Houston Wedding Photographer / Aric C Hoek

One Year Later!

On 7/18/06 Isaac and Marjan signed with me to photograph their wedding for 9/16/06. If you are a long time reader of this blog you may remember their wedding images.

One year later, almost to the day, Isaac and Marjan find themselves back in my studio. Thank you both for your continued business, and congratulations!

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Senior Portrait Session

For some time now I have been toying with the idea of starting a senior portrait division. For those of you out there that don’t know, high school seniors have their portrait taken to remember a time of transition in their lives.

There are really two things that are appealing to me about senior portraits. The first and foremost is that I will be able to expand my photographic discipline into areas that will allow me to be more creative. I truly believe that an artist that just produces the same thing over and over does him or her self a real disservice. You need to keep your work fresh, and you need to be excited about what you are doing.

The second thing I am looking forward to is keeping busier during the week.

At any rate, once we launch the division we will initially be offering two types of in studio sessions for our seniors. The first will be called our Black and White Session. The images created will be… get ready for it… black and white, but very contrasty and very commercial. Needless to say I will be including heavy shadows. The second line/look we are working on will be revealed in about 6 months as we have a large investment to make before it can be created.

What I will not create are images using ridiculous props. The last thing I want coming out of my studio is the image of a senior sitting on a Styrofoam 08’. Yuk. If you know me, and my work, then you know I want it to look as different from everything I can find out there.

So, take a look at my first attempt. This session took about 1.5 hours to finish and the amount of images you see here is what a senior could expect to choose from.

If you are a frequent reader here, take the time to leave a comment at the bottom of the entry and let us know what you think. And again, if what you are looking for is a portrait sitting on a Styrofoam 08 that is still warm from the last senior that was sitting on it, or something leaning on a tree with a fake smile, then you are most definitely not going to like my work.

I am attempting to create individualism using my own unique style of photography. Shadows.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Portraits for Him.

Well, I have been absolutely swamped! A good customer came back to us last week wanting me to create an image of her for her husband. We got the session done and she came in to look at her images today and she loved them!

While the images are for her husband, I still wanted to keep things very tasteful. It’s a very thin line creating images that are to be seductive while maintaining a classy artsy feel. I think I pulled it off rather well. Staying true to form, the images are dark and full of shadows.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Studio Engagement Session

What will be on display at the entrance of your reception?

If you have been deciding between an engagement session or a bridal session, then I would suggest an engagement session. This will give you both time in front of the camera before the wedding day, along with giving both of you and your family future enjoyment.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Studio Tour

I used to work out of my home, and for years I saved with hopes of one day opening my own studio. The birth of my twins accelerated that process. I have been in my studio now for about 17 months, which just so happens to be how old my twins are currently.

I thought I would give you a quick photographic tour. I actually took these images over a year ago now, so things have changed a bit. I think these were taken abbout a month after the studio construction was completed.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Studio Bridal Session. Taken 3/26

Now, I am no Rembrant. One characteristic that I like in his work is of course his use of light. When you look at a Rembrant, you know there is a light source just outside of the image, but you are not allowed to see it.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Engagement Session / Tattoos

I had an engagement session in the studio today. This particular couple is actually already married, so I am not sure that you can actually call it an engagement session. They are having their official ceremony and reception later this year.

Because the couple is already married they allowed me some freedom to create some portraiture that was a bit more on the dramatic side, as opposed to the traditional lovey dovey shots you would normally expect from an engagement session. Specifically I had instructions to show the Husbands tattoos.

Now, this is an instruction that I get about once a year. Normally, I would not put up images of tattoos. It just doesn’t say wedding. But these images I really like, so I wanted to share.

You can see that the session started off like a standard engagement sessions, and then I ust went off the deep end.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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A Simple Flower.

John and Carrie booked me to photograph their wedding earlier in September of 06, and their wedding promises to be fabulous! It is my understanding that it is to take place in a Budda Temple.

At any rate, they chose to have their engagement session done in the studio and their appointment was for last Monday. I find that studio sessions are more difficult than session done on location, the reason being is because I hate to use props in my studio sessions. Props to me are like a crutch when taking a portrait. I would much rather just use a simple flower with my subject and rely on my skills as an artist to light the subject dramatically.

While studio sessions are a bit more difficult, when I am in a groove I feel that I can really turn out some excellent artwork, and it seems as of late the work I have been doing in the studio is making me and my clients very happy.

Enjoy.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Yoga Study.

Every once and a while I get a request for something a bit different. Here are a few images from a session done in the studio of a subject in yoga poses. Enjoy.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

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Maternity Session

As you may or may not have noticed, I have made a few basic changes to the Solaris Blog in an effort to clean it up and make it a bit more like the rest of our site. I hope you like the changes.

I wanted to share a few images with you today of a maternity session that took place last week. Click the link below to see the rest of the images.

Enjoy.

Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows
Solaris Studios
713-524-3303

Use the Subscribe Me button to make sure you never miss a story. Be sure to tell your friends about us!