My younger sister graduated high school last month!! YAY! Since all 3 of these shoots happened within about 8 days of each other (yeah, June was busy!) I thought I’d devote one huge blog post to Mary’s graduation, senior pics and open house party. Here’s one of her BFFs giving the Valedictorian speech…

YAY!! Congrats Mary!!

Kisses and lots of photos afterwards…

Can you tell she was excited to be done with high school?!

That same weekend we scheduled her senior pics since she had just gotten her braces off too! Woo hoo!!

Mary is the shoe queen in our family…I’ve lost track of how many pairs she has! LOL So while she had Karen Hall do her hair & make-up for her senior photo shoot, I took some cool shoe photos for her!

Then we headed back home for some pics with the family…

Then we headed over to the Antique Mall in Westfield for a few neat shots…

LOL Loved it…

Then we went to Clay Terrace for some fun photos…we started at Starbucks for her favorite drink!

Then over to DSW, her favorite store…

Then over to my office for a few casual outdoor shots…

Her high school play was “Seussical” this year so this seemed fitting…

Melissa’s angle…love it!

My angle…love it!

Open House Party time!!! Classic Cakes did an AWESOME job on her cake! YUM!

Dad picked up two huge subs from Subway, very reminiscent of my grad party!

Mary said the only thing she REALLY wanted at her party were purple and gold M&Ms…we aim to please!

Her friends gathered around and watched an awesome DVD that John put together for her…so fun!

Off to ND in the Fall!

We love you Mary and we’re sooooo proud of you!! XOXO

On 6/5, we photographed Shree & Kumar’s GORGEOUS Indian wedding at the Ritz Charles!! The colors were so vibrant and beautiful and Shree looked stunning! Karen Hall & Company did a fabulous job on her hair & make-up, as always!

The Mehndi application on her hands and feet looked amazing…so intricate and detailed!

Their mandap was very beautiful!!

I showed this shot to Shree right after I took it and she LOVED it so I thought she’d like to see it again!

Shree’s mom lighting the lamp…

Waiting for the groom’s arrival…

The feet washing ceremony…

The garland exchange…

Relatives fed them milk & bananas after the ceremony…

Adorable!! You two are so cute together!

Back to Shree’s house for an outfit change! I ADORED the vibrant colors in both of her outfits!!

Dani came back to change Shree’s hair & make-up for the reception…

Cute shoes!

Shree’s dad found their cat hiding under the bed! LOL I think she was a little freaked out by all of the excitement. I had to get a pic of their furbaby though!! So cute…

WOW, WOW, WOW!! Shree looked AMAZING!!

So amazing that Kumar whipped out his cell phone to take a pic of his new bride! Too cute!

After a few pics at her house, we headed back to the Ritz for some romantic shots of just the two of them…

LOVE this one!!

The reception site looked amazing!! The gold chargers and colored linens really made everything “pop” in photos!

Beautiful flowers & details…

The parents sat at the head table which I thought was really neat. They both have the nicest families, they were a joy to work with!!

Toasting his new bride

They had cool back light coming through so I shot a few silhouettes here too…

It was truly a fun dance party that night!!

Thanks for a fun time you guys!! More pics coming soon!

On 5/29, we photographed Kaylie & Aaron’s fun wedding & reception at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Oak Hill Mansion! I LOVED Kaylie’s shoes & her dress that she found at Brides by Demetrios!

Her flower girl was adorable!!! (Can we rent her out?!)

MALONE!!!! I love furbabies, as most of you know…

Isn’t her dress STUNNING!? Wow…

Kaylie!! You look like a model! Karen Hall & Company did a fabulous job on your hair & make-up! So pretty!!

YAY!

Classic Touch Limo provided their Hummer limo that day!

Malone made an appearance for a few photos after their bubble exit! LOVE it!

Then we headed over the the Arts & Design District in Carmel for some photos with the wedding party…

Favorite!!

Another favorite!!

Julie Acheson from Royal Creations did a fabulous job on their flowers!

Karen Sutton of Holy Cow, Cupcakes did an awesome job on their cupcake towers!! They had these cupcake towers as centerpieces on every table, isn’t that neat?! YUM!!

Another favorite shot of the day!! This image now proudly hangs in Holy Cow, Cupcakes shop in Carmel!!

Lots of fun toasts…

There was a great sunset that night!

Kaylie surprised Aaron with these Lego cake toppers! Apparently, he really liked playing with Legos when he was little so she thought it would be cute to find a bride & groom Lego set.

Since I’m an animal lover & I’ve become known for my fun/cool ring shots, I HAD to incorporate their love for Malone somehow! Buddy (our dog) said he wouldn’t mind giving up a few of his milk bones for this shot. LOL

It was SUCH a FUN party!! Chris Burger from Copper Moon Entertainment did an awesome job keeping the dance floor packed all night!

The groom’s parents surprised them with a cool getaway car at the end of the night! We love Antique Limousine!!

Hope you guys had fun on your honeymoon!! More pics coming soon!

We’ve had sooo many weddings lately that I’ve hardly had time to edit or blog! I hope to catch up a bit this week though…here’s what is coming up on the blog soon:

Kaylie & Aaron’s wedding

Mary’s graduation/senior photos/open house party

Shree & Kumar’s wedding

Lori & Jeb’s wedding

Allison & Patrick’s wedding

Misty & Tim’s wedding

Kim & Jacob’s wedding

Michelle & Ryan’s rehearsal dinner & wedding

I have LOTS of cool pics to show you guys soon!! Stay tuned…

I’m posting a little out of order this week but trying to catch up with our blog posts! We’ve had SO many photo shoots going on lately, it’s been great! Anyway, my dad had the awesome opportunity to play in the Notre Dame Fantasy Football camp again this month so I wanted to post some of my favorite pics for him. We stayed at the Morris Inn on campus which was awesome, the beds were super comfy and we even had a view of the golden dome from our room, it sure doesn’t get any better than that. Dad even surprised us with a goody basket (above) in our room upon arrival. I love surprises!! Then, John & I walked around outside and this little guy came right up to us to have his photo taken! The Notre Dame squirrels are soooo tame, I think he was hoping we had food on us!

The trip wouldn’t be complete without a stop by the ND bookstore!

Touchdown Jesus…

Dad and his teammates walked over from the grotto to the locker room before the big game!

All suited up and ready to go! Dad surprised my sister with a new ND shirt!

Loved this…I think this shot would be an awesome panoramic shot in an album spread, don’t you?

Practicing before the game…

Running out for warm ups…

John was my official side-shooter that day…he got some awesome action shots!

Dad running out of the tunnel…

One of John’s awesome action shots

Loved this angle…

It was a HOT one! Thank goodness for Gatorade!

Another favorite!!

Few shots on the field after the game…

Loved this one!

We all had dinner up in the press box that night. Isn’t this view amazing?!

Thanks for another fun ND shoot dad!! XOXO

My husband has been diligently working on our new website and as we’ve been adding photos to each section, I realized that we need more boudoir photos!! We shoot a LOT of boudoir sessions each year but unfortunately, a lot of our clients don’t want their boudoir photos posted online for public viewing. So we’ve decided to offer 50% off of our usual boudoir package if you’re brave and meet the following requirements:

1. You must be willing to sign a model release for us.

2. You must be willing to have your boudoir photos posted on our blog and website so that we have samples to showcase on our new site.

3. The photo shoot must take place in the Indy area, or within an hour of Indy.

(Offer valid for new boudoir clients only, can not be combined with any other offers or gift cards) We need about 5-10 brave women to do this, although NO NUDITY is required. We’re just looking for some fun & sexy photos to showcase on the new site to encourage other women to do a boudoir shoot too!

Our typical boudoir session includes:

* Erin Hession as your photographer plus another female assistant

* 2-3 hour photo shoot with unlimited number of outfit changes during that time

* Password protected website with several hundred images to choose from

* 20 retouched 5×7’s in a little black album to wrap up for your significant other

* High resolution image CD of ALL photos from your photo shoot

All of this is typically priced at $699 but our new boudoir models for our new website will be able to book their photo shoot for the special rate of $350 for helping us out with this website project! If you’re interested, email us at erin@erinhessionphotography.com with the subject line “Boudoir Model”. We’ll need your name, phone number, email address, when & where you’d like to do your photo shoot and a statement saying that you’re willing to sign the model release and have your photos posted on our new site. Once you’re approved, we’ll send you the link to book your session online! This offer is only good through the end of the month though because we need to get these shoots booked SOON so we can keep going on our new website! Thanks for your help ladies!!

On 5/22, we photographed Chris & Kelly’s beautiful wedding at St. Peter & Paul and reception at the Columbia Club. They had so many gorgeous details and surprises for us to shoot, it was a lot of fun! Check out Kelly’s gorgeous necklace (above) and shoes!

The church looked stunning!

They really like artsy shots and creative angles, especially since Chris is an architect! Loved this one in black & white…

Bubbles + carriage exit!

Doesn’t Kelly resemble Cameron Diaz?! WOW!!

They are soooo adorable together!

After their carriage ride, we stopped by the monument for a few photos…

Thistle & Moss did a great job on their flowers!

We love shooting at the Columbia Club, it’s such a gorgeous venue!

I LOVED their centerpieces!!

Isn’t this cute?

Chris popped the champagne bottle!

Rose petals in the champagne glasses?! It doesn’t get any classier than this!

Chris surprised Kelly by singing to her before their first dance, isn’t that sweet? (He was REALLY good!!)

The window light was so perfect for silhouettes…loved this shot of Kelly!

Joel Nowacki from Track Seven was their DJ, he was a super nice guy and even took some pics of them and posted them to facebook after the event…we both happened to shoot at the same time and got this awesome shot! (We planned it, right Joel?)

LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

Another cool silhouette!

This poor little guy was so tired, he fell asleep before the party even began! LOL

But this cutie was up and dancing on the dance floor long into the night!

The view from the 10th floor at the Columbia Club is amazing!

They surprised their guests with a candy buffet later in the evening…everyone LOVED it!

And of course, my first thought was “RING SHOT!”

Chris actually made that shirt (“I love my hot wife”)…isn’t that adorable?!

The Columbia Club really knows how to make the couple’s wedding night special! Monogrammed chocolate strawberries + extra pieces of wedding cake + champagne = no detail overlooked! Love it!

Hope you guys had a blast on your fabulous honeymoon!! More pics coming soon!

On 5/15/10, we photographed Chris & Jennifer’s beautiful wedding at Zionsville Fellowship and their reception at Ulen Country Club! They had so many gorgeous details like these hydrangea bouquets from Nana’s House Florist in Zionsville…

Purple shoes + bling = LOVE!!

Loved Jen’s dress details…

All hands on deck!

LOL!

The guys had really cool boutonnieres!

Check out this new trend!! Jennifer wore this beautiful dangled necklace piece down her back…then our bride from this past weekend did something similar too, I’m loving this new trend!

STUNNING!

Jennifer told us that she loved this shot that we’ve done with other brides…we aim to please!

Doesn’t she have beautiful eyes?! So pretty!!

Love this moment…

I thought it was cool that they incorporated some praise & worship music into their service! It’s nice to see a lot of personalization in wedding ceremonies these days!

Check out this AWESOME car that they had for their getaway!!

Bubbles!!!

Favorite!

We headed back in for a few more photos after their getaway…loved this one…

The wedding party looked hot in front of the car! By the way, do you recognize two of the bridesmaids?? Yep, it’s Michelle and Carolyn!! Two of our past brides! Thanks for referring Jennifer & Chris to us!

Aren’t they adorably cute together?! I was loving the cool columns/entryway of their church…what a perfect spot for photos!

This car was just too cool…had to do a ring shot!

Love the details and chandeliers at Ulen!

Favorite shot of the day…ok, one of many…but this one is SO them!

I love how her rings fit perfectly inside of his for this shot! Look closely at the inside of her diamond, doesn’t it look like a heart within the square?

Melissa got this pic during the first dance…loved it!

LOL! Maria, you are so funny! Wait until you see the whole sequence of these shots…hilarious!

I hope you guys had a great time on your honeymoon last week!! Thanks for a fun time at your wedding, more pics coming SOON!

Most of you know John, my awesome online marketing guru husband, but some of you may not know that he owns InspireMedia, a web development company here in Indy that specializes in custom web design, branding, blog development, SEO, SEM, online reputation monitoring, email marketing, social media, etc, etc etc. He does it all! He not only created this fabulous blog but you’ll also probably recognize the work that he’s done for FC Tucker, Beach Bum Vacation, Classic Cakes (new site coming soon), Shoot Fore Sammi, Meridian Floral Design & Events, A Touch of Elegance, Tyler Mason, Employment Source, among several others!

I often receive emails from other photographers and vendors asking about our marketing strategies and how they can implement similar principles, ideas and promotions into their businesses to help them grow, so I wanted to blog about some exciting new things that John & I are creating for business owners (in any industry) who are serious about growing their business and really taking it to the next level.

He & I are teaming up to develop a series of Marketing Intensive classes that will focus on various subjects within the broad spectrum of marketing. The first class will focus on “Creating an Online Marketing Plan that Works” and it’ll be held on Thursday, 6/3/10 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at my office. We’ve reserved the board room for the afternoon so we only have 10 seats available for the workshop! The cost is only $299 for this 3 hour event, however, if you register before this Sunday (5/24/10) the cost is only $249. John is also offering a freebie for the early bird registrations…you may choose to receive either a free website review of your existing site OR a free search engine optimization report! (Both valued at $99)

I am also offering a freebie for our early birds!! Since I will be there to give my input on some of his topics, I plan to bring my camera along and shoot free head shots for any business owner in attendance so that you’ll have a brand new, fully edited photo of yourself to put on any of the social media sites (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc) or your website after the workshop! (And yes, when I say “fully edited” that means I’ll retouch any wrinkles & make you skinny if you’re worried about any of that!)

For more information about our workshop, click HERE or to sign up for the event, click HERE!

1. Do a trial run with your hair stylist & make-up artist before the wedding. Look through the make-up artist’s portfolio and really look at each image. Does the client’s skin look flawless? Are they shiny in photos? Is the make-up blended well? Do the brides in their portfolios look the way you want to look? If so, then you’ve probably found a great make-up artist for your wedding day make-up. Have them do your make-up before the wedding though so that you can see if you enjoy working with them and so that there are no unpleasant surprises. Some make-up artists include a trial run in their wedding day fee, others charge extra, but I think it’s an extra expense that is well worth it. (This goes for your wedding day hairstylist too) Peace of mind is everything when it comes to your wedding day!
2. Find a make-up artist that specializes in airbrush make-up. Airbrush make-up is no longer reserved for the red carpet stars! Brides all over the country are seeking airbrush application because not only is it light weight make-up that makes the skin appear flawless, but it lasts much longer than traditional make-up and it helps avoid the forehead shine in your photos. Karen Hall & Company specializes in airbrush make-up in Indianapolis and travels all over the Midwest and beyond for weddings, contact her today for a consultation and trial run!
3. Avoid red lipstick on the wedding day. Unless you are doing a very specific, themed look for your wedding (old Hollywood glam, for example) I always suggest that my brides avoid red lipstick, especially if they like the look of black and white photos. Not many people think about this, but the red pigments in the red lipstick will actually turn your lips black in black and white photography. Just another tip from a seasoned pro.
4. Hire a full-time professional photographer. Everyone is looking for ways to save money on their wedding nowadays, especially in our current economic climate, but fabulous photography is absolutely priceless. A professional photographer will guide you through the entire wedding process with ease, know what to expect on the wedding day, have back-up equipment on them, be able to handle all kinds of lighting situations, and know how to pose you to make you look your absolute best. Did you know that by turning your body at an angle and shifting your weight to your back foot while pointing your other foot forward, you can instantly lose 10-20 pounds through the camera? Yep, it’s true. A seasoned pro should be able to tell you these kinds of tricks and secrets so that you look AMAZING in your photos.
5. Avoid salty foods at your rehearsal dinner. The night before your wedding is not the time to begin to feel like you’re retaining water! We all know how awful that feels so just remember to keep your salt intake low the night before the wedding so that your dress fits perfectly the next morning.
6. Remember to eat breakfast and stay hydrated! So many brides forget to eat the morning of their wedding or they don’t stay hydrated throughout the day. Most people get pretty cranky when their blood sugar is low or they begin to feel dehydrated so don’t forget to take care of yourself. We always bring a small cooler of cold waters and some granola bars with us to take care of our brides and grooms in case they forget to eat or drink, I think it’s the small things that mean the most.
7. Bring a touch up kit with you on the wedding day. We always suggest that our clients include powder, lipstick, lip gloss, a comb and a mini can of hairspray in their touch-up kit or purse. Have your maid of honor be in charge of keeping it nearby in case you need a quick touch-up after the ceremony.
8. Wear comfortable shoes! I can’t tell you how many of our clients have been overly appreciative of the extra slippers that we include in our emergency kit once they realize that their shoes are killing their feet half way through photos. Make sure you wear your wedding day shoes around the house to break them in, and don’t forget to put grippy steps on the bottom of your shoes so that you don’t slip and fall down the aisle. Some brides opt to bring a second pair of shoes (or slippers, flip flops, etc) to the reception so that they can change their shoes after the grand entrance into the reception, which I think is a great idea!
9. Have someone carry your garter for you. Most of the garters that we’ve seen are really tight and totally uncomfortable. Put it on your leg for a photo during the getting ready process and then give it to a trusted friend (or put it in your purse/touch-up kit) to carry with you throughout the day, and then put it on right before the garter toss at the reception. That way you aren’t uncomfortable all day long.
10. Smile and have a good time! Laugh and let loose in front of the camera…just be yourself and show off that wonderful love that you have for each other. The happiness and affection will show through in the photos that you’ll treasure for a lifetime!