Travis, Trisha, and baby Taze

This gorgeous family is my brother in law, sister in law, and adorable niece. I will be sad when they move across the country in a few months for school.

Gila Valley Family Photographer | T Family

I recently brushed the dust off of my camera after spending the last year focusing more on my family. I'm so glad that I took that break. It was much needed! My life is so different now. My baby is almost a year old! He is a fiesty little guy. I love him. My daughter is now three and loving her new found independence as she adjusts to her first year of preschool. We are becoming the best of friends. The three of us have spent lots of hours cuddling, tickling, and laughing at each other. Ok, it hasn't been all butterflies and roses. Motherhood is REAL and sometimes really hard! So for that reason, I'm really happy that I chose to put away my hobby for a while so that I could remind myself that even these hard days of motherhood will some day be missed.

I will miss times like these... where she comes strolling her baby brother in to me in her baby doll stroller. Oh man. These two kill me!

One of my first sessions back was with this gorgeous family! Megan is a fellow photographer who is extremely talented! CLICK HERE to check out her work. Their little Allie has loads of personality and we were instant besties. (I hear I'm not special. She bonds with everybody!) Thanks T Family for letting me come hang out with you!

Gila Valley Senior Portrait Photographer | Kayley

I'm so behind and have lots to post, but I'll stick with sharing just this one for now. This was part II of Kayley's senior portraits. Aren't her eyes just gorgeous?

Gila Valley Newborn Photographer | Baylee

This is part II for Baylee. Just had to show her parents a few more. Baylee's aunt Margo is a friend of mine and was kind enough to refer this little princess to me when I needed a tiny model to practice on. I definitely learned a lot and it encouraged me to possibly take on a few newborns here and there. Contact me if you're interested in getting your little newbie photographed. I do not photograph newborns who are more than 10 days old (I like them nice and sleepy)... so if you're interested then please contact me while you're still expecting.

::{Yellow Skinny Photos}::

I have these awesome friends... you are familiar with them... used to be Becky McArthur Photography. Well, they're revamping their blog, website, and their over all image. Becky McArthur Photography is now Yellow Skinny Photos! Isn't that a great name? Dan is jumping into the mix, which makes them the hippest husband and wife photography team in town!

Becky needed a few pictures of her and Dan for her new blog and website, so we headed out to the coolest location and had a blast. Here was my favorite shot of the day. I've been wanting to create this shot for a very long time, but couldn't because both of my lens' are too zoomed. I used Becky's 35mm for this one and it worked like a charm. Sadly, I won't be able to create this shot for any of you until I get a hold of a 35mm, which is not at the top of my list.

ETA: Here's my second edit. I think I love it. Which do you like better?

Lastly, I just have to give a shout out to Becky. She is my photography soul mate. This girl was so generous to me when I was first getting into photography, and it continues still today. I love that we live two blocks away from each other, go to church together, know the same people, have the same client base, and yet there is no feeling of competition between us. We are genuinly happy for each other when one of us books an awesome senior, family, engagement... etc. We share our photography secrets with no restraint. We also keep each other sain when we're feeling less than adequate or when our hubbies are driving us crazy. I'm grateful for you Becky!!

Now hurry and go over to her blog and leave her some blog love. Her blog is still in the works, but she already has some awesome photos posted from recent sessions.

YELLOW SKINNY PHOTOS

I'm due for ::{my own}:: family photo shoot.

I could lie and say that because I understand the importance of family photos, that we get our pictures taken at least once a year.... we don't. We skipped over 2009, which kind of bummed me out. I'm definitely making it a priority this year to get our own family pictures done. HOPEFULLY, this little giveaway will make it possible. One of my favorite photographers EVER is giving away a free photo session. Click HERE for more info. But let me just warn you... once you see her work you're not going to be happy until you've booked a session with her. Just sayin'.

Sneak Peek ::{Baylee}::

More to come...

A few more of ::{Haleigh}::

I never did a full post for Haleigh, so here are a few more.

::{small request}::

EDIT: Big thanks to all of you baby makers out there!
The position has been filled. By two babies actually.
Paper Rock Scissors?

Can someone please have a newborn baby GIRL for me? Please?

Thanks. Appreciate it.

Oh, you're wondering why?

Well, I've never been so head strong about learning something as I am with photography,
so you can see why it drives me bonkers that I'm not as good at photographing newborns as I'd like to be.

I need some extra practice without the pressure of doing a full out shoot. So here are the details:

I would like to do this shoot within the  next few weeks.

I would like the newborn to be a girl so I can put bracelets, beanies, and bows all over her.

She MUST be no older than 10 days old at the time of the shoot.

You will receive up to 5 high-res images on cd to compensate for your time.

No session fee!

Please email me if you're interested or if you  have a friend that might be interested,

erinhouseholderphotography@gmail.com

::{Daley}::

I want you to notice two things about this picture... the first is that this family knows how to have FUN and they also know how to laugh together... a lot! Secondly, I want to direct your attention over to the tall guy on the left, Sam. DO YOU SEE HIS BREATH? Yes, it was that cold! We did a morning shoot the day after Christmas. Let me tell you, I was bundled up with my oversized jacket, scarf, and gloves! They were such good sports to drag the babies out in the cold. We did make it a pretty quick shoot though, and I don't blame them one bit!

You will be seeing more from these two models below. I've already put in a request with Amber to let me do an engagement style shoot with them for my portfolio. Amber and Sam know how to work it for the camera. I just can't pass up that opportunity!

I love Camille (below). Her and I took an English class together our freshman year in college. Oh goodness. We have some pretty funny secrets about that semester! Haha. She is now married to Jace's first cousin, Ryan. Aren't their babies cute? All of the Daley babies are adorable!

Little Annie has the prettiest eyes!!

Ruth Ann said when she asked me if I could do pictures for them that she wanted candids that showed that they were having fun. Doesn't this next picture accomplish that?

Thanks Daley's! It was a pleasure.

::{Hello Twenty-Ten}::

2009 Rocked! It was seriously a roller coaster for me trying to start this little business. A crazy, fun, scary roller coaster! Here's how it went:

January - April: I was driving my husband nuts with my begging and pleading for him to make enough room in our budget to fund my new photography obsession. As a lot of you know... it's not a cheap hobby!


May: He finally shoveled out the cash and bought me my first dslr. A Canon 40d. It was like adding another member to the family. I was in love!


June: I took my first job. And, can I just say... WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I really wish I could go back and do some things over. Looking back, I really should have taken some time to learn the technical basics before getting caught up in the excitement of someone actually wanting to hire me.


July - September: Slowly things started clicking and I felt like I was making a lot of progress.


October: Frustrating! It was in October that I felt like everything was 1 step forward 2 steps back. You know how sometimes the more you know, the more you realize you don't know anything? I was starting to realize that I needed to know MORE and didn't know where to get the information I needed. I started to really work on nailing all technical aspects in my photographs. This took it's own tole on my creativity. I was focusing so much on the technical details that I quit thinking as much about angles, composition, & perspective.


November & December were so busy. SO SO SO busy.  I'm so glad that I had the business that I did, but I will do things differently this year. Holiday sessions in September sound good to me. No more December 15th sessions. It was way too stressful! Live and learn.

January: I have loved these last few weeks!! I've taken some much needed time off to re-evaluate, read, LEARN, and just focus on comparing where I'm at to where I want to be; while making notes of steps I need to take to get myself from point A to point B.

::{2010 Goals}::

I am stoked for business in 2010. I have a lot of the kinks worked out by now and I'm predicting tons of growth and progress with my photography in the coming months. My main business goals for 2010 are to fully develop and understand my photography style, to get to a point where I am 100% confident about the work that I  am giving to clients, and to develop strong and lasting relationships with those that I meet and work with throughout the year. I honestly don't care if I don't make a dime this year. I am finding more joy in my hobby than I ever thought possible. It has become an addiction to seek out the thrill of learning something new and turning that knowledge into art.

::{Welcome 2010}::

If you're still reading... props to you!

And because I couldn't possibly leave you without a picture... my own crazy girl. She WILL NOT look at the camera. Oh well. Maybe someday she'll be my little model.

I won't hold my breath.

::{One more}::

Here's one more of Michael & Whitney. I usually don't take this long to edit, but because I haven't started booking sessions yet for 2010 I've been taking my sweet time editing this session along with a senior session I did right before Christmas. I love when I have the time to really look at a picture and figure out exactly what it needs. Editing is definitely my creative outlet for me at times. I hope that by taking on fewer sessions this year that I can spend more time enjoying and learning while in the editing process. Anyway... here's proof Whit that I really am working on your session!! It shouldn't be too much longer.

P.S. I WANT THOSE BOOTS!!

::{Steele}:: part II

Ok, I can't help myself. Here's one more. Same pose, different angle.

::{Steele}::

This morning I did some second shooting/assisting for my friend Becky McArthur. Newborns aren't usually my favorite thing to photograph, which is why I don't do them anymore, but because it wasn't my shoot I could sit back, relax and have some fun without the added pressure of being in charge. Baby Steele was so good he almost made me want to take on newborns again. He slept for an hour and 50 minutes of the 2 hours we were there. Little angel!

Check out those fuzzy arms! Don't you just love it?

Thanks, Sherri, for sharing your home with us!