Meet Ashlyn Tilton! Ashlyn is resident of Fountain Inn and a Clemson graduate. She stays busy with her toddler (Brock) and her Photography and Private Health Insurance Businesses. We want to thank Ashlyn for allowing us to interview her today and to get to know her better.
Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
A: It was an accident, actually. I was home from Clemson on Christmas break and I took some photos of my nieces and nephews with my Dad’s camera. After I posted them someone asked me how much I would charge them to take pictures of their kids. At first I did it just to get through college, but it ended up being a full time thing shortly after graduation.
Q: How long have you been in this career?
A: My first paid shoot happened when I was 17. So, about 10 years.
Q: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
A: Capturing my clients very first moments as a family. The time when newborns are brought home is so hectic, especially if it’s the first child, so creating something for a family to cherish for a lifetime, from a time that seems like such a blur, is so special to me.
Q: Describe the strangest or funniest incident you’ve experienced in your business?
A: While I was photographing a baby, his toddler brother unlocked the wheel of the stroller behind his mom and me, and the stroller rolled down a hill into a pond. We got a little wet, but everything was recovered, luckily!
Q: What did you do prior to this career?
A: I was (and still am) an independent health insurance agent. Other than that, I bartended downtown for a while when I first moved to Greenville in 2016.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in the Golden Strip, and what do you love there?
A: My guilty pleasure is Mutts! Their sweet potato crunch speaks to my soul.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in the Golden Strip area?
A: I moved here in January of 2016 during the snow storm…so almost 4 years.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in the Golden Strip area ?
A: Let’s just say I met a lot of interesting people bartending downtown.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: I’m dying to go to Madrid and Barcelona. I almost minored in Spanish and I just really want to surround myself in that culture and language (and churros).
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: The Patriot.
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: Sounds cliche, but “Be happy where you are right now”. Too often we’re in comparison with what people portray their lives to be on social media, caught up in this “hustle, hustle, hustle” mentality thinking we will be happy when we have this relationship, or this house, etc. in our lives. Step back, breathe, and enjoy what’s in front of you.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: Hang gliding.
Q: What is your favorite music/ 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: The Beatles, Carrie Underwood & Beyonce
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
A: With a studio space in downtown Simpsonville…photographing all of it’s newest residents.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: I broke my right ankle three times in Gymnastics growing up and fractured my growth plate. So, my right leg is a little shorter than the left.
Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: Food, Love, and “This is the Tilton, not the Hilton!” (MyDad said this to pretty much all of our guests when I was growing up… making sure they knew to make themselves at home) ha! ha!
Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?
A: Will Smith!
Q: If you had a full time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer, or Nanny?
A: Chef! Meal prep is so time consuming.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Brock, my toddler, takes up a lot of my spare time. But after he goes to bed, I am sure to be watching gymnastics or some show on Netflix. Also, always doing home projects these days.
