Erikas Photography Blog

Swagbucks

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:04:41 +0000

I had a photographer friend recommend Swagbucks and so I thought I would try it out. It seems too good to be true, but I’ll let everyone know how it goes. The basic concept is that you get rewarded for searching using their site….or I downloaded the toolbar and plug in for Mozilla as well. My friend was getting gift certificates every 2 weeks for Amazon…we will see how I do with it. If you are interested in checking it out you can click here: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/erikathornburg.

Who doesn’t like FREE money…right?

Kids are back to school!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:43:01 +0000

I’m sure most of your kids weren’t terribly excited to be back in school. Mine were pretty excited, but they are in a completely new area and really want to meet some new friends. Plus, my oldest daughter started Kindergarten today. She was EXTREMELY excited. With the 3 oldest in school, that leaves me with just my youngest. So, the house is pretty quiet. She goes back to preschool in a couple weeks. I’m hoping that with everyone in school I’ll be able to shoot and proof images at a much faster pace than normal! HA HA! It’s funny how so many little interruptions slow down progress! I don’t think I realize how many times I’m interrupted while I work on a editing session images.

Here are a couple of images of my kids before they went off to school in the Aledo ISD:

Pictures of my shooting area!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:34:43 +0000

FINALLY….I have everything in sumwhat of an order to be able to take pictures of my shooting room. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time organizing so that I can simply find everything! After purchasing some bins to store some things in this past weekend, I thought it was time to post some images. I still have a couple things to do in here. But, it is definitely ready to go. I used one of these shots on my website under the ABOUT ME section titled THE STUDIO.

Here are a couple shots of my new space:

Number Change AGAIN!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:04:10 +0000

We just found out that new Texas number was long distance from Willow Park. So, we had our number changed this morning. Our new number is 817-773-3793. Please change this in your records so that you can contact us! We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience! But, we couldn’t have a long distance number.

Double Referral Bonuses through 8/31!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:27:08 +0000

We know that a large percentage of our business comes from our clients telling others about us! Therefore, we have decided to double the referral bonus on all August referrals! Normally when our client’s friends/family book a session with us, they get a $50 gift card toward their next purchase. Referrals are the best compliment! So, I always love to reward them!

For the month of August, when you book a session….you will not just get a $50 gift card! You will get 2 of them! Therefore, for every friend that you refer that books a session…..YOU WILL RECEIVE $100 toward your session! Pretty awesome!! To be eligible, you must book an August session. It doesn’t matter what kind of session. It can be an in-studio session in our Willow Park studio, an on-location session in any of the surrounding areas (Aledo, Fort Worth, Hudson Oaks, Weatherford), or a Caterpillar Club session. But, call TODAY to schedule your session. The earlier in the month that you book the session, the more time you have to refer your friends! I’m posting this a few days before August to give you a head start. I’m hoping that by the end of next month I will be able to tell someone’s success story of how their entire print order was paid in full by referrals!

What to Wear: Family Session

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:57:52 +0000

Let’s talk a little about a Family Session wardrobe. Family sessions can be challenging depending on the ages of children, but with a little planning and patience….the result is an incredible family wall portrait that freezes time at that stage of life. No matter how much time passes, it is always treasured.

I typically recommend some basics for family sessions. I HIGHLY recommend solid colors when selecting your attire! It is best to avoid busy stripes, prints, bold patterns, and logos. Trendy colors can date your portrait and are best avoided as well. Black and pastel colors work well in black and white portraits. One tip that I always point out is that long sleeves are most flattering for adults. Sometimes a last minute thought, but you should think about it ahead of time….Shoes and socks should be similar tone to the outfit. It’s best to dress everyone in the same style, color or mood. All light or all dark tones will make the image most successful. Several shades of one color can be nice, but make sure that they do not clash against each other. A lot of people want to wear white shirts and tan pants or jeans in outdoor family portraits. I love the look in-studio; however, on-location sitting on grass it can look green. So, I tend to steer people away from it for outdoor shots. The most common for outdoor or in-studio family portrait sessions is simple tan pants or jeans and black or chocolate brown shirts. However, tan pants and powder blue has an incredible look as well. Any of those 3 make for a great, casual family photo.

I hope those tips help you in planning your next family portrait session whether it be in our studio in Willow Park or an on-location session in Weatherford, Aledo, Fort Worth, Hudson Oaks, or any of the surrounding areas!

Incredible Grand Reopening Special!!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:06:55 +0000

Since we are new to the Parker County/Texas area, we thought we would post an incredible grand reopening special that will knock your socks off! We don’t typically discount session fees…actually, I think this might be a first! So, definitely take advantage of this fantastic offer!!!

Take $100 off any session reservation fee!

Don’t delay in scheduling your session since this is a limited time offer!
Once you have booked your session, tell your friends about it and take advantage of our client referral program and earn gift cards toward your portrait purchase!!

What to Wear: Newborns

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:57:59 +0000

In continuation of my What to Wear Blog Series. I thought I would go from Maternity to talking about newly born newborn’s sessions. This is one of my favorite sessions to do! Yes, they take longer and require more patience, but definitely the most rewarding. I just love newborn images….who doesn’t???

I like to photograph newborns before they are 2 weeks old. Actually, the earlier we can do the session….the better. It can be crazy with getting out of the hospital and doctor’s visits….but, if you wait too long newborns lose their natural curl and want to stretch out. Most of the images that parents want are the newborns all cuddled up and sleeping….best if captured before they are 2 weeks old. Typically I do newborn sessions around a week old.

What to Wear for Newborn Sessions is quite easy in fact. NOTHING. LOL! Well, for the newborn that is. Yes, I have been peed and pooped on. But, it’s still worth it. I do recommend that parents bring a long a black long sleeved shirt and jeans for family shots. Plus, I do a lot of shots with parents holding the baby and those are best with dark long sleeved clothing as well. So, the What to Wear for this session is elementary….with everything that new parents have to handle….isn’t that a relief????

My Office/Desk!

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:02:41 +0000

Thought I would share a few pictures of my desk which is finally in order!

What to Wear: Maternity

Erikas Photography Willow Park Aledo Weatherford Fort Worth Photographer — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:38:32 +0000

I get a lot of questions about what to wear for sessions so I thought it would be a good idea to start a series of Blog posts on What to Wear. I always mention some of these things when clients book a session, but thought it would be good reading material for those of you thinking about booking a session. It will help if you plan to purchase clothing for the session prior to booking it…which I have had a lot of people do. So, I’ll be working my way through different types of sessions over the coming days and weeks. I thought that Maternity is a great place to start since that is the beginning of life.

What to Wear for a Maternity Session:

I usually recommend some clothing basics for a Maternity session: yoga pants, button up shirts, tank tops, camisoles, lingerie, and jeans. Clothing that bares the belly work well, such as shrugs that we can tie above the belly. A black button up shirt is a great choice and always a go-to for my maternity sessions. The great thing about a button up shirt is you can leave the bottom unbuttoned to expose the belly. Short cropped jackets can be a great option also. In addition, if you have a maternity outfit you really love, have that prepared too. It might be great for your portraits. It is always best to bring too many options than not enough. If you are bringing your spouse, I highly recommend that he come in jeans and bring along a black long sleeved shirt. If he has some other long sleeved shirts that would work, bring them along as well. I very well may use them as well!

Let’s talk about the jeans for a minute. For the mother-to-be, jeans with panels are not recommended, but jeans that sit below the belly, and even jeans from before your pregnancy will work even if they can’t be zipped up. As long as they can fit up over the hips, they’ll work. I could tell some interesting stories about clients squeezing into their pre-maternity jeans! LOL!

So that you won’t regret it later when you view your images, please make sure all clothing is either ironed or steamed. I can do wonders in retouching, but extensive wrinkle removal isn’t covered.

One awesome thing that most people don’t realize when checking out my maternity portfolio is that I create some fantastic images using simple cloth wraps that I have on hand. I have many different ones and feel like a clothing designer a lot of times when I am using them. The great thing about this is that you can look great in your maternity images without spending a great deal of money for clothing!!! Plus, they are extremely tasteful and elegant!

One last thing to remember….the morning of the session, it is best that you not put your watches on. I usually ask that you take them off so that they aren’t distracting in images of just hands and belly. This way you don’t have marks on your wrists.