Daily Inspiration: Meet Ayla Maisey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayla Maisey.

Hi Ayla, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was the type of kid that did anything to get my hands on the magic spark I felt in my chest. Whether it was painting, reading, making wildflower bouquets, writing poetry, dressing up and creating stories in my head, etc, I was in constant pursuit of light and color, and feeling. I had a handful of point-and-shoot cameras that met their various, inevitable deaths, and a very trusty iPhone 6 that I took with me to Europe, but it wasn’t until I got my first DSLR in 2015 that photography became this tangible choice I made.

From there, I played with images of foggy streetlights, moody self-portraits, and sweeping Chicago architecture (where I was based for college), and eventually found my love for 1) film photography and 2) photographing people. By 2020, I had decided on micro-weddings & elopements, but the industry in Chicago wasn’t quite the right fit. I moved back to Colorado (my childhood home) with my now fiancé and fell head over heels for the culture of love here.

Colorado is so wild, and so varied, that ditching the reception tent and the matching bridesmaid’s dresses for an epic mountain micro-wedding with only your nearest and dearest feels effortless. Don’t even get me started on the visuals here — Colorado’s light and colors carry so well on film that I made it part of all my packages, and, much to my delight, my couples love film as much as I do. Honestly, it has been a dream and a blessing to step into my life here.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest obstacle I face in my work, especially when I first established my business in Colorado, is resisting the tide of what everyone else was doing. It would be so easy to shoot these giant productions where the couple hardly gets to say hi to everyone, where every choice is made mostly because that’s what the couple is told to do and to load up every single one of my weekends to make money off couples that are just looking for someone to check the boxes. But I did resist that tide, and I’m thankful for it every day.

Some incredible photographers are masters of the big traditional wedding and I applaud them. For me and my couples, the smaller, intentional, do-whats-important-to-you weddings are where the magic is at, even if that means giving up a wedding entirely and escaping to the wilderness with only your honey. This focus on intention and connection also means that I cap my weddings and elopements to 10 of each per year so that I have the time and emotional availability to be there for my couples when they need me (and get their galleries out more quickly).

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the face of it, I’m a digital and film couples photographer. I photograph micro-weddings and elopements on digital, 35mm, medium format, and polaroid film. I’m a list-keeping, detail-oriented, always-need-to-be-prepared person who LOVES being a small business owner. At the heart of it, I’m here for love and light. Because I am also a full-hearted, cry-at-commercials, no-shame-in-saying-i-love-you-to-someone-I-just-met Pisces to a tee.

I’ll probably call you and your family members “darlin'”. I’ will cry when you choke up during your vows. I’ll most likely take a cupcake from your dessert table on my way out at the end of the night. A lot of photographers call themselves storytellers, but to be honest, I am simply a human with a lot of feelings, deeply invested in your feelings, with a camera or five to talk about it.

Pricing:

• Elopements: $1900-3600
• Weddings: $4500-6500
• Couples: $600-1200

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aylamaisey.com
• Instagram: @ayla.rm