Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Pitts.
Hi Erika, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In early 2012, my husband and I were both working as IT consultants. At the age of 35, I was at the peak of my career. I had just accepted a senior consultant role with Security and Exchange Commission. I was happy but not quite fulfilled.
A few weeks after accepting this new role, my husband and I realized we were expecting our first child.
My budding career was put on hold. In the months after birth, we were surprised by joy with our new family. However, the long hours and cross-country commuting were no longer compatible with our new lives. A decision was made that I would stay home.
I struggled with this transition. I had constant fluctuations between joy and emptiness, and I grieved the loss of my career. My husband extended an olive branch by encouraging me to pursue my hobby of photography. The following year, we would meet a retiring photographer who would later gift me an entire studio worth of pro gear.
I suddenly went from a phone camera to a pro camera, with lights, gear, extensions ALL OF IT! I could not contain my excitement. The following morning, I woke up at 4 am and camped outside to capture the sunrise. When I returned to bed my husband said – “When you get up at 4 am to do anything – that is how you know that you are doing what you are destined to be doing”.
From there a new life started. Just like every other artist I started capturing images of fruit, trees, and sunsets. At one point, I received a call asking if I would donate my services to a local couple in need of a wedding photographer. I was hesitant but ultimately agreed.
Fruit, trees, and sunsets don’t care how remarkably you photograph them. But people do care. That wedding was a turning point. The point where I realized that photographing people felt different. It was different.
This was the point where my passion was born. I would eat, sleep, and breathe weddings from that point on out.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Developing as an artist has been mostly smooth. I mean there have been hiccups and days I look back at my work 4 years ago and cringe, but I think that comes with artistic development.
The biggest challenge is that wedding photography is not just an art The chief goal is to deliver on your client’s vision for the most important day of their life. . We take one day – one sacred once-in-a-lifetime day – and create artistic moments that will speak to them for generations
It’s not about me or my artistic vision – it’s about identifying the client’s vision. It’s their wedding and their heirlooms, their grandkids, their life chapter. I have to bring their vision to life, so they have something to share with their great grandkids.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In a pure sense, photography is the art of storytelling through images. I aspire to take that one step further. I want to capture how you felt in the moment and encapsulate it within a timeless work of art.
My goal is that in ten years, you can look back at the image and re-experience the texture and inflection of that moment. You can remember not only what happened but how it made you feel deep in your soul
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
I am not a risk taker. When I look back at my life, I realize that everything that I have today was the result of a risk.
I don’t know that I would have ever decided to put down my laptop and pick up a camera, but God led me down that path. I am truly thankful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stlstyled.com
- Instagram: @slstyled
