What do you do when your business feels personal and a bad year makes you question everything?

Ashleigh Taylor is a portrait and boudoir photographer based near Los Angeles whose work blends editorial edge with raw emotion. She's built a reputation for creating images that feel like they belong in a magazine, but she's also someone who isn't afraid to talk about the hard parts of running a creative business. In this conversation, Ashleigh opens up about navigating one of the toughest years of her career and what it taught her about identity, resilience, and staying true to yourself when the ground shifts beneath you.

We talk about the difference between business failure and personal failure, why hobbies that cost money might be the best investment you make, and how to show up for clients when you're barely holding it together yourself. This one gets real.

What You'll Learn

1. Why separating your identity from your business might save you when things go wrong
2. How investing in hobbies that bring you joy, even expensive ones, can pull you out of creative burnout and remind you who you are outside of work
3. What it means to mask your struggles during client sessions and when that's necessary versus harmful to your own wellbeing
4. Why the most talented photographers aren't always the ones who succeed, and what actually matters more than technical skill when building a sustainable business
5. How to recognize when you're falling into victim mindset and the practical steps Ashleigh takes to snap out of it
6. What creative integrity looks like in practice, including when to turn down lucrative work that doesn't align with your values
7. Why having a trusted hair and makeup artist on your team creates transition time that helps you land emotionally before a shoot starts
8. How to market yourself from a place of confidence rather than constantly trying to prove your worth to potential clients
9. The difference between authentic coaching and manipulation, and what red flags to watch for when investing in education
10. Why doing creative work without attaching outcomes or expectations to it is the hardest and most important practice for long-term sustainability

Guest Resources

Ashleigh Taylor

Portrait & Boudoir Photographer, Los Angeles

Website: ashleightaylorportrait.com

Instagram: @ashleightaylorportrait

Facebook: Ashleigh Taylor Photography

Listen & Subscribe

Never miss an episode. Subscribe to Generator on your favorite podcast app:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Enjoyed this episode?

Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts to help others discover these conversations.

Connect with Generator

Website: generatorpodcast.com

Instagram: @generatorpodcast

TikTok: @generatorpodcast

YouTube: @generatorpodcast

Host: Matt Stagliano

Stonetree Creative, Greenwood, Maine

Generator is a podcast about the creative process, personal growth, and what it means to build something meaningful. Hosted by portrait photographer Matt Stagliano.

Keywords: portrait photography business, boudoir photography, creative burnout, photography business challenges, Los Angeles photographer, mental health for photographers, business identity, creative integrity, Sue Bryce mentorship, photography coaching, overcoming business failure, photographer mindset, creative hobbies