We’re still chuggin along over here at Erika Dotson Photography! It’s been such a great year with many wonderful new clients! We are so blessed to have such amazing people choose us to be their special photographer! It’s been a pleasure getting to know you and work along side you! THANKS! :)
Here’s some of the things we’ve been working on!
Yep you should recognize that gal in the red scarf…Donnally…..and her gorgeous family! Had the pleasure to visit my hometown for a few hours as I drove down to Mena for their family portrait session! They have such a beautiful home with lovely surroundings, what a treat it was to shoot there!
This is Craig, we went out for part two of his senior portraits to Lake Fayetteville. I love that spot! He’s a Springdale Senior, in case you missed it the first time around! Congratulations….again! :)
Here’s Mr. Jack with his mommy and daddy. I traded out some babysitting time with this family! What a great plan and we’re both happy with what we got! :) Dusty and Stephanie have been my hubby’s friends for years so I adopted them too…..I’ll admit they are good company! :) Thanks guys!
Then the Crees siblings! This is Sam. We know each other from high school. Sam and his sisters wanted to give their parents a meaningful gift this year so they booked us for a sibling session! I love that their parents have no idea! What a GREAT gift idea!!!
Our recent work post will be photos that we’ve been working on or it could include other work we’re working on too (you know for those non busy months) ha!
As if I didn’t already have enough on my plate I decided in the middle of the busiest season for us (fall family portraits) and in the middle of being a stay at home mom (which is a JOB if you didn’t know) I needed to have a office remodel……geeez……my brain what does it think sometimes? Oh well I’ve got support from my hubby finally! I say that bc I always start projects and they usually never get finished….but now he’s starting to see a change (probably since I decided I would tackle one room at a time from start to finish!) and even said the other night….”this room is next” —–> referring to our bedroom, which looks awful with a few pictures hanging on the wall randomly, our bed only on a frame with a makeshift headboard, two very mismatched side tables, and a project of mine gone bad when my hubby decided to take matters into his own hands…..a dresser I was painting white and ran out of spray paint……he mustered that I wasted money on the project and that I had plenty of spray paint left over in storage and I should just use that…..of course I didn’t want different colors…….so he took a can of BLACK and went to town on the drawers……so we ended up with a black and white dresser……it will find a new home soon I promise, but for now I’m not working on that room. :)
This is my friend Erica! :) and of course her hubby too! They moved here from Utah a few years ago. I was super excited to meet her when we finally met up last year. She’s an amazing photographer (she did Titan’s newborn pictures!) so if you want some newborn pictures she’s the one to go to!!! She’s so talented and super patient even with my screaming baby and my hubby that was totally ready to go after 30 minutes! But you can’t even tell that in her images!!! She’s great she really is! Check her out…..http://ericakirbyphotography.com/
And you should recognize Chelsea and Stew they’ve been all over our blog! They just got married May 1st so give it up to them! Congrats! These are their babies right now…..Philly and Hubert. I just love Hubert’s ears!!! They actually did a great job during the shoot! It’s always hard to get them to look directly at the camera though!
I’ve been working on some senior sessions two! Meet Craig. He’s a Springdale Bulldog. I did his sister’s senior portraits a few years ago so they came back for round two! He’s going to be attending U of A next fall! Way to go Craig for picking the best college in Arkansas to go to!!! …….U of A Alumni speaking……. ;)
Then my brother in law Andy wanted some additional pictures of him in his football jersey to end the season off just right! Oh of course his girlfriend Ally had to join in for the fun too! Sorry you two but I can’t NOT share this next one!!!
(LOVE IT!!!! HA ha HA ha HA ha I’m rolling off my seat!!!)
Then of course my house is a disaster…..
Let’s just take a look……two chairs that are projects……parent’s choice boxes full of Christmas Party projects……boxes of things for my office project……red rug on the kitchen table…you guessed it another project…..and then of course a drop zone for Titan’s stuff……oh goodie! I can’t wait to finish up all these projects so I can have my house back!!!
And Titan’s room……let’s see….. all the stuff that was in the office got dumped into his room….poor little guy. It’s a good thing he’s still sleeping in our room or this would not be acceptable!
Ok so here’s a few before shots (excuse the crappy iPhone shots please).
We plan on taking those shelves down, just wanted to try to get a lot of the painting done first.
Now some during shots……
I almost forgot a few other things in the recent work file!!!!!
Our family portraits!
Along with Katie and Jake’s wedding!!! They were married Nov 6th in the St. Louis Temple!
I met up with Amanda and Cade less than a week ago out on some property that Cade grew up on with his buddy. What a beautiful place up in Missouri! Amanda and Cade are so cute together too! If you are big into fishing at all you’ll know Cade’s name! Yea he’s that good! I hear he’s going to be on TV next year! That’s super awesome! When Amanda and I told him that he could go fishing during the engagement shoot we had to practically run to keep up with him! I imagine these two have had lots of fun and memories on many a camping trip! And that cutie Amanda she has her own camo outfit fully decked out for a girl…..PINK details! Awesome! Oh and the arrows on her bow are zebra and pink! Someone was thinkin! When Amanda mentioned the idea of wearing camo gear for some pictures I was totally excited! I just love that part of their session! They will be getting married at Cooper Chapel and their reception will follow at Simple Pleasures just down the road! I’m excited for them!
I posted a few of my favorites and a slideshow at the bottom with more!!!
I just love this image and the lighting is great!
Hi Amanda and Cade……CONGRATS!
I like this one a lot too…..look how happy Amanda is! :)
Ummm of course the super talented fisherman caught a fish during our session…..barely! ;)
Danielle and Justin were married October 9th, 2010! Their ceremony was so precious! They opted out on having a first look, something I normally don’t recommend, but it was truly worth it with these two! Emotions were in the air and you could feel the love they shared radiate all the way to the balcony we had to shoot from!!! :) Congratulations you two! We wish you the best and many many many glorious years together!
Rob and Amanda contacted me earlier this month and they will be getting married next weekend! I drove down to Little Rock and met them from Memphis to shoot their engagement session yesterday. Rob and Amanda are seriously an adorable couple! I can’t wait for their wedding day it’s going to be great! Rob is in the military, pretty sure he’s an officer? And Amanda is none other than a Dietitian….if you know what I went to college for then you’d understand the instant connection! I just loved Amanda’s laugh and the way Rob looks at his future wife. They met at a baseball game where Amanda was working at a health information booth. (seriously I told you they were cute!) They have been dating for 5 years now and have been engaged for about a year and a half. From what I understand they’ve had to change their wedding date several times due to Rob’s job. They will be moving to Rhode Island soon after they wed, Nov 8th to be exact! They’ll sure be busy but have lots of fun adventures (such as driving across the country with 3 doggies in the car!) as a newly married couple! Congratulations you two and I wish you the best! I can’t wait for next weekend!
Rob and Amanda are really into history so we thought this location would be fitting.
Isn’t she just stunning! I can’t wait to see how beautiful she looks next week!
Sweet.
I love how happy the two of them are in this shot!
I just love how you can just barely see part of her smile!
“It adds character” Rob kept saying this phrase about everything, even down to the dirt he got on the back of his jeans so this is especially for him!
ADORABLE!
This one I may have to claim as my favorite shot of the day!
Amber and Alan were such a beautiful couple. From the very beginning I could tell how much Alan adored her! So sweet! They were married at the Dwelling Place in Fayetteville and they held their reception at the amazing Fayetteville Town Center with pretty rentals from Festivities to provide the atmosphere. We got to work with some amazing vendors at their wedding too!
And Pinnacle Limo Services provided them a pretty sweet ride from the ceremony to the reception
Let’s see those pictures!!! We’ll start you off with all the pretty details.
I loved this shot of all the hands helping her get her dress on
Donnally captured this shot great! I imagine Alan and his really great brother were having a little heart to heart right before the ceremony!
Of course if there’s a wedding on a gameday you’d expect the groomsmen to be picking up the highlights on their phones!
Jon took the guys outside for some group shots and I just love this one……look close!
Alan looks like he’s concentrating before the big reveal at their first look.
Amber’s already emotional.
I’m so glad I was able to capture this moment. Having a first look has many benefits but as simple as it may be calming each other down before hand is one of them. Amber and Alan decided to exchange their personal vows during their first look and the traditional vows would be exchanged at the ceremony. What a great personal touch!
You’re looking at Mr. and Mrs. Nichols!
We headed outside to catch the last of the pretty light right at sunset. Alan looks so happy with his beautiful bride!
Jon caught this shot for us. The ambient lighting and the movement is lovely.
Just another reason I recommend hiring two shooters on your wedding day…..while Jon captured the photo above I was able to sneak in and catch what is probably my favorite shot of the night from a completely different angle!
Love it!
Their guests send them off to celebrate on their honeymoon!
Today I decided to showcase a real EDP bride and groom in our What to Wear Wednesday series…..
Meet London and Darron who will be getting married May 14th. (I can’t wait!) They have a super cute style!
So let me break down why this works…..
First of all she wore the most adorable cowgirl boots ever with cute little rosettes on the side along with a cut flowy navy blue dress that screams country chic. And secondly she matched him up with dark wash jeans and a blue plaid button up (which you can’t see here) that was cowboy style – complete with pearl snaps!
This outfit works so well with the location they chose! I love how they thought about how everything would coordinate together! Great job guys!
First off this week I was able to catch Titan’s first smile at me! Love that feeling!
Next we got another dog (unfortunately Rock -the white boxer- had to go bc he just wouldn’t listen to us everytime we needed him to and with a new baby that worries me). Her name is Winnie. She already listens pretty well and she’s a beautiful doggie! Her and Ellie get along so well too! Ellie sits just outside Winnie’s pen to keep her company!
Last night I had the opportunity to capture Danielle and Justin’s big day! They were so beautiful inside and out and it’s so wonderful to be able to attend a wedding where you can just feel the love radiate from the bride and groom. Justin is such a sweetie to his new bride! I wish you two MANY happy and glorious years together!
And finally some shots from our weekly Sunday gathering at the in-laws house…….. Meet Titan’s Godparents. Will and Tracy (TW’s sister). They love Titan so much! We’re excited to know they would take care of Titan at the drop of a hat for us! We love you guys!
Titan seems to think Aunt Tracy was a good pick too!
Grandpa kept poking him in the belly so I got him back per special request from Titan…..
They usually play a round of cards every week too, I’m not a huge card fan so I usually sit that one out. Now count me in when we play board games!
TW picked up my camera and I always get all nervous and embarrassed when it’s my turn in front!!! Glad though to have a picture with my baby boy!
And finally Uncle Luke and his girlfriend were nice enough to make everyone some dessert!
I have been bookmarking blogs like crazy so be sure to expect some good stuff around here! Let me know if you have any ideas for posts or if you would like to see something on the blog!
Saturday Steal…..Again from Martha because she’s that awesome!
This is super cute! Why just have the “Just Married” sign on the back of your car and why not post one at your reception? Download the template here….
You know we could totally create these for you! Let me know if you are interested before we start your engagement shoot and we can work this into the design!!! Read more.
This would be a post my mom would be proud of (she’s an environmental engineer)…..BIODEGRADABLE CONFETTI!!!! Awesome! No mess to clean up! Read More.
If there’s anything you’d like to see featured please let us know! We write these things for you guys anyways! :) I’d love to hear from you…..(AKA please leave comments!!!) :)
