Erika Dotson Photography » erika liz photography

Before and After – NWA Photographer’s Style

Erika — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:00:47 +0000

I get a lot of emails (mostly on facebook)………..which if you are reading this now, the best way to contact me is via email…..erikadotson@gmail.com for the fastest response. I really dislike facebook messages, first of all it’s not very professional on my part but more importantly information gets lost and hacked all the time!!! No fun.

Ok so what I get a lot of emails……no I didn’t finish…….I get a lot of emails about what I use to edit with and I think people get disappointed when my reply is simple and I say photoshop. Nope there’s no secret special fancy tool that I have, just boring old photoshop.

With that said I do use about 5 actions religiously from Totally Rad Actions, MCP Actions, and Red Leaf Actions if you’ve never heard of them, I’m telling you now you seriously are dated and missing out!!! Check them out NOW!!!! :)

Ok so I wanted to run through a photo from start to finish with you guys.

ORIGINAL:

First of all you’ve gotta start with a pretty good picture originally. Personally this photo looks pretty good straight out of camera (SSOC). And I shoot in RAW which makes things easier as far as editing goes.

I’m not super techy so I am not going to provide screen shots for you. So sorry! (If anyone out there would be so kind as to share in a comment below I would love to know how to do that on a mac!!!) :)

Next, I open my file in Adobe Bridge and made light adjustments, along with clarity.

I then usually run an action called A Touch of Color. Personal favorite as far as actions go! I then play with the opacity levels. Seriously that’s the trick here! You should never run an action and just leave it how it ended up!!!! I always change those levels!

My next favorite action to run is called Groovy. This one just puts a nice warm coat on everything and I usually only use it at about 30%.

Finally I finish up with an action I created myself that flattens the image to end up with this photo…..

AFTER:

I would love some feedback! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

Enjoy!

-erika

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

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

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

Saturday Steal // Martha Stewart Weddings

Erika — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 11:28:24 +0000

I just love anything Martha Stewart does!!! She’s amazing! So Saturday’s I decided to go find something cool and totally steal it, write what I think about it, and let you go check it out! :)

Oh I’m a huge DIY (do it yourself) fan!!! Read more

I’ve seen old photos of parents’ wedding days more and more at recent weddings so I thought I’d add to that with something a bit more visually interesting than frames sitting on a table. Read more.

Linens are expensive and boring, so try out some wrapping paper! Pretty sure you could make everything way more customized! Read more.

I just want to emphasize how much the tiny details really do matter! This is just an ordinary drink station but look how adorable it is with the right touches!!! Read more.

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