Erica M Photography »

This week was one of firsts for me. I shot my first ever maternity shoot and newborn shoot, both in Clovis New Mexico. I am so thrilled to be embarking on this new journey in my business! Friends in Clovis, please spread the word that I am looking to shoot more maternity, newborns, and families. I am also offering a baby plan package to capture your child’s first year of life! They grow so fast, it’s so important to capture all the phases: anticipating their arrival, them new to this world, them sitting up and developing their personality at 6 months, and them on the go and becoming a toddler at one year! Send me an email at erica@ericamphotography.com to get more information on these sessions!

To me, one of the most amazing things about newborns are the immense possibilities. When I photographed Adalae on Friday she was 8 days new to this world. I couldn’t help but think about what she would grow to look like, what her personality would be, who she would become. She was a very sleepy girl for most of our shoot but when those beautiful blue eyes opened and searched around, it was so incredible to watch!

I also designed the baby announcement below which is included complimentary with a newborn session! I designed it to coordinate with Adalae’s crib bumper which was made from a fun Urban Outfitters duvet cover. Love it!

Elisabeth and Matt, thank you for allowing me the honor of documenting your beautiful Adalae! Much love, Erica

I am SO excited to share my first ever maternity session with you! What makes it even more special are the subjects, my dear friends the Dixons! I’m so glad my friends here in Clovis New Mexico have started to ask me to do maternity and newborn photo shoots. While I love photographing weddings, I am craving to focus on doing more local family shoots in Clovis. I am so thankful for the doors that are being opened up to me!

We started the shoot in the Dixons beautiful home. Brittney has major talent in the interior decorating department, I’m way jealous! I’m so excited to see her put the finishing touches on Baby Will’s nursery!

I looove this time of year! Not only do the Dixon’s have the anticipation of Christmas but also of Baby William :) We celebrated the season with hot chocolate and a chubby bunny contest…

…It was a tie ;)

Then we ventured into the cold for some beautiful photos in the snow! Thank you two for being so brave. I am SO thrilled with how these came out. You both are beautiful inside and out. Will is going to be blessed to have you as his parents.

Brittney and Patrick, thank you so much for allowing me the honor of documenting this incredibly special time in your lives! I can’t wait to meet Baby Will!

The first thing I did when I got home from WPPI was well, sleep. Boy, I was tired! But the first thing I did the next morning when I woke up…even before unpacking, running to the store to buy some milk, and attacking the pile of dishes in the sink…was to reflect. I knew if I let real life overwhelm me right away I would loose the momentum that WPPI created for me. So I reflected on everything I learned and intend to implement on my business. I feel recharged and excited!

For those who don’t know, WPPI stands for Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and each year they hold a huge convention in Vegas…we’re talking 15,000 camera nerds ;) I read quite a few photographers blog posts about their past experiences and they were super helpful in telling me to plan out what you want to do. So plan I did! I created a schedule of what I wanted to do in my 4 days at the convention (which went incredibly fast) and I’m proud of all I accomplished! I went to the platform classes of Mike Larson, Bobbi + Mike, Jasmine Star, Jose Villa, and Jill La Fleur, did Showit meet ups with Nick of Spilled Milk and Jamie Delanie, took time at the trade show to decide what new album company I want to use, and most importantly spend time with new and old friends.

One of the best parts of WPPI was my husband stopping by. Those 4 little hours made a world of difference. Fred was off of work on Monday for President’s Day so we got him a free trade show pass and he came to see my world. My husband is amazing like this. He goes to boring business classes with me, crazy overwhelming trade shows, and showers me with his love and support. Ok, done gushing for now. First things first, we ate. Monday was our 6 month wedding anniversary so we went all out and did the lunch buffet at the MGM, wild I know. But really, it was great to sit down and reflect on our first 6 months of marriage!

After we were stuffed to the point of not wanting to move, we dragged our full bellies around the trade show floor and found Becker speaking at a booth so we sat, thank goodness, and listened. After Becker was done speaking, Fred and I stood up to go. Then I started muttering something about wanting to talk to him. Fred said okay and started walking over to Becker. I remained in place, shoes glued to the ground. Fred said I thought you wanted to talk to him? I said I do, buuut it’s Becker! Fred informed me that Becker is a mere mortal, not a photo god. So, I talked to Becker about my branding and he was so encouraging. I am thankful for my husband’s perspective. Fred is not in the photo industry and to him all these 15,000 people are just that. People. Fred pushed me and gave me the confidence that I was able to carry through the rest of the convention and talk to many more of the photo deities I so worship ;)

One piece of advice I have on WPPI is not to go it alone. The people you surround yourself with at a conference of this size makes the experience. The people I surrounded myself are just lovely. We took a little time to shoot each other in the courtyard of the MGM. We danced, and laughed, and enjoyed being our goofy selves!