HELLO!

I'm Dana and I am the photographer and portrait artist at Dana Ashlyn Fine Art & Heirloom Photography. As our studio family continues to grow, I thought it might be a good time to re-introduce myself and share a little studio history... I'm a native to Raleigh, NC and moved to Garner in 2006. I love nature, and my happiest place is a tent in the mountains. My favorite season is fall, and I'm all about some pizza, popcorn, and 90s TV reruns. I foster dogs, play the piano and guitar (but neither all that well), am low-key and have a dry sense of humor. My sisters are my very best friends, and my mom named my studio back when I was about 12 years old and dreaming of one day having a photography studio of my own. That dream came true in late 2007, just as the Great Recession was beginning; I was 24 years old. The next few years tested my resolve in a way that is hard to describe. But through that I learned more about myself and my "why?" for wanting to be a photographer. In those years of fighting so very hard to pull my little studio through that crisis, I was forced to let everything else go. During those quiet days, I learned that I am truly a minimalist at heart. I need very little and I value experiences, relationships and memories over possessions. As the dark days of the recession lifted, this mindset persisted and even deepened. It is now what fuels my passion for creating heirloom portrait art focused on quality over quantity; portraits that are grounded in timelessness and paired with only the highest quality materials. Simple, honest and soulful art that will be treasured for generations. 

 And it was all worth it to get here.  

I can't wait to get to know you and work with your family to create lasting and classic heirloom portraits of your little ones. 

-Dana Ashlyn