Making Memories
Family portraits, a timeless tradition, beautifully capture your family’s growth. Whether you have a large or small family, Esther Hicks Photography has the expertise and experience to create stunning and enduring portraits.
Preparing for a family photo shoot can be challenging, especially on picture day. To ensure everything looks perfect, communicate the details to your loved ones well in advance. Getting ready for the shoot can often seem like the most challenging part.
To streamline the process, consider planning and coordinating outfits. While matching outfits aren’t mandatory, choosing a cohesive color scheme can create a harmonious look in your family photos. A unified color theme enhances the overall aesthetic of the shoot, making your pictures more polished and thought-out.
Discuss the location and time of the shoot with everyone involved. This ensures everyone knows where to be and when. Arriving early provides a buffer for any last-minute adjustments, such as fixing hair or adjusting clothing, to ensure everyone looks their best.
Some families prefer their photoshoots at home, which is perfectly understandable. However, you don’t need to stress about making your home spotless—life can be messy, and I get that! Instead, focus on cleaning the spaces you want to use for the photoshoot, even if it’s just the living room.
Downtown Raleigh NC Engagement. "I love you and I like you, Let's get married."
Annie + Bah
Where do I start?
How about the day we met. I met Bah at work. We were both working in the same organization. I was responsible for planning events and managing the guest list. Bah came to my office to RSVP for the event and began to flirt in the most awkward fashion that Bah flirts. We made small talk about "the event" but at that time I was not sure if there was something more. I was hoping there might be, but I wanted to be sure before I made my move lol.
Fast forward a few weeks later, and my supervisor at the time advised me that Bah asked her if she would ask me if it was okay for him to have my phone number. Why didn't Bah just ask Annie himself? You say, "yeah," I thought the same thing. I told my supervisor that she could give him my number, and moments later, he texted. We texted back and forth throughout the day, but we got to know each other after our first date. He came up with some cheesy jokes about me being from Africa I told him I thought his American/African accent as cute and confusing.
Wow, I'm only on our first text exchange? Okay, let me speed this up a little.
The next two years were like a whirlwind I moved to NorthCarolina while Bah remained in Ohio. We made our long-distance relationship bloom, who say it can't be done? When Bah moved to North Carolina, I was excited to see what this would mean for our relationship. I knew he was the one, and I knew he knew I was the one. Haha. Our love grew deeper, and I knew he was going to ask me ( eventually lol).
It was during a trip to visit my family in Ohio that he asked me to marry him. It wasn't just any day either; it was Christmas. He proposed to me while I was wearing a Christmas onesie, yes, you read that correctly. I was wearing a "ONESIE." Usually, my appearance for such a special occasion would worry me some but not that day, nothing mattered, but the love felt for one another I that exact moment. I was on cloud nine. We Kissed, we stared into each other eyes, and it happened. In front of the family, he got down on one knee and melted my heart. Did I dream of this day? I did, but the dream couldn't touch this reality, especially not the part about me wearing a onesie during the proposal.
I am and will always be an Ohio girl at heart, so that's why it happened on our trip home. My entire family loves Bah. Seeing the respect from Bah to my family and knowing how much my family loves him. I feel so blessed.
Is he the one? Absolutely. Does he make me happier than I ever imagined I could be? Absolutely. Do I judge him for attending that school up North, whose name I refuse to say? Absolutely. Am I excited to start this new chapter of marriage in my life? Absolutely.
Anthony & Laura Wedding 6-23-18
Summer Wedding at E. Carroll Joyner Park, Wake Forest
Who: Anthony & Laura
Where: E. Carroll Joyner Park, Wake Forest
Venue: Wake Forest Renaissance Center
When: June 23, 2018
Being hired to photograph another photographer daughter's wedding was a great honor.
It was the perfect day for Laura and Anthony to say, I Do. After the ceremony a few family and wedding party portrait at the park.
Then off to the Renaissance for a great time.
A few of my favorite images from the day
Josie & Tyler's Engagement At Shelley Lake Raleigh, NC 2018
Tyler did not let a rainy day ruin his engagement to Josie.
Tyler and Josie met a year and a half ago at the Darius Rucker concert. They immediately hit it off and knew they had something special.
Now, being engaged, "We are beyond excited to have made this next step together, and absolutely cannot wait to get married!"
Hannah
Meet the lovely, Hannah! What an amazing day we had together with her prom photo shoot.
I love how fun, youthful, and fresh these images feel. Keep smiling and show those deep beautiful dimples. Enjoy!