Ainsley DS Photography

19/08/2024

Friends! You may have noticed a few changes around here and over on my other page Ainsley DS Creative if you follow that too. I've been working hard behind the scenes to create a brand new website which will be the home for all my creative pursuits! From now on, you can find all of the wonderful Ainsley DS Photography content you love on this new website :) Make sure you sign up to the mailing list to receive some epic new goodies coming out to subscribers x

Portrait photography by New Zealand based photographer Ainsley DS. Headshots, personal branding, bo***ir, maternity, weddings, family, engagement or empowerment photo shoots especially designed to make you feel beautiful, comfortable and powerful.

18/08/2024

Controversial opinion:
ALL BODIES ARE. GOOD BODIES.
Stretched bodies, marked bodies, fat bodies, thin bodies, curvy bodies, wrinkled bodies, tattooed bodies, coloured bodies, hairy bodies, muscly bodies, growing bodies. At the end of the day it’s just a meat sack for your soul. It doesn’t say anything about you, your goodness or your personality, it just happens to be the vessel in which you belong. And we’ve only got one, so we might as well enjoy and celebrate every little inch of it 🧡 No shame, no judgement, no wrong, just all good bodies. X

17/08/2024

Good morning world ☕️
Happy Sunday. I hope your day is filled with self care, pretty lingerie and delicious snacks. Take care of you this Sunday x

***irphotographapher ***irphotography

15/08/2024

Let me photograph you like an Italian cinema superstar ✨
🖤🤍

11/08/2024

When your family photos look like they’re straight out of a ad 🧡
The joy in these just can’t be matched x

10/08/2024

Sundays 🧡
With in NYC.
Wishing you a day of rest and relaxation on such a beautiful day. Do something kind for yourself today X

08/08/2024

Wow!! A HUGE honor to have this image shortlisted for the 🧡 with over 20,000 entries it feels incredibly special to have this image selected among so many incredibly talented international artists. I truly do believe that photography has immense power to not only capture peace but to promote and encourage it. Unfortunately my only regret is that I had put more effort into the caption as I did a half- ass job thinking there’s no way I would be selected anyway 😂 Once again a big thank you to the beautiful for being such icon with this photo session that is still serving 🩷

01/08/2024

Fun in the sun with in Te Henga/ Bethells beach.
I’m so grateful to be able to have this stunning beach as my backyard and go-to shooting spot. Every day, whether it’s golden, grey or bright blue skies, the scenery makes the perfect backdrop for any kind of photo session 🧡 Come and frolic in the waves with me and let’s make some Aotearoa magic ✨

31/07/2024

Te Ara on 35mm 🎞️
I genuinely thought these images were lost to the light. I had issues with this Fuji film canister not rewinding and in trying to fix it the roll was exposed to light. I thought all the images on here were goners! But I took it to the lab anyway. Instead what I got back was this beautiful, textured, water colour effect that has perfectly matched the vibe of the images I wanted. So many of the shots just look ethereal, these ones aren’t perfect but they do feel special 🧡 I’ve been loving adding film options to my shoots lately. It’s such a fun surprise every time.

31/07/2024

Life is Pain [au chocolate] 🥐
Heavenly moments in Paris with pastry and 🩷

28/07/2024

Hi! It's me!

25/07/2024

UM OKAY YOU ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS THING YOU 😍
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This winter is just bringing the most incredible golden light! ✨ Come out to Te Henga and make the most of it with me 🧡

23/07/2024

I SAID WHAT I SAID.
As the studio slowly comes along, I felt it was important to have this as a little reminder for everyone who walks in the door. There is no shame, no embarrassment and no bad bodies here 🧡 This is a safe space for all and every body. I can’t wait to share it with you X

20/07/2024

If you’ve been following me on my account you’re probably aware that I’m currently doing a degree in ancient history. This semester I’m also taking a paper on disability, and my goal is to apply my own lived experience with disability to our view of the ancient world to see what we can learn from it. Anyway,
I came across this excerpt in a paper yesterday and it totally blew my mind…
“Pliny tells us that the Greek artist Zeuxis tried to paint Aphrodite, the goddess of love, by using as his models all the beautiful women of Crotona in order to select in each her ideal feature or body part and combine these into the ideal figure of the goddess. One young woman provides a face and another her breasts. The central point here is that in a culture with an ideal form of the body, all members of the population are below the ideal. No one young lady of Crotona can be the ideal. By definition, one can never have an ideal body. And there is no social pressure, we would imagine, that populations have bodies that conform to the ideal.
(The Disability Studies Reader, edited by Lennard J. Davis, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013)

Of course we knew that we had highly idealized bodies in Ancient Greece- looking at statues from the era confirms that for us. However, the fact that humans already picking and choosing body parts they liked the most because the “ideal” body type didn’t exist is a revelation. There is NO SUCH THING as the ideal or perfect body. AND THERE NEVER HAS BEEN! So why do we keep trying to attain it?

My god I love ancient history.

Pic of my fellow Ancient history nerd and ethereal goddess .parker ✨

19/07/2024

Sun. Bathing. ☀️
With in Central Park.

17/07/2024

These grey rainy days def be giving us the swamp witch vibes and I’m all about embracing it 🧙‍♀️🌧️ Empowerment shoots are about more than just reconnecting to yourself, they’re also about reconnecting with Papatūānuku/ Mother Nature in all her forms. Basing my practice in Te Henga I’m able to offer clients the most beautiful shooting locations with privacy and ease of access. If you have any specific requirements, disabilities or access needs all locations can be changed or adapted to suit them so that you still get the full nature experience. 🧡
***irphotography ***irphotographapher

13/07/2024

Latest client gallery is off 🧡 Feeling so grateful for the connections to so many incredible people I’ve been working with lately. So many beautiful humans ready to feel empowered and connected to themselves again. It truly is such an honor 🩷

01/07/2024

Colour? Or BnW? Which do you like best?

Miguel in Central Park 🗽

01/07/2024

Just had to share another little sneak peek from last weeks impromptu shoot with 🧡 Embracing the Hollywood glamour vibes with this one ✨ Soooo stoked that we were able to make the most of these gorgeous golden tones at the last minute. I’m feeling super inspired these days and have lots of fun shoot ideas to try out. Wanna join me for shoot that tells your story? Make a booking X

29/06/2024

Day one.
First ever shot taken in the new studio.
An essential, first practice run to feel out the space, figure out what’s going to work, what I need and what the light feels like. The first thing I learned is that I unfortunately need to buy a new tripod as my old one somehow came apart in storage and I can’t figure out how to put it pack together again 🫠 Secondly, I’m gonna need some decent curtains because although this natural sunlight is beautiful and gorgeous, it’s not going to work on every shoot, thirdly, and on that note, I need lights, a proper backdrop, stands, sandbags! Of course I’m going to make do with whatever I have at the moment until I can afford the gear I need. But right now. This is where we start 🧡 just start it, just do it, the rest will come.
Welcome to day 1 of Ainsley DS Creative Studio 🖼️

28/06/2024

Mānawatia a Matariki ✨
Happy Maori new year to you my friends. I hope this can be used as a time for cleansing, connection and rebirth for all those who need it 🧡 it’s the time to check in with yourself, check in with your loved ones, check in with papatūānuku to see what needs changing and what needs nurturing. Lots and lots of changes happening around here at the moment. The first time in a long time I’m excited about the future and all the bright blessings that will be coming my way. I’m so stoked to have you along in the journey.
🧡 beautiful golden memories from Tairāwhiti with

27/06/2024

I said “I wanna make some magic today” and the universe was like “okay! 👍”. After my client booked for this afternoon had to postpone I looked at the beautiful sunshine pouring into my home in The Henga and thought “this is too good to waste”. I put out a call for a free shoot for someone who could make it down to Bethells by the afternoon and thankfully answered my call! We made it to a he beach just in time to catch the setting sun and make a little bit of magic with that golden light. So grateful for this little community 🧡 As I get more settled into a stable creative life and test out the new studio I imagine there might be a few more spontaneous model calls coming soon so please keep an eye out 📸🧡

22/06/2024

What’s the difference between bo***ir and empowerment shoot? Bo***ir shoot me are s*xy, they’re full of s*x appeal, hotness, and filled with all the typically beautiful angles poses lighting etc. Any good photographer can do this (especially with the help of a little photoshop- and some photographers use a little too much photoshop if you ask me). An empowerment shoot is not just about highlighting your best features, it’s about looking at you as a whole, mind body and soul. The cellulite, the rolls, the stretch marks, nothing is hidden or photoshopped to appear more “attractive”. It’s about realness, rawness, acceptance. Both have their places in the world and both can empower us. Sometimes we just want to look hot! But sometimes we want to feel powerful. And that’s what empowerment shoots are for. I’m fortunate enough to have plenty of experience in both bo***ir and empowerment photography and am happy to guide you on your journey to decide what kind of vibe and mood you’re going for with each shoot.

11/06/2024

Friends!!
I’m currently busy moving into a new house (AND A NEW PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO!!!) And will be out of action for shoots for the next week. However I’m starting to open slots up for end of June/ July/ August, and did I mention I NOW HAVE A STUDIO!??? Still in the process of getting her all set up but I can’t WAIT to share a few sneak peeks of the vibe it will have 🧡 So excited to be able to offer you a safe, comfortable and funky place to get your photos taken. I’ll also be doing a few test shoots in the space before I launch so if you’re a model who’s been wanting to work with me please give me a nudge 🌻Speak soon!! Xx

06/06/2024

Always am and always will be so damn PROUD 🌈🌈
Happy pride month my hunnies. May your light shine bright and bold ✨ I’m so blessed to be able to capture that light on the lens and I’m grateful for it everyday 🧡

Let us not forget that there’s still a way to go. The fight isn’t over until it’s over. Nobody is free until everyone is free 🇵🇸 🌈🫒🕊️


🌈

26/05/2024

Just started culling images from todays shoot in and already so excited about the shots we got I just had to share this little sneak preview. My cup is full! Thank you for fully trusting me with this vision and wandering around Central Park with this me 💖🧡 such a beautiful human inside and out!

23/05/2024

A classic love in Montmartre in black and white 🖤🤍 My photography career first took off by photographing couples in Paris, whether it was a honeymoon, engagement, wedding or just a special holiday, I always got to meet the most beautiful souls and felt honored to be able to capture such a precious moment in their life. This was my third time shooting with Teresa and Mark who had hired me to shoot their wedding in 2021 (before Covid changed those plans). I love empowerment shoots but I also love capturing relationships like this 💖 Because you deserve beautiful pictures with your favorite human as much as you deserve beautiful pictures of yourself 🧡

21/05/2024

More realness, more authenticity, more wrinkles, cellulite, bags, folds, marks, rolls. No matter how uncomfortable it may be at first, it is the only way to teach the next generation that “flaws” are not only normal but that they are completely acceptable. You don’t NEED to change. And you don’t need photoshop to get a beautiful photo of yourself. Let me be your guide on your journey to self acceptance. 🧡 bookings available for June 2024 now 🧡