I'm Erika!
As a kid, I was always the one drawing, painting, and creating something out of nothing. I remember sitting down with my grandma creating art. Spending that time with her will always live in my memories. When it time to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life, I absolutely knew it was going to be art related. I originally decided I was going to go to college in Indianapolis, Indiana for graphic design. I figured I could actually make a career out of it. Unfortunately that was during the Great Recession and that kind of messed with some future plans. I looked at all the things that truly made me happy and eventually settled with something that pulled me back to my roots and explored my creativity. Photography.
While I was living in Indianapolis, I met my husband, Stephen, online. He was from Michigan, I was from Indiana. I eventually decided to move to Michigan with him after several years of dating. In 2017 he asked me to marry him in the Upper Peninsula on a little camping trip we took together. We got married the following year in November and it was a beautiful fall day with our friends and family in Allegan, Michigan at the Griswold Theater.
In 2017 I officially photographed my first wedding and started my business alongside going to school for Marketing. Since then, I have photographed so many couples and weddings and I truly feel it is my privilege to be able to photograph some of the most important life moments for people.
I have always struggled with ADHD (I was luckily diagnosed as a child) and anxiety, but that's one that I do not allow to define me and to control me. I have also found that it is a way I can relate to others as well. I also believe that my ADHD has been the cause of ability to be creative and I am very much happy for that.
The distinctness and originality of Detroit as a city cannot be found anywhere else. There's also something to be said about the pride I see from people who love this city. I've lived in big cities and the smallest of towns and everything in between. There's something about Detroit that you just have to be there to experience it.
Being a photographer who gets to photograph weddings and couples in Detroit is beyond a dream! The architecture and the vibes that the city brings is something else.
Michigan as a whole is one of, if not secretly, the best state out there. It literally has everything you could ever dream of. The wilderness, the water everywhere! Plus, the large cities. It's got something for everyone. That's what I love so much about this state. I'm not even biased because I wasn't even born in Michigan or grew up here. The last 10+ years I've been living in Michigan have been some of the best!