Suzuki Sidekick; I am a published poet, I was published when I was 19; and I have my bachelor's degree in business administration with a major in finance and two minors, one in social media marketing and the other in business law.

5) What is your dream assignment to shoot?

I think my dream session would be to capture an underwater couple boudoir session in Thailand the Caribbean. I have wanted to do an underwater session so bad but the water here gets pretty murky and isn’t super clear, making under water more of a pool situation.

Do you know someone in Kootenai County who makes our community awesome? Send Fast Five suggestions to Devin Weeks, dweeks@cdapress.com, to highlight locals who contribute their time and talents to make North Idaho such a special place.