Houston Wedding Photographer / Aric C Hoek

A Quick Report...

It’s a long night for me. Just got home from a wedding and it is 12:55 am. Before I go to bed I have to get my images downloaded and backed up. My rechargeable camera and flash batteries need to be recharged as Liz and I have to be back at the studio at 11:30 tomorrow morning to shoot another wedding. Actually, I can’t really say tomorrow, as the wedding is today. Hmmm.

Tonight’s wedding had some great vendors there that you should know about. The first is Schwartz Woodward. They are one of the best wedding planners in Houston and they were recently featured on Platinum Weddings. Very cool stuff. Look them up if you are in need of a planner for your wedding or event. You will be in good hands.

The second really cool feature to tonight’s wedding was the band. Fried Ice Cream. I can't seem to find a link to their site at the moment, however they really are fantastic! If you are looking for a good band, they book them as fast as you can. They really are very good. A photographer should know. After all, we see everything. I will try and post a link to them later.

Next week is going to be a long week. Beth, Liz and I will need to get two weddings edited and online by Thursday so our clients can see their images while on their honeymoons. Secondly, we have a large wedding scheduled for next weekend that we need to get ready for. This will be the second event to the Hartman wedding, which was my recent trip to Banff. The couple is having a second event in Houston to make everything official. They have rented out the Museum of Natural Science and are having their second ceremony in The Gem Exhibit! Needless to say, this is a high stress shoot for me and I want everything to go perfectly.

I will be posting images from both weddings later in the week. Until then.....

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

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How to get me excited about photographing your wedding.

You would be surprised how often the following happens. Often enought that I am writing this post.

Two people contact the studio via our contact page on the same day, and both inquiries are requesting our services on the same wedding date. Yikes! Who do I reply to first?

The first email reads something like this, “Packages and prices please.” That’s it. Nothing else. Or, “pricing please.” You can just tell that they are quite possibly copying and pasting the same request to a list of photographers they have found.

I understand that people are on a budget when they are planning a wedding, and that some budgets are larger than others. And I understand that the planning of a wedding can just wear you out. However I will be more receptive to a request that shows some excitement about our services. Wouldn't you?

Later that same day, lets say I receive and email that reads something to the effect of, “We love your work and we have read your blog. (I added the, "we have read your blog" bit. Couldn't help it.) We can see that you are passionate about what you do and we would love to have you at our wedding. Could you please tell us the next available time that we can meet with you to discuss our needs? Hope to hear back from you soon!”

Who do you think I am going to contact first? Am I going to contact both inquiries? You bet I am going to contact both inquiries! I am a father of twins! However I am going to ask Beth to schedule one consultation before the other.

Past Post in 2006.

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

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Premier Bride Magazine - Part 2

Well, I haven’t made an entry in a few days as we have been really busy here. I think I have enough entries to do one a day now for about three weeks though. So let the writing begin!

I figure it will be best to continue where I left off, and that is with the commercial shoot for Premier Bride Magazine done at Eden Studio. The following are just a few of my favorites from the shoot. There are so many more to show, but these are my favorites. With any luck they will use one for the cover of their magazine which will surely give the studio a nice boost.

It is important to keep in mind that these images were taken to show off the clothing of the models, and were not taken as a portrait session. Because of this some of the images have the subjects faces darkend (by shadows) in order to draw attention to the clothing.

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

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15 Hour Day

Today was a 15 hour day. It started as a location shoot for a bridal magazine for their cover. I really haven’t had the opportunity to really go through tem as of yet as I had another shoot this evening. After that I had an event to shoot for an Indian wedding.

I am really excited to go through the commercial shoot as I was working with professional models that would pose anyway I wanted them to. I was in heaven. I did have time to find one image to post tonight though. More will go up on Monday, or sometime around then.

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

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Hartley Engagement Session

I meant to get these on the blog before I left for my out of town wedding last weekend, but I just ran out of time. Sorry about that Paige. Thanks for your patience.

Paige had asked for me to put up the images she purchased from her engagement session for her parents to see, and I am more than happy to do so. I was able to create both bridal and engagements for Paige, along with here wedding which can be seen in the previous post. Her reception was at Brennan’s, and they always through a great party!

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

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Test Your Photographer

The next few posts may be a bit out of order as I have been rather busy trying to get caught up in my album production. I am a bit behind right now, which stresses me out, and the only way to get unstressed is to get them completed.

This particular couple had me photograph their engagement portrait before they even booked their date with us or their facility. It’s a good idea actually. If you are thinking of having a professional photographer at your wedding, and you are deciding between two or three, have one photograph your Engagement Session and Another your Bridal Session. That way you can compare apples to oranges before committing your money to a photographer.

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

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Yentzen Bridal

When I shoot in my studio, I know I have everything under control. However, when you are asked to photograph a clients home, you never really sure what you are getting ready to walk into.

Here are three of my favorites from a bridal session taken at my clients home.

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

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Zerda - Bridal Portrait / Rice University

I wanted to share a bridal portrait that was purchased today. My client had asked me to put the image online so she could share one of her selections with the rest of her family.

I want to note that additional retouching will be applied to this image before it is printed for our client. Most noticably, the shadows cast by the directional light on her back will be reduced.

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

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Recent News / Update

I have been so busy as of late, which of course is a good thing. Today I am writing from a hole in the wall BBQ restaurant in Sugar Land. I am sitting here enjoying a nice sandwich as I am about an hour early for a Bridal session that is to take place down the street.

Some small things are happening in my little photographic pond as of late. Liz, my new assistant is coming along nicely. I put a camera in her hands at my last wedding and I am looking forward to reviewing her images. I will make sure to post one here on the blog. She is scheduled to start full time in June. Beth and I are very excited.

About a month ago a writer for Photo District News called me at the studio for a phone interview. The conversation lasted for about 30 minutes. Yesterday there was a follow up call as they are getting ready to release the article and had some follow up questions. PDN has both a magazine and a web site. It is my understanding that the article will only be available on their web site. Either way, I am excited to read it. Once I find it, I will post a link. There is no internet access here at… you know, I am sitting here and I can not see one item that says the name of the restaurant. Well, wherever I am, they do not have internet access so I can not check to see if the story has gone live or not. http://www.pdnonline.com

I am taking a risk with my advertising. A change of strategy. I have not renewed one of my periodical ads. As I am sure you are aware, a magazine ad is not inexpensive. Quite the opposite. As a responsible business owner, it is my job to track how well our ads are working (cost per lead) so I can make educated decisions on whether or not to continue specific ad placements. That being said, I have dropped one of my ads. These advertising funds will now be used to take select professionals in the wedding industry to lunch in an effort to build lasting relationships and a stronger referral base. My guess is that will be money well spent. My first lunch invitation goes out tomorrow to Bell of The Ball. Wish me luck!

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

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Brooke & Mike / Engagement Session

Brooke and her fiancé Mike booked me last July to photograph their wedding while they were living in Tucson. They have since moved to Houston and we finally got around to taking their engagement session outdoors. One problem with having a session outdoors is that there are rain delays. I think we had to reschedule their session four times due to bad weather.

I have been shooting at Herman Park quite a bit lately and I am getting some great results. If you are reading this on Saturday, chances are I am there now as I do not have a wedding this weekend. Any time I do not have a wedding on a Saturday I seemed to get booked up with engagement and bridal sessions. This weekend is packed with sessions, as I will not have another free weekend until the end of August!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. Not one bit. I don’t take one wedding for granted. 2007 is schedule to be my biggest year yet and I am ready for it!

Here are some images from Brook’s engagement session. Click the link below to see the rest of the images.

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

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