A Little About Me | Columbus Ohio Photographers | Erika Venci Photography

For those that do not know much about me, I wanted to share some fun facts about myself and why I love photography so much! 

Photo by Seth Kerechanin

1. Small town roots

I grew up in a small farm town in Northwest Ohio called Wauseon.

2. Cheese and wine are my two favorite foods ... if you count wine as a food.

Give me a bottle of rosé or pinot noir and some good comté and I am set. Oh, and maybe some olives to munch on. I also love to put ice in my rosé in the summer. 

3. I believe in the power of positivity and positive visualization. 

My family has a vision board hanging in our kitchen.. Have you ever heard of a vision board? It is a collage of images of our family and also images and words about our goals and dreams. We have vacation goals, work goals, positive sayings, and uplifting messages included on it. I love seeing it every morning. I believe that if you have your goals and dreams in mind every day and work hard towards them, you can achieve them.

4. Je parle français. 

A Veterinarian is what I aspired to be when I was younger. The arts won over the sciences when I was in college and after studying in Nice, France, I changed my major to French Language and Culture. I also studied in Dijon, France. Nice is a city that will always have my heart.

5. My musical taste is pretty eclectic.

...and includes everything from old school country to hip hop. Alan Jackson, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, The Beatles, Alison Kraus, Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, Sean Lennon.. the list of artists that I love is long and makes for a huge music library on my computer!

6. Photography is my heart work..

Meaning this is what makes my heart sing. This is where my heart is. It is also my business but I feel so blessed to do what I love. I have always been artistic and had an eye for photography but to be able to accomplish starting and running a business, learning how to take better photographs, and persisting over the past two years has been an amazing and fulfilling experience. Helping others preserve precious moments together with my photography makes my heart SO happy and I am so grateful for each and every family that trusts my vision and appreciates my talents.

Double the Cuteness | Twin newborn girls! | Columbus Ohio Photographer

When Jessica contacted me to take photos of her three week old twin girls, I was so excited! It is not often that I have the honor of photographing multiples so I knew it was going to be super special. 

These little beauties were wide awake and cute as ever for their session! Apparently, they did not want to miss out on the excitement of their first photoshoot! We captured so many adorable expressions and stretches and curls. These girls are itty bitty but so strong. I was so amazed at their birth story and how ready for the world they were despite being a little early. 

Jessica, thank you so much for asking me to photograph this special time for you. You are an amazing mom! I cannot wait to see these photos hung in their nursery in a couple of weeks.

Preserving Memories of your Children With Photographs

I was ordering prints yesterday.. And as I was looking through all of our photos, it made me feel so reminiscent.. and then I felt lucky that I had all of these snap shots of our son's life. Preserved memories of his life (and ours) in that moment.

On this day pictured below, we have a just-turned-two year old without a care in the world. He was running ahead of me along the trail, smiling back to make sure I was still there, and then picking flowers in just the right light when I snapped this photo. 

I have realized that photography is like my personal weapon against time.. to freeze it, hold it, look back on it.. contain it. I so fiercely want time to slow down some times.. especially as a mom. Time is bittersweet. You know they say, "The days are long but the years are short." And it is so true. 

I also came across this poem that I thought was fitting for this photo and honestly just pulled on my momma heart strings.. Pretty soon we will find out if we are having another boy or maybe a girl. Either way I will be elated, but there is something about being a boy mom that I love.. so I'll hold onto it a bit longer. 

"A baby boy was created
by the hand of God above
to give the world the sweetest touch
of tenderness and love.

With the softness of a whisper,
God made a baby's skin
and then designed two trusting eyes
to put the starlight in.

With giggles from a waterfall
and breezes passing by,
God made a baby's laughter
and a tiny, sleepy sigh.

God made the world a precious gift
more dear and pure than gold,
with little toes to play with
and tiny hands to hold
then brought into the sunshine
a precious baby boy
All wrapped up in a rainbow
of wonder, hope, and joy."

-Unknown Author

Sunset Family Pictures at Gahanna Woods Nature Preserve

Sometimes sunny winter days are hard to come by in Ohio so when I saw the sun shining this day, I was so thrilled! The people in these photos are very special to me as they are family and I am always so flattered when friends and family ask me to take pictures for them. Starting and running a business can be difficult, especially as a parent so I am always very thankful when I receive support like this.

The sunlight plus perfectly coordinated outfits made these family pictures a breeze. We had a lot of fun playing and laughing with the kids. If you follow my work, you know that I specialize in sunrise and sunset sessions. The best thing about winter and spring (well, for my sessions) is that the sun goes down early so it is perfect for children with early bedtimes. 

Often times, during a photo session, I know as soon as I push the shutter which photos are going to be my favorites and wall-worthy. This happened too many times to count for this family so they received a huge amount of images in their gallery. It was so hard for me to not share them all in this blog post, especially because they are my niece and nephew!

Enjoy these super cute photos and please don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!