Recently in Family Portraits Category

My wife had a fabulous idea last week. After looking at the weather report, the suggestion was made to take the kids to the beach, as we both had the day off.

It’s only a bit longer than an hour from the Hoek Casa, so the car ride wasn’t two bad for our two year old twins… once you get used to the kids kicking the back of your chair.

We pulled into Galveston only to discover a fog bank covering the entire island. As a photographer, I really find that sometimes great images can come from the worst weather.

Houston Wedding Photography - Aric C. Hoek, the Master of Shadows
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I wanted to share a few individual portraits from a session I did yesterday in the studio. I have been using a new photographic process as of late that allows me to highly manipulate my backgrounds.

You would think that it is done with a green screen as a background… but it isn’t.

Houston Wedding Photography - Aric C. Hoek, the Master of Shadows
713-524-3303

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After two months of photographing families of The North West Houston Mothers of Multiples, the day of the unveiling was here. From 10 – 12 today families came to pick up their portraits and the party was a big hit.

Let me start off by saying…. I don’t know. :)

Toni came home from the NWHMOM meeting with a good amount of questions people have about the party this Saturday, and here are my thoughts….

This entry is a bit more on the personal side. As you may or may not know, my wife and I have one year old twins, and their birth day party was last Saturday! Just over 40 people attended. I thought I would share some of the images. The cake was flying, and my boy loved climbing around in all of the wrapping paper. In the end you can see the babies get really sleepy after the sugar rush wore off.

It’s Monday at 4:25 pm, and I am in The Woodlands, which is North of Houston. I am here to give a talk tonight to the Woodlands Photography Club. My talk doesn’t start until 6:30, so I have a few hours on my hands. I got here early to avoid traffic.

Beth and I spent today working on the final images for the promotion we ran with The North West Houston Mothers of Multiples. All the images have gone to the lab for printing and should be back on Wednesday, which will give me just enough time to reprint any that don’t meet up to my standards. Just in time for the unveiling on Saturday.
I wanted to take this opportunity to post the images that went to the lab today. If you don’t see yours, don’t worry. I will make sure your image is ready for Saturday.

OK. It was last Friday and I was doing my thing in the studio photographing a family. I was in a zone. Moving from my camera to my clients to arrange the composition of the image I noticed some people standing in my studio.

I didn’t pay them any mind because I had worked so hard to get this family positioned just so, and a young child will only hold still for so long. I needed to get the shot, then I would address the visitors.

I take the shot, explain to my clients that I need a moment, and I introduce my self to the mystery couple. They proceed to explain that they are patients of the dentist next door to my studio, that they are engaged, and they wanted me to take their Engagement Portrait. I ask them to wait for a few minutes while I finish up my session. I made then each an espresso, sat them down at the conference table, and handed them some wedding albums to look at.

Once I finished with my family, I rejoined the couple. It was then I noticed the garment bag. Had Beth, my production manager, made an appointment for a session and failed to put it on the books? No. It turns out that the couple had forgotten the name of my studio, so they could not call me, and the dentist office was already closed so they couldn't ask them, so they just showed up, ready for a portrait session in hopes that I would be available.

I didn’t have another family to shoot for about three hours, so I took the assignment.

Can you call upon your talent at will? Can you deliver on a deadline? For me, these are two trademarks of a professional.

They went on to explain that the theme of their wedding was royalty, and as parting gifts for all of their guest they were having money made with their image on it! Way cool idea! So I immediately started thinking, when I think of a portrait on money, I see the faces in profile. So I had to come up with an image that screams love, engagement, and it needed to be in profile so they would look good on the coins that they were having made. I still can’t get over it. Their own money. Evidenttly there is a company out there that will take a digital photograph and transfer the image to a coin. At any rate…

So, here is the image that I came up with. Notice that I made sure to include her engagement ring. I turned the ring a bit sideways so it would be a bit more defined when the coin was struck. You will need to imagine a circular crop tight around their faces.

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding / Family Photographer

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What Is That? Is that light at the end of the tunnel? Not a problem, I’ll just snuff that right out.

A quick review. Over the past two weeks Beth and I have successfully photographed our first 16 families! WOW! Not to mentinon two weddings. And according to my schedule, we have another 8 families and 2 weddings next week.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to give a glimpse into other things that will be happening this coming week. If you are in need of holiday cards, you will want to keep reading.

Monday: (busy, busy, busy)
1. Solaris will launch a line of holiday greeting cards, and these elegant cards are going to be priced to move! Examples of the multiple designs I have been working on will be on display here on the blog. Prices will be as follows….

1-20 are $2.99 each
21 – 50 are 1.99 each
50 – 100 are 1.75 each
101 – up are 1.50 each

We will be prepared to start taking orders for holiday cards at Noon on Monday! Phone or email in your orders. If you are emailing orders, which I would prefer, please do so using orders@solarisstudios.com When placing an order, tell us the style of card you like, the image number that you would like to use, and the quantitiy of cards. We will contact you for payment information.

2. I am shooting a wedding today (Saturday) in Sugar Land and I will be processing that wedding and getting it onlne.

3. NWHMOM I will be contacting each of the families that have been photographed thus far via email with two pieces of information. The first will be the image that I have chosen to use as your free portrait for participating, and the second piece of information will be instructions for placing any additional desired orders.

4. Photograph two families, edit the images, create online galleries for each.

Tuesday:

If the weather is as nice as it is today, I will be taking an earned break and playing some golf in the morning. Trick or Treat with the kids in the evening! Their first Halloween! Katie is going as a Lady Bug and Gavin will be a lion! Grrrrr.

Wednesday:
I am actually shooting my first Wednesday wedding! Times are changing. Facilities will give discounts to couples that are willing to get married on non peak days.

Thursday – Saturday
Photograph 6 more families. Photograph one wedding.

Well, that’s my up-coming week in review. Reply to this entry below and let me know what you think about the family portraits so far! I know that people are looking. According to statistics, the traffic on the Solaris site has gone up 100% with over 100 unique visitors per day.

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding / Family Photographer

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I know the world of wedding photography. I live it. But family portraiture, now that’s a different story. I have worked for many many portrait studios in my life, and I was very selective in the studios I worked for. But until now, I have not attempted to run a family portrait business on my own.

If you follow my work at all, then you would have noticed a change in my site over the past two weeks. A big change. I recently ran a special with The North West Houston Mothers of Multiples. The special was given in an effort to populate the new portrait division of my site with images, and over the past two weeks I have done just that.

When I have finished photographing a family, I inform them that their images will be online in less than 24 hours. This is something that I have always thought that studios should do, but they never seem to make the effort. Why do I get the images online so fast? Because I know that the mother is super excited to see those images, and she wants to use them to communicate with her friends with as soon as possible. And my guess is that when those other mothers see the images they will be calling to book their own sessions for their families.

But recently, I have been getting asked the same question over and over by the families I have photographed. What do we do now?

Every detail was important in the creation of my first family portrait. The lighting, backgrounds, lens selection, the web site….. The list can go on and on and I would only bore you. But, as it turns out I have forgotten the business side of family portraiture. I failed to inform my clients how to order their portraits! I didn’t make an order form for my clients to place their order. What a rookie mistake.

It’s quite humbling actually. Back to square one kind of thing. But it’s all mine and I am very proud of the images I have created thus far.

So, the patch to the problem will be an email sent out to the families that have participated thus far with instructions on how to order via email. The permanent fix for future family sessions will be to create an order form or packet for the families to take home with them.

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding / Family Photographer

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I had an idea last night. I love those A Ha moments.

The special that I am running for The North West Houston Mothers of Multiples involves printing a wall portrait for each of the families. Because the special was free for the families, I need to find ways to save money while producing all of these portraits. My first logical thought was to send all of the images to my lab as the same order so they would all be printed and shipped back to the studio together, saving a substantial amount on shipping, rather than one shipping charge for each family. This means that all of the finished portraits will arrive at the studio at the same time. Opportunity!

Why not throw an unveiling party!?! I think it is a great idea, and I am going to work on making this happen. As I look at my calendar, the last of the family portraits will be taken on Thursday 11/16. Saturday the 18th I do not have a wedding, so this seems like the logical time.

Saturday November 18th form 10 –2 Solaris will host a party for the families of NWHMOM, and anyone else that wants to attend, to unveil all of the finished family portraits. Maybe I can do a press release? Maybe I can have the press there!?! OK. Now I'm really excited about this. More details to follow!

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding / Family Photographer

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About 2 months ago now, I got an email from a bride that wanted to book my wedding services for November of 07. I had to refer her to another photographer because I was already booked for the date in question.

So I have found myself at a crossroads. How do I increase my business? I can hire more photographers to shoot more weddings, or I can introduce a second product line.

In less than one month now, Solaris will be offering it’s own unique line of family portraiture!

Here’s my problem: How do I sell myself as a creative and innovative source for family portraiture when I have no samples of family portraits to show you? Do I just ask you to trust me? I didn’t think so.

My wife Toni is absolutely right. When it comes to my photography, I’m a perfectionist. I have a clear vision in my mind of what I want my family portraits to look like, but I need sample portraits. She has been forwarding emails, and passing along verbal requests from members of North West Houston Mothers Of Multiples (NWHMOM) asking if and when I would do some family portraiture.

In an effort to design a new website for family portraiture, I recently had an exclusive drawing for a free session and portrait to the members of the NWHMOM in hopes of attracting volunteer families. We had a huge response!

The first 20 responses received the following.

• A free portrait session in our studio. ($150 value)
• One 24” wall portrait! ($450 value…that’s a BIG portrait)
• Your family portrait featured on the new Solaris Web Site.
• Selected images from your session will be made available in a private online gallery.

Within the first day we received over 40 replies! Beth, my production manager, suggested that we needed to offer something to the additional entries as well. The problem with that is, that giving away additional prints over the 20 that we had committed to already would exceed that budget that had set for this special. So, we decided that the next ten entries over the initial 20 would receive the following…

• A free portrait session in our studio. ($150 value)
• Our policy of a minimum purchase would be removed for these sessions.
• Your family portrait featured on the new Solaris Web Site.
• Selected images from your session will be made available in a private online gallery.

Additionally, we wanted to have a prize for four more entries:

• A free portrait session in our studio. ($150 value)
• Your family portrait featured on the new Solaris Web Site.
• Selected images from your session will be made available in a private online gallery.

AND HERE ARE OUR WINNERS!

The Top 20!
N. Terry
S. Baum
V. Worster
B. Myers
E. Young
S. Brown
M. Morgan
M. Strickland
B. Lewis
K. Marshall
M. Rigdon
L. Collins
L. Clement
D. Sherrill
L. Quinn
J. Spencer
C. Powell
M. Durrani
P. Vacek
A. Ison
K. Hearn

Here are the 10 runners up!
L. Sanders
L. Ranney
A. Bennett
D. Chapman
T. Plum
K. Nabors
H. Mitcham
Young
S. Troyer
K. Pavlesic

Our Final Four!
L. Yannessa
K. Minson
D. Long
K. Stachowiak

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this big of a response, but I am very grateful!

Candor, truthfulness, openness, and honesty. This is where we are at currently.

1) Beth will be contacting all of the winners in an effort to schedule session times for each.

2) We are working on the logistics of being open late one night a week, as I shoot weddings during the weekend. This becomes increasingly difficult when trying to coordinate with Toni’s work schedule at Chili’s and picking up the kids from Day Care. You know how it is. Beth and I are thinking that Wednesdays would be best as her son does not have soccer that day.

3) I am expecting a hand painted background to arrive at the studio any day now. The background I have ordered is from the best background painter in the country. They are done by hand and are very expensive. We are going for a Jackson Pollock look. Once the background comes in, I will have to install it. This will take a day or two.

4) We expect to start shooting on 10/6.

Again, I want to say thank you for the huge response! Beth and I are very excited to be working with all of you very soon.

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer

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I just realized that the album I posted a few hours ago is already on my site as a sample album, so I tought I would post an additional album today. This album I was planning on posting tomorrow, but there is no time like the present.

A great wedding , and a fun reception. My parents actually got married in this church. Make sure to look at the cake! Each layer of the cake is placed at different angles giving it a very cool look.

Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer

Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.