Armin DeFiesta Photography

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Armin DeFiesta, the owner of Armin DeFiesta Photography! I put an announcement out awhile back that I was available to be a second shooter for weddings on Open Source Photo, a online forum for photographers and Armin saw my work and was kind enough to agree to meet with me!
We had a great talk and were able to discuss not only our style, which we agree is unique to the East Coast, but also the ups and downs of running your own business. We are excited to help cultivate more of an open forum and network between DC photographers, pay it forward baby! Being a photographer can be a lonely business, you are mainly working by yourself so it is great to be able to bounce ideas off other people who you admire. And hopefully I will be learning a lot from Armin as I am able to shoot along side of him this coming year! I'm very excited to have this opportunity and appreciate Armin's confidence in me.
He also gave me a little blog love on his blog the other day, check it out, click here!

Dream Dinners Grand Opening! & Free stuff too...

Our friends are opening their Dream Dinners store on Thursday! This is a great concept which allows you to go directly to their store, assemble prepared ingredients to make delicious & healthy meals and then take them home to freeze them until you're ready to eat them! All are welcome at the Grand Opening which takes place this Thursday.
The first 100 guests that come in the doors will receive a free six serving steak dinner. All guests who sign up for a session at or before our Grand Opening will be entered into a drawing to receive six months worth of dinners! Come and learn more about Dream Dinners, sample the menu, sign up for a session, private party or a sneak peak and check out our demo station. It will be a lot of fun. Hope to see you all there!

A bundle of joy!

I had my first photo session of a year long series with this very sweet family yesterday. I would like to introduce baby Violet! Only 8 days old but so alert and has a head of fabulous dark hair!
* you can double click on pictures to make them larger.

Sister Scarlet wasn't thrilled about taking pictures so this is the only one I got of her and her new sister. It's still so sweet though!














How funny is this one? Ew, mom & dad! No kissing! :-)

A girls weekend away!

Some girlfriends & I decided to get away for the weekend. We went to Leesburg, VA for some boutique & antique shopping, pedicures, lots of food and movies. One of my favorite shops, and one all you moms and moms to be will LOVE is Petite Dekor. So many cute things for the little ones! I featured some of my favorites from that store below.

And apparently the liked my name at this store!



This antique store had campaign buttons from Presidential elections as far as 100 years back. Very appropriate right now!


On the way home we stopped by a beautiful vineyard to check it out. They had the cutest little dog that just hung around and waited for people to come and throw his ball. Although winter is not the best time, summer would be a great time to take a drive to one of the many beautiful vineyards in Virginia for a tour and a picnic.

Announcing... My New Blog Header!

I have the most fabulous looking new blog header designed by the AMAZING Kim Townsend at Simply Splash!  Thanks so much Kim, this is such a HUGE improvement!

A Year in the Life...

I am now offering a new package!  It's called "A Year in the Life" and with this package you will get 4 sessions during the year to document your family!  It's a great way to incorporate all the things that happen in your family's life over a years time.  

The package also includes a lot of great extras!  At the end of the year you'll get an 8x10 from each session, a 10x30 storyboard of 4 of your favorite images & then an 8x8 leather coffee table album to tell the story of your year!  

So, let the fun begin!  Give me a call!

Erin

My response to the Washington Post article...

So, this afternoon I FINALLY got a chance to sit down and read the article along with the online comments and then the online chat with Ian Shaprio, the author.   I had no idea this topic would create so much controversy and so many defensive comments!    First of all I have t say that I feel that Ian, after spending time with Haley and I and really listening to me, got a good feel for our family and my reasonings for having Haley.  I know how hard it must be to fit so much information in one small article and so not everyone will read the article with the same perspective or take it the same way.  So, I elaborated a little on what was said in the article from my perspective.

    To me, my decision to have Haley when I was 25 was a thought out, planned decision made both for logical and emotional reasons.  I was in the right circumstances (married earlier and had been married for several years, financially stable) and was emotionally ready to take that next step in our family.  I know not everyone is ready at 25 but Phil and I weren't your average 25 year olds.  I also was not in a career path that I wanted to continue and knew that I still wanted to pursue a career for myself  but also wanted it to be my passion and not just a job.  So, the timing was great to take a break and have that time to spend with my baby while also exploring some different career options knowing I would have plenty of time to jump back into the career world and still be successful.  

    When I was pregnant and right after Haley was born I did experience some looks from people and did get a lot of "You're so young!" but it never bothered me.  I didn't care what people thought because they didn't  know me or my circumstances.   I have wonderful neighbors and I am also very involved in my church and even though most of my friends are 5 - 10 years older than I am our kids, similar backgrounds and most of all our Faith in God bonds us.  I can't imagine a more supportive and LESS judgmental group of people to have in my life.  

  I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to start my family at the age that I did.  I am also so grateful to my baby for helping me rediscover my life's passion, photography.  Now I am able to work at home and spend so much time with Haley and still feel fulfilled on a creative and intellectual level.  Who knows where I'd be if I had continued to work in my old job and had waited to have a baby.  So, this decision is a very personal one and will be different for everyone.

    This area has so many outlets and support groups for moms so if anyone is having issues with loneliness as a mom please feel free to contact me directly!  I'd be glad to share some great options with you.  But, I do have to say you have to be bold and comfortable with putting yourself out there!  

My biggest issue is actually support for stay at home dads, but that's a whole new topic!  

The Washington Post Story...

Here's the link!  I haven't even read it yet...  

Partnering up with Bellasigns...

I am so happy to be partnering up with Bellasigns!  I'll let the creative mind behind this cute idea tell you about it herself:

"Hi, I'm Jami and I am a happily married, stay at home mom with an overactive 17 month old boy!  I started this business because people kept asking me to make their children name signs after they saw the sign I made for my son.  I enjoyed doing it so much it just turned into a little business for me!"

What is a bellasign?  

"A Bellasign is a personalized, hand painted canvas which displays a meaningful word or child's name."

How does it work?

"It's easy!  Just pick your favorite colors, ribbon, a theme, a size and then email me with all the details.  I'll paint the sign and ship it to you within two weeks." 

Bellasigns are such a great way to personalize a room.  What a great baby gift!  But they are not just for children, just think about how great one would look in your kitchen or entryway with your family name or welcoming your guests!  There are so many ways to use a bellasign!  Get creative!  

For more information go to my website and click on Galleries and then Additional Products.

I was honored...

I've mentioned before that my daughter, at 21m., is already a bit of a diva.  Well, last night she wanted me to do a photo shoot of her, Minnie Mouse (her devoted companion) and Winnie the Pooh.  I was honored to get to take photos of such big celebrities!

My sweet new iMac!

So, I FINALLY got my new computer! We are definitely Apple people in my family and have used macs for awhile now but we've always had laptops. Well, after squinting for months my husband said "You need a big desktop!" and boy was I excited!   So, we decided on a 20" iMac.  So, without further ado....drum roll....


Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!

And coming next is my remodeled workspace which I hope to have done by the end of the month.  My husband and I will be building built-in Shelves & a desk.  Say a prayer!  We have NO idea what we're doing! :-)

My upcoming schedule...

Just wanted to let you all know that I only have 2 appointments left for January.
Three appointments in February.
So, if you think you are going to want to schedule an appointment soon let me know asap!

Also, it looks like I will be in Orange County, California the first week of April so if you are interested in scheduling an appointment while I am there get in touch with me soon! My time for appointments will be pretty limited.

Thanks!
Erin

Inspiration & Pricing Changes....

The coming of a new year can bring a feeling of a clean, fresh start. Benjamin Franklin once said
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
A good motto to live by.
Unfortunately price changes also come with each new year!
I have just been notified by my lab that pricing will be going up on any orders placed after Jan 11th. Therefore, to retain the 2007 pricing make sure to have your orders into me by Jan. 10th so I have time to submit your order.
On Jan. 12th I will be sending out the new print pricing to those who have yet to order. The increase is not substantial but will affect most products.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Happy New Year!
Erin

Now offering custom made storyboards!

In case you saw this post the first time and you are confused I am reposting the storyboards because I have now come up with some very cool backgrounds. These can be put behind a single picture and would look almost like a mat or as I have shown below.
Here are some examples of available storyboards I am now offering. It's a fun way to include multiple pictures on a bigger canvas to tell a story. You can use a storyboard on a regular print or even better, on a beautiful canvas!

The 10x30:


10x30


16x20


16x24


24x48