Hey everyone! I have some images uploading right now so I thought I would take a quick second to post some recent work just to keep you updated! We’ve been crazy busy around here! I guess it doesn’t help with all the traveling we’ve been doing either! Right now all the shoots we do are taking about 2 months to get back to our clients. Typically I like to have a wedding finished within 2 to 3 weeks so that can give you a bit of an idea about how swamped we really are! We’ve had power outages like mad as well making it a bit challenging to edit….. but making our family quite happy with lots of time to play! I want to take a second to thank all our beautiful lovely clients for making this year such a success! Without you we would be just the opposite….very very slow and not busy!
I have the best clients in the world! Really I have met some wonderful people this summer and it’s made my photography so much better! I love my clients! Thank you!
This is just a few of the recent work we’ve been up to! Many many blog posts to come as soon as I take care of all my clients!
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!!!
Don’t focus on faces! :) I know I know it sounds a bit crazy but think about it sometimes those fussy little two year olds don’t want their picture taken, or maybe that doggie won’t stay still long enough to get a good shot. It’s crazier to just give up than miss that story telling picture. Shoot low. Crop off heads. Focus on hands. It’s ok I promise. Not every shot has to be of people’s faces, now as I’m telling you this make sure you get some or you’ll probably loose lots of business quick! Sometimes we don’t need a face to tell a story and that’s the kind of shots you are looking for!
Check out our next post for a few examples of storytelling shots!
After our results have come in from our survey we’ve decided to take all the answers into consideration and now we’ll be offering some photography tips for you to get better photos.
What a better start than to answer the question I get the most…….“What kind of camera should I buy?”
First of all I’m a firm believer in not purchasing things above your means. Now I of course didn’t come to this wise advice magically. I purchased my first camera, a Canon 30D (because I knew I was going to be a professional photographer and wanted to make a good investment), on credit and eventually my husband paid it off for me because it was best for our family but you better believe I paid every penny of it back to him sans interest of course. From then on I vowed that I would always pay for my camera/lens purchases in cash. So your first step is to figure out what your budget is. (In case you didn’t know this should be your first step in anything……yes even in wedding planning!)
Secondly, why do you think you need a new camera? When I want a new lens or any kind of new equipment I always stop and analyze what makes me want it and if I really need it. I always ask myself “will this purchase improve my photography or do I want it just because it seems cool”? After that point sometimes I decide to rent a lens that I’m interested in purchasing. I can’t explain how important of a step this has been for me, especially when a new lens could be near $2,000!!! Sometimes I really didn’t need anything new after all just needed a creativity boost, but let’s say I decide I needed something to help me improve. Usually I’ve already done the research since I know what I want and I’ve got a huge wish list, but that’s your next step…..research.
Next, I would probably figure out what I was wanting out of a new camera. Are you going to be pretty rough on your camera? You probably don’t want to buy the cheap plastic cameras or lenses. If you will be doing a lot of low lighting shooting, such as weddings, then I would recommend cameras that function better at higher ISO levels.
Fourthly, what exactly do you plan on doing with your photos? Are you just wanting to print them out as 4×6′s for your personal photo albums? Maybe you plan on just having better pictures for your blog and facebook? Or are you wanting to display larger artistic prints in a gallery or your home? Why does this really matter? Well, ”how many megapixels does your camera have” is another question I get asked quite frequently. If you just plan on displaying them online megapixels really don’t matter. If you are planning to print them unless you are going to be printing 20×30 or larger they don’t matter much here either. Canon’s cameras right now are all 8 megapixels or more so most everyone should be covered.
Finally, ask for advice. This is what I did when I first started and why I chose the camera I did. It was perfect for the stage I was at, at the time. If you follow someone and love to view their photos ask them what camera they use and how it’s working for them. But I would recommend taking heed to the first few suggestions on purchasing a new camera before I go and ask a photographer “what kind of camera should I buy?” You’ll most likely get much more help if you can be more specific and be able to explain what you want a camera for. Here you can see my equipment.
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!
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!!!) :)
The idea of Saturday Steal is pretty much just to give you (our fab readers) some awesome ideas! :) I sure hope you enjoy!
I think I’ll focus on Fall Weddings since it is just right around the corner! :)
I just love when brides show up with bouquets like this with all the different colors and textures!
This bouquet takes a cue from the season and is a fragrant mix of white majolica roses, Scabiosa, sage, basil, rosemary, and lily of the valley.
Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: Real Weddings by Season — Martha Stewart Weddings
MMMMmmmmmm…….Carmel apples! Seriously! Love it!
Chocolate- and caramel-dipped apples are set out in large copper kettles for departing guests to take with them at the end of the evening.
Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: Real Weddings by Season — Martha Stewart Weddings
Totally love this idea, especially for all our southern weddings around here! What a great option rather then renting a bunch of white chairs! Prob cheaper too!
Guests at this fall wedding sit on hay bails decorated with wildflowers from a friend’s farm in French flower pails.
Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: Real Weddings by Season — Martha Stewart Weddings
What a cool twist on the bride’s entrance! If you really have a southern themed wedding this is the way to go!
Two tiers of the cake, by Elizabeth Loudon, are the mother of the bride’s chocolate cake recipe. Set on a stand trimmed with felt, the confection is covered with bittersweet chocolate frosting and dressed with roses, fiddleheads, and sandersonia.
Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: Real Weddings by Season — Martha Stewart Weddings
I pretty much just planned your whole country themed fall wedding for you! :)
I’m a little bit behind on my blogging schedule, but now I’m playing catch up since, with Baby Titan that’s about all I can do right now is sit at my computer (glad we don’t have TV or that’s where I’d probably be sitting!!!)
Lizz and Greg were married July 31st. This was the first time I’ve been to Simple Pleasures to shoot and I had a blast! There is so much cool stuff in that place! Oh and not to mention the beautiful cars!!!
They were married at Highlands Methodist Church in Bella Vista. He’s a pretty proud Dad!!! :) And she’s all smiles!
Meet Mr. and Mrs. Evans!
We had some great lighting for our couple shots! Isn’t she beautiful? I just love that red hair!
A beautiful first dance shared together for the first time as a married couple!
These two are both extremely involved in music. Lizz lead her group in song while Greg decided his group would serenade his girl!
Lizz’s dad surprised them with a ride in the get a way car as they left their reception. I just love it when couples have these old cars to get a way in! There’s just something different about it than pulling away in a 1998 Nissan………
Speaking for all women out there, we love love love shoes. So finding the perfect ones for your wedding day… a big deal. Shop around, don’t buy the first pair you find at David’s Bridal (you didn’t choose to marry the first guy you met, am I right?). Remember, you want your wedding shoes to be timeless… classic… A great place to start looking, Wedding Feet, they have many styles and colors to choose from. I love blue as an accent color, so for this post I chose to highlight blue heels for the big day!
