Aspen Cierra Evans is a commercial, editorial, and travel lifestyle photographer. After graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, Aspen started her work in Atlanta and then spent 5 years in Los Angeles shooting for a variety of commercial and editorial clients. Today, Aspen is based in San Diego and travels across the country and abroad to capture stunning images. Over the course of her career, she has worked with clients including Amazon, NBC Universal, RCA Records, Red Bull, and Spanx. Aspen is a member of Black Women Photographers and Diversify Photo, and her work has been featured by Buzzfeed, Facebook for Business, Variety, Blavity, #blkcreatives, and more.
We caught up with Aspen to learn more about her career path, her favorite gear, how she builds strong connections with her subjects, and more.
Hi Aspen! Tell us a little about yourself — when did you first become interested in photography and how did you get to where you are today?
My name is Aspen Cierra Evans and I’m a commercial, lifestyle, and BTS photographer who is currently breaking into the travel lifestyle space. I started out wanting to be a fashion photographer after getting my BFA in Photography at the Savannah College of Art & Design- Atlanta Campus. I spent a few years in Atlanta getting my bearings freelancing with local bloggers and small business owners. I moved to Los Angeles in 2019 to pursue my dreams of being a big commercial photographer. Within 6 months of me landing in LA, the pandemic brought all those dreams to a pause. Although I picked up a few big opportunities while there, such as shooting BTS on the set of Flo Milli’s May I/Send the Addy music video and BTS for 2 episodes of Season 1 of Bel-Air, I still found myself struggling with carving out my space in the industry. The pandemic was a time of major reflection for us all and during that time I was reminded of my desire to travel internationally. As a former military kid that never got to live abroad, I always felt that I missed out and have been yearning to learn more about what goes beyond the border of the U.S.
In 2021, I traveled to my mother’s home country of Belize to meet family and learn more about our culture. Since then I knew that travel was what I wanted to pivot my life’s work towards. It’s something I’d always had a desire for but had put on the shelf due to lack of time or lack of finances. My life and creative vision have now shifted to any and all things travel. I’ve since gotten opportunities to travel for clients domestically such as Martha’s Vineyard for Amazon, Charlotte, North Carolina for Red Bull and Moab, Utah for Jeep! I hope to be able to land an international client soon!

“Good photography makes people feel something. Oftentimes something they can’t describe with words.”
– Photographer Aspen Cierra Evans
For my birthday last year I traveled for the first time to Asia and spent 10 days in Japan immersing myself in the culture and taking my own personal photos. I would love to go back there and create a stunning travel story. One of my new goals as a travel photographer is to be published in a few magazines such as Travel + Leisure and Fodor’s, maybe even National Geographic one day. But instead of waiting for those opportunities, I will create my own publication or coffee table book of beautiful images and stories from my travels.

What kind of stories can be told with a camera that can’t necessarily be told with words?
When I think of photography, a quote by Maya Angelou always comes up for me. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I feel like good photography makes people feel something. Oftentimes something they can’t describe with words. I feel this way about documentary work. Seeing the images coming out of Gaza from photographers risking their lives to capture the atrocities. Those images tell a story that makes you too distraught for words. No word feels like the right one to describe what you’re seeing and feeling. But you connect with those images as human.
Developing a unique photographic style is a journey that takes time, patience, experimentation, and dedication. How have you navigated this process to discover your artistic voice?
I’ve been photographing for half my life, yet developing my photographic style is something I feel like I’m still navigating to this day. I have a few consistencies that I like when it comes to how I shoot and edit, like having warm toned images and bright and airy lighting. But my subject matter has changed so much over the years from fashion to lifestyle to travel. I ultimately just go with what feels natural to me but still leave room for me to experiment. I don’t want to become a robot that only shoots one way. I want to be consistent but still surprise people.

What has been one of your favorite projects to work on so far? What would be your dream creative project or subject to shoot?
One of my favorite projects to work on so far is a tie between shooting BTS for Flo Milli and being a stills photographer on the set of Bel-Air season 1. Both projects were my first times shooting something of that caliber professionally and opened my eyes to the possibility of working in entertainment. It was exciting to get to work on projects with people that looked like me, in front and behind the camera.
My dream project to shoot would be a billboard or major magazine. Something that requires me to get out of my comfort zone and lead a large commercial set. I’m not sure what or who I would shoot but if I could build my dream team of creatives I’ve met along the way, I know it would be epic.

Your photos are stunning—they’re glossy and professional, but at the same time, they feel genuinely personal. What’s your secret for building such a strong connection with the people you photograph?
For me, it’s a mix of my personality and years of customer service experience. I know how to make people feel at ease and connect with them. It’s very vulnerable getting your photo taken and not everyone loves the spotlight. As someone that is very camera-shy myself and prefers to be behind the camera, I try to put myself in that person’s shoes and encourage and uplift them. When I photograph someone, I try to get who they are on the inside to reflect outside.

What are the most empowering moments you’ve experienced as a member of Black Women Photographers? How has being part of collectives impacted your career as a photographer?
I was one of the first members of Black Women Photographers, when Polly was raising funds on Twitter for Black women who were out of work due to the pandemic. I’ve been on the train ever since and seen how fast the community has grown. We’ve had so many workshops, and talks from photographers, photo editors, and others in the photo business. Even portfolio reviews have allowed us a chance to finally be seen by people who could hire us. There were so many opportunities to get us in rooms that were unimaginable before. So many opportunities to share our work and commune with other Black women who are in different stages of their creative journeys. Without the community, I probably would’ve given up photography a long time ago. The community, as well as Polly, have always been my support system when I feel down on myself about my work and where I am as a professional.
Walk us through your process of creating and putting together a shoot.
For commercial work, my process is very involved. I create mood boards, source models, location scout, make shot lists, hire makeup and hair stylists and tap in to my project manager side to make sure everything runs smoothly. For travel, I’m more fluid with it. I’m more candid with how I shoot when I’m traveling, especially for my own personal work. I don’t like to rush. Nature works on its own time and I’m just going with their flow. I have a shot list of things I want to capture but I’m much more open to the spontaneity of the day, like where the sun is falling, people I see and architecture that catches my eye.

Where do you turn to to find inspiration for your work?
For me, inspiration comes from living. I notice that when I feel stuck and have creative blocks it’s because I’m going through the motions of life and not really enjoying myself or learning. I have to get out of my normal routine and experience something that alters my perspective or introduces me to something new to get that spark.

If you could only choose one camera body and one lens in your kit, which would you choose?
The F/2.8 24-70mm has always been my go-to lens. It has enough range to get all the shots I need, from travel to portraits. For my camera body, I’d have to go with Sony AR7V. It’s a workhouse that can do everything!
What’s one thing that you want to do with photography that you haven’t done yet?
One thing that I haven’t done with photography yet is have my work featured in a major magazine. Whether it’s a fashion or travel publication, I think that would be one of my crowning achievements. To have my work immortalized in print.