10 Facts with Facebook Guest Judge 3/7 – 3/13 | Photographie by Erica

Hello there!

I am Erica of Photographie by Erica and I am super excited to be this week’s guest judge at the Dear Photographer Facebook page! I am a lifestyle/documentary photographer in Pittsburgh, PA, and I love to photograph little kids and families acting naturally with little to no posing.  I use a Nikon D750, a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8, and I’m currently in a relationship with a Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART. 😉

Website. Facebook.

10 Fun Facts about Me

1. I have three girls aged 8, 5, and almost 2. Yes, I’m done… I don’t feel the need to try for a boy!
2. My favorite food is french fries.
3. I gave up french fries for Lent.
4. My 20-year high school reunion is this year.  Now you know how old I am!
5. I went to the same high school as John Hughes (he wrote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – part of it was filmed there, too!)
6. I feel young at heart.
7. My favorite color is Aqua. I should probably incorporate it into my branding.
8. My favorite book is a children’s book called “Mandy” by Julie Andrews.
9. I love photography, but I also love interior decorating.
10. I might start a home decor blog.

I had a big revelation as I was giving my baby a bath a few weeks ago. I was looking at her little chubby legs and realized they were bigger than before. She had grown overnight. I suddenly realized I didn’t have any pictures of her cute chubby baby legs. Why? Because I had been solely concentrating on getting stylish, perfect pictures of her. I had forgotten – or worse, neglected – to capture my baby AS SHE IS. I had only been trying to get a technically/artistically amazing shot of her; something that would get a lot of “likes” on social media. But, I realize now, that stuff doesn’t matter. At ALL. I SHOULD have been documenting her young life, recording the important stuff. I should have taken pictures of her holding her beloved grubby “bag” instead of a bouquet of flowers. I should have photographed her being tickled by her sisters on the carpet instead of randomly holding a balloon in a field. I should have captured her as she is, simply because…

That is what I will want to remember.

I vowed to devote the rest of my photography career to capturing my and my clients’ children AS THEY ARE, and decided my new motto would be: “Just The Way You Are”. There will be no more dressing up or holding props. I will simply feature what makes them who they are. 

Later, I looked, and it turned out I do have a picture of her cute chubby legs from when she was about one year old. So this is the inspiration picture I leave you with.  My baby’s chubby legs, just the way she is.

Let’s see your subjects’ true colors.  Just the way they are.

I can’t wait to see the images you post to the wall!

-Erica