May 2006 Archives
For me, shooting in Las Vegas is so mcuh fun! I always make sure to visit the Welcome Sign each time I visit. If you have ever seen the sign, then you know that it is flanked by fast moving traffic on both sides. When I am photographing a bride or couple there the sound of the passing motorists honking their horns to celebrate the bride is deafening.
On this particular shoot, I knew that I only wanted to see a hint of the subject’s face, and that I wanted the shadows created to be as black as the night sky that I was using as a backdrop. To achieve this, I had my camera on a tri pod, while I stood behind the bride to her left with a hand held flash. This allowed me to backlight the veil, and skim the light across the front of the dress to maintiain some detail in the fabric.
Aric C. Hoek, The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
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“I think the idealization of women is indigenous to men. There are various ways of idealizing women, especially sexually, based in almost every case on their inaccessibility… When a woman functions as an unobtainable love object,then she takes on a mythical quality.”
Poet Laureate James Dickey, Self Interviews, p. 153
As a photographer and an artist, I find it important to place objects between the subject and camera in order to create a sense of mystery.
Aric C. Hoek, The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
The strength of this image comes from the many leading lines drawing the viewer to the subject, the never ending row of ancient stone pillars, and our bride standing proud.
In addition to the stone pillars, the shadows placed on the subjects back gives our bride added weight and power. No props were needed to help convey this feeling; only attitude.
This once in a lifetime portrait was created at San Marco Square in Venice.
Aric C. Hoek, The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photograpehr
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
Without question this image is one of my all time favorites! I had been hired to travel to Paris and I had never been before. I had gotten up extra early in the morning the day before our scheduled shoot time to scout out good locations, so when I picked up my clients I would know exactly where to go and not waste any time.
One the way to our shoot, it began to rain. Thinking fast, we pulled into a department store where I ran in for a red umbrella. As our drive continued to our location, I spotted a florist. I jumped out and bought a dozen red roses.
What are they doing behind that umbrella any way? The couple kept the umbrella as a souvenir.
Aric C. Hoek, The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
Just south of Paris is Versailles. It is a truly magical place to be with a camera and a bride. This particular client had a thing for flowers. She absolutely loves them!
Figuring out the balance of this image was not the easiest thing to do. I had my subject walk up and down this ramp nine or ten times until I captured her with perfect placement in the image.
Aric C. Hoek,
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
I wanted to add two images from last Saturday’s wedding. If you enjoy my site, check back each Monday for images captured over the weekend. In the first image, I attempted to show as much depth down the hallway as possible, while making sure to add my dramatic lighting and shadows to the composition. Normally, you wouldn’t want to show so many hot spots (lamps and lights) in the image as they can be distracting to the subject, but in this case it was necessary to show depth.
The second image was taken after the wedding. My clients had requested that I meet them at the fountains behind the Transco Tower after the reception. They just didn’t want their night to end. I had the valet at The St. Regis pull up my car so I was ready to go when the couple got into their limo. I feel that I was true to my style of work in this image as well. The couple has become part of the moment and enviroment, and my use of shadows is obvious. Added impact is achieved through the use of positive and negative space, as well as adhering to the rule of thirds.
Normally, I live to break the rules of photography and art, but in this particular instance the placement of the subjects in the far left opening, rather than the opening in the middle added a nice sense of balance and harmony.
Aric C Hoek
Houston Wedding Photographer
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I wanted to share with you some recent bridal portraits taken in the studio at Solaris. I really love these images! Shooting in my studio really allows my work to shine. I have total control of the lighting and I am able to express the images that I have had in my mind.
The first image really shows my love for shadows. The placement of the lights and the position of the subject allow me to place shadows under her chin, which really shows off her nice jaw line. The remaining two images are much more traditional, as I wanted to make sure to give her a wide variety of styles to chose from.
Aric Hoek
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
What is a portrait to me? A portrait is a vehicle of the energy expressed by the existence of the subject or subjects. Only through a consultation before the actual portrait session can a portrait be planned and created that truly transcends the materials that the portrait is printed on. A pre-portrait consultation allows me to learn about the subject a bit more in depth, and allows me to identify the character of the subject, or the relationship of the couple.
As you look through the Solaris website, really look at the images. When you look at the images, do you see an image created through premeditation, or do you think the work is accidental? Planning through pre-consultation is a fundamental element in the success of your portrait at Solaris.
Aric Hoek
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
I wanted to write about one of my favorite images today. It was 4:00 am in Venice. I was traveling there with a couple on their honeymoon, and it was our 3rd day there. The hotel lobby was a small two-room facility, but nicely done and very romantic. Most everything was red in that room, but you couldn’t tell that morning because all the lights were out except for a small lamp at the front desk. After all, what tourist in their right mind would get up so early that they can’t even see the sights yet?
There I was, standing in the lobby with my cameras and tri pod. There was snoring coming from the second room. The door-man had fallen asleep. Just then, I could hear footsteps coming down the stone stairs of the lobby.
There they were, my bride and groom with huge smiles on their faces. They had hired me to travel with them to the other side of the planet for the images we were about to create, and they were excited about the shoot, even at 4am. They drank my brand of cool-aide.
She had her dress on, with her shoes in hand. Flip-flops were the shoes of choice as we had a small bit of walking to do to get to the location that I had scouted out the previous morning.
Now, I understand that having a photographer come with you on your honeymoon sounds very strange, but you have to admit that it sounds very exciting as well! Can you imagine what that couple was thinking? She had packed her dress on a plane and taken it with her from Houston to Venice. She actually got to wear her wedding dress for a second time, and in one of the most romantic cities in the world. Then there was the anticipation of receiving the images to be created.
We began walking to the location of the shoot, and the groom pulled out his digital camera and began shooting pictures of me! So I need to share those with you as well.
It was really an adventure in itself walking around Venice that early in the morning. I had to make sure that I remembered where we were going, because anyone that has been to Venice knows how easy it is to get lost in the endless maze of canals and alley ways. All we could hear while we walked were the sound of our voices and footsteps. Truly, the entire shoot was rather surreal.
The hike was less than 10 minutes and we had arrived at the spot I wanted to shoot. I did a number of arrangements that I had drawn out on cocktail napkins the night before. After a quick review I began shooting, and I would like to share one of those images with you now. To view the rest you will need to read at a later date.
Aric Hoek
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today.
I had the opportunity to photograph a Houston Celebrity recently while on assignment for The Buzz. The Buzz is a neighborhood magazine whose distribution reaches Bellaire, Memorial, West University, and Tanglewood. Almost a year ago now the editors contacted me with a proposition of a monthly exchange for photographing their cover stories in return for ad placement in the magazines.
This month, the stories covered cooking, more specifically, grilling. The subject for the Memorial Buzz was a popular Houston anchorman Bill Balleza. When I learned of this, I knew I wanted to do something that pictured him as Master of The Grill. Originally, I was thinking of bringing a bit of gasoline to put in his grill to get some high flames. And then after about 2 seconds of contemplation, lighter fluid would work just fine.
Aric
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today!
Not for a moment do I take for granted the fact that my skills as a photographer have allowed me to travel the world. But recently, I have been asked repeatedly if I have shot at a very popular Houston location, The Courtyard on St. James Place. Surprisingly enough, I had never shot there until this month, and I was kind of embarrassed by this fact. So, I am more than happy to now say that I have shot there two times. Both shoots were this month, and I have one more wedding there this month as well.
So I wanted to share some portraits from the first two weddings, and I think that you can tell from these images that I can find a plethora (I love that word, and I so rarely get to use it) of photographic arrangements to photograph my clients there. As you can see I am able to achieve a variety of different looks, all of which show off my unique style. The first image is a very traditional shot, but I have incorporated a large amount of shadow in the image to draw the viewer to the face of the subject. Then I have two images on the balcony that without much effort I was able to create two Cinematic Moments. And the fourth image I wanted to break all of the rules. The lighting is very dramatic coming from straight over head, and I have my subject facing straight toward the camera, which 9 times out of 10 is a no no, but in this case I feel it shows off her figure very nicely. Notice that the back of the bride's left hand is facing the viewer. As a rule you should never show the top of a womans hand in a portrait, but I feel by placing her hand on her front and extending the fingers the image takes on a bit more of a commercial feel, plus we get a better view of the wedding ring. And finally I have placed the subject in the bottom right of the composition for extra punch.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the facility. The weddings are coordinated by 4 catering directors, Hedi, Katie, Maria, and Deanna, and from what I can tell they run a tight ship. These four women have a staff and a facility that runs like clockwork, which makes for a more pleasant experience for everyone. The food has been fabulous, and the staff more than courteous. The facility has enough areas to accommodate two outdoor weddings and two indoor receptions, and my guess is that these areas can be combined if you have a really large wedding planned.
At any rate, all I can say is that I am looking forward to shooting there later this month. I will make sure to post those images as well.
Aric
Houston Wedding Photographer
Contact Solaris Studios and book your wedding photographer today!
