Our wolf pack has grown by one… ’cause we’re the three best friends that anyone could have! Just kidding. Having a Hangover moment.
Meet Ayla. We hired Ayla back in September as a general studio assistant and office help. We got so much more than that! She is a perfect fit for us. By us, I mean Brian, my husband who runs Fitzgerald Photo and myself here at Blush. We share her help and support… but technically Brian is her boss… he’s just a better manager than I. Now, we are the three best friends that anyone could have!
I’ll tell your her real bio next— but this is the good stuff. The gal knows every Office quote imaginable and has the coolest personality…. she even gave us matching Dunder Mifflin “World’s Greatest Boss” cups for Christmas. She’s the perfect young pro for an office like ours that has a big personality, dualing photo companies run by a geeky photo couple, a demanding schedule —and a studio that sneaks in moments of behaving badly.
So far, she’s worked her tail off correcting wedding albums, shooting head shots, organizing Brian’s archive (ridiculous task), driving our truck while Brian hangs out the window to shoot bigger trucks for clients (I was not happy about that one, but then again I’ve hung out of helicopters for clients so who can complain?), held lights for baby, boudoir, engagement sessions … and … oh man, the bridal show…well, it goes on and on. She changes gears as fast as we throw things at her. We couldn’t be happier with Ayla and now can’t live without her strong work ethic. The fun she has brings to our shop is so cool! We look forward to helping her grow into her own photographer too. For Christmas, we bought her the domain www.aylakelley.com — it won’t be long before she is a force on her own.
Ayla is 23 years old and recently moved to Portland after separating from the United States Coast Guard. While serving, she was a Public Affairs Specialist and was located in Baltimore, MD, and Atlantic City, NJ. Ayla is currently a reserve member of the Coast Guard were she continues to do media relations and photojournalism. She is also a student at the University of Southern Maine where she is majoring in English and minoring in Photography.
She’s has taken photos of many interesting people and events including President George W. Bush, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Hurricane Ike and the Presidential Inauguration. Ayla has been working with us to expand her photography experience to include studio, commercial and wedding.
She was born in Texas but has also lived in Florida, New York (briefly), Arizona and Ohio before joining the service. Ayla is married to Sean, a Portland native, whom she meet in Atlantic City while they were both serving in the Coast Guard.