Erika Dotson Photography » erika and liz

Recent Work from an Arkansas Family Photographer

Erika — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:38:08 +0000

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!!!

Well that’s what we’ve been working on! :)

Enjoy!

-erika

Amanda and Cade // NW Arkansas Engagement Photographer

Erika — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:03:47 +0000

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! ;)

This is fun! See her arrows are pink!

She’s gorgeous huh?

Enjoy!

-erika

Danielle and Justin // Conway Wedding Photographer

Erika — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:49:37 +0000

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!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Enjoy!

-erika

Dawn and Leland // NW Arkansas Portrait Photographer

Erika — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:37:12 +0000

If you are a facebook fan of ours (if you aren’t you should be sure to go look us up!!! ) you most likely noticed that I made a post of how pathetic I thought it was that my parents don’t have good pictures of themselves and I am a professional photographer…….problem solved!

Introducing my parents! :) I know they will be so excited!!! ha ha ha ha ha ha

I might be just a bit biased but I think my mom is beautiful! :)

One thing I’ve learned from my parents is that as husband and wife it’s important to show affection to one another in front of your kids. The reason I think this is so important is because it proved to me that my parents loved each other! Simple as it may sound I know several couples that don’t show affection to one another and you wonder….. Thanks you two!

My stepdad (AKA “Papa” which is short for “Papa Coach”) was so proud of his Jack Purcell’s which is pretty much an old school version of our Converse. In fact he special ordered these to wear to his 50 year high school reunion! Mom said he wasn’t going to wear them unless the tip was navy blue color! Wow talk about exact!

This I think is my favorite shot of the day! My mom looks great!

LOVE!

I hope you two had fun on our little session! I know it was a memory making experience! I just want to say thank you so much for being great parents for me and also grandparents for little Titan! I’m so proud of you mom for going back to school! You really are amazing! I love you guys so much!

Enjoy!

-erika

Rob & Amanda // Little Rock Wedding Photographer

Erika — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:44:50 +0000

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!

They are just classically beautiful.

Enjoy!

-erika

Amber and Alan // Fayetteville Wedding Photographer

Erika — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:07:17 +0000

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!

Jessica Kersey from Finishing Touch Event Design was their awesome coordinator!!!

Videography provided by James Michael Smith

Florals were purchased from Flowerama (Bentonville) and arranged by the mother of the groom

Catered by the Event Group

Cake was created by the talented Shelby Lynn’s Cake Shoppe

They danced to the tunes of DJ Derrick

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!

Congratulations Amber and Alan!

Enjoy!

-erika

Something for Sunday

Erika — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 03:57:23 +0000

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!

Enjoy!

-erika

Saturday Steal // Arkansas Wedding Photographer

Erika — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 13:19:58 +0000

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….

I love this advice about the ties!!! Read more.

Find out how to make this frame!!! So cute! Read More.

Ring Bearer book………I think YES!!! Read More.

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!!!) :)

Enjoy!

-erika

What to Wear // Senior Style

Erika — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:00:22 +0000

I decided to start something new…..are you really that surprised?

To kick off the new school year I wanted to make some What to Wear samples for your upcoming SENIOR PORTRAITS!!! Check back weekly to see some new styles and be sure to book your sessions because my fall sessions are booking up quickly!

I recommend for each session something:

//DRESSY//

//TRENDY//

//CASUAL//

*All styles available at Forever 21

All you 2011 Seniors let’s schedule your portrait session now for all the beautiful fall weather! Email (erikadotson@gmail.com) today to start booking your session! Hurry our spots are limited and running out!

Enjoy!

-erika

Special Gifts to my Clients! // Erika Dotson Arkansas Wedding Photographer

Erika — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:53:07 +0000

Hey there everyone! Several of you ladies contacted me at the beginning of the week regarding your wedding CD’s and I mentioned that I would be sending them out that day……then you all received an email shortly afterwards that said nevermind bc I have a little surprise for you!!! Well guess what I’m a horrible secret keeper (at least when it involves something so awesome like this!) and I’m just going to share it with you here, then you can be surprised when you actually get them in the mail!!! :)

I recently ran out of my traditional old labeled CD’s that I give to clients……you know the ones with my logo and name plastered all over them, which gave me an excuse to go order more……. Well that’s when it hit me! I’m going to make custom CD’s for all my clients!!! Yea be excited! :)

And without making you wait any longer for a picture……….

I’m so excited to get these out to you guys tomorrow!

Enjoy!

-erika