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Eclectic Images Blog bio picture

welcome to my blog!

Welcome and thanks for visting! My name is Heather Banks and I'm an Austin photographer specializing in weddings, portraits, fashion, and editorial work. According to my grandpa, I'm the best wedding photographer in Austin. I think he might just be a little biased. My grandpa also wants you to know that white wine has the most alcohol by volume and that is why he drinks it. I love my grandpa :)

I live in Austin, Texas in a groovy 1970's house that we are currently remodeling (we call it our brady bunch house) with my husband Mike (we're newlyweds!) and our two Boston Terriers, Linus and Moo. You can read all about the trials and tribulations of our brady bunch remodel on my personal blog here. I'm also opening a studio soon in the fabulous East Village Lofts on East 11th Street right in the heart of Austin. So stay tuned for details on that!

In addition to taking wedding photos and family and senior portraits all around Austin and central Texas, I'm also a destination wedding photographer, I've photographed weddings all over Mexico and also in St. Kitts, Barbados, Napa, and Martha's Vineyard to name a few. You can see my destination wedding photography work here. I'm a photojournalistic, award winning wedding photographer -you can view some of my award winning wedding images here .

I would love it if you would become a fan of Eclectic Images on Facebook here!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog and view my work. I hope you come back again and again, and please leave your comments, I'd love to hear from you!

You are welcome to contact me at 512-947-7864, or you can email me at info@eclecticimagesphotography.com. I hope to hear from you soon.

carly and stephen: a wintery austin wedding

I’m not quite finished editing Carly and Stephen’s wedding pictures yet, but there are so many I love I think I might need to do a two part post! So, this first post will contain all of my favorites up until the ceremony (we had a lot of portraits and getting ready before the ceremony!). It was my first wedding shoot of the new year and it was awesome to work with Carly and Stephen. I loved how they allotted so much time before the ceremony for their first look photos and fun downtown portraits of them and their bridal party! Here are some of my favorites - these two don’t take a bad picture!

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Newborn baby Ella

It’s been a long time since I had the chance to photograph a brand new baby, so I was so excited to take photos of Baby Ella! And I was especially excited because I have known the Edgerton family for many years now, since I photographed Mandi and Shaun’s wedding in 2005! And now they have a beautiful baby girl. I love it when I am able to work with families for years documenting their lives and their major life events. It makes my job all worth it! Here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot! (and thanks to Sarah for providing so many cool props and for getting Ella to fall asleep for us!)

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Tracey and Tanner

Tracey and Tanner were troopers during their engagement session! The day was chilly and the wind was like I’ve never seen, but it really didn’t seem to phase them at all! They were even troopers when I suggested we go to a more unusual location for the second half of the session - the old abandoned airport where we found some cool spots. Thanks to Tanner’s dad for holding our massive umbrella and to April Klotz with Petalworks for organizing the session, being the umbrella holder and trying not to blow away, and for styling Tracey’s windblown hair! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the session!

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Austin Weddings and Events Coordinators Gala

I had the honor of attending and taking some photographs at the annual AWEC Gala which was designed by Gina Whittington of Clink Events. It was so much fun - the theme was dive bar chic and it was held at the Scoot Inn. Merveille did the florals and Primizie catered (yummy grilled cheese sandwich bar, frito pie bar, mini pot pies, and mac and cheese!) Here are some pics of the fabulous details!

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evelyn and collin: austin engagement photos

I was so excited to shoot Evelyn and Collin’s engagement photos recently. We started out on South 1st Street at the Greetings from Austin sign and then worked our way over to the Capitol building, since it had special meaning to them. They were so much fun to work with and Collin was a big goofball which made for some cute photos. Here are some of my favorites. I can’t wait for their May wedding!

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January 31, 2010 - 7:39 pm Leslie Esparza - I am loving this couple and loving their photos. Great job, Heather! They will cherish these forever.

Kijana and family: Austin family portraits

I met Kijana years ago when we were both taking photography courses at Austin Community College. We have kept in touch since then, and I was so thrilled when she asked me to take family portraits for her - including her sister who currently lives in Sweden and happened to be in town for a visit. The Knight family were so much fun to work with and despite the chilly weather, we had a great time.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the session!

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Blessing’s bridal session at Laguna Gloria

I had so much fun shooting Blessing’s bridal portraits! Blessing used to be my second shooter for a period of time, years ago, so I was so happy when she asked me to shoot her wedding (coming up in March) and her bridals! I came down with a horrible stomach bug the day of the shoot so we had to reschedule for the next day, which brought some moody weather which made for a different atmosphere for the photos! My good friend Diana Lott came along as my assistant on the shoot since I hadn’t been feeling well the day prior, so check out her blog for her favorite shots from the bridals! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day!

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2009: what a great year

What an eventful year 2009 was both personally for myself and professionally for Eclectic Images.

Personally, my big milestone of the year was getting married to my best friend, Mike. We were married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on January 17th 2009. We had an amazing honeymoon in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

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Along with getting married, Mike and I also continued with our home remodel, and as of the last month of the year were nearing completion on the kitchen part of the remodel. It’s been a long, trying process, but very rewarding.We’re so excited to make our home completely “us”!

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Last year I was also able to witness my baby brother Brian get married in Hamilton, Texas to Emilie. It was a beautiful early summer wedding and we had so much fun!

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Mike and I were able to take a fun late summer trip to Providence, RI, Martha’s Vineyard (where I photographed a fabulous wedding) and then to Boston. We had such a fun time and that is definitely a trip we will never forget. Especially for Mike - because he was able to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park, which is pretty much a life long dream come true!

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Then, in October, I was so honored to witness and capture on camera my brother Jeremy proposing to his girlfriend Lindsay in Colorado! What a fun long weekend we had there waiting to surprise Lindsay and then celebrating afterwards, complete with sledding and snowball fights!

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For Eclectic Images, 2009 was a great year in which I was able to slow down bookings and shoot a little less and give each wedding a little more personal attention. All of my clients this past year were so great to work with and so memorable. I have to say, I have the BEST clients, they make my job so much fun! 2009 was also a year of transition as I’m in the process of moving my studio out of my home and into an actual retail space. In October, I started the finish out process on the retail space and I’m excited to say that it is due to be completed sometime in February (fingers crossed!) The space is located in the East Village Lofts in East Austin on E 11th Street (across from the Longbranch Bar). I’ve been planning this space for over 2 years now, so needless to say I’m very excited that it has almost come to fruition! I’ll be posting pictures and info on that as soon as it’s done!

For 2010 I’m looking forward to another great year with tons of great weddings already in the works, more portrait sessions than I’ve ever done in the past, meeting clients at the new studio, and finally, finally finishing this house remodel! Stay tuned to the blog for all the great things to come!

For now, here are my best of 2009, one favorite image from each wedding I shot this year.

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And a few of my favorite portrait session images from this past year.

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And last, a few of my favorite images from weddings I shot as second shooter this year!

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January 7, 2010 - 10:55 am Ann - Congrats on such a wonderful 2009 Heather! Beautiful Beautiful Photos and congrats on your marriage (marrying your best friend is the BEST!!) and the huge house remodel! So very fun! Hope to see you in 2010! A

January 17, 2010 - 1:10 am Diana - i love this idea!! so fun to look thru and of course amazing work :)

natalie and curtis: a smith chapel & bob bullock texas history museum wedding

Natalie and Curtis were married on a beautiful late November evening at Riverbend Smith Chapel. Natalie was one of the most relaxed, laid back brides I have had the pleasure of working with, and meeting Curtis on the wedding day was no different. Natalie is a yoga instructor so perhaps that is where she gets her calm demeanor. Natalie and Curtis were so sweet together and I loved how they laughed together. Their reception at the Bob Bullock State History Museum was a big fun party with lots of music, dancing, and fun. Congratulations Natalie and Curtis!

VENDORS

ceremony Riverbend Smith Chapel

reception Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

floral Madeleine with Jennifer’s Gardens

catering Catering by Rosemary

music Sauce the Band

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December 25, 2009 - 12:51 pm Madeleinemmyers@gmail.com - Heather, they're awesome and amazing!! Great job, as always!!

December 29, 2009 - 11:11 am Lauren - Holy crap, those are great! What a gorgeous bride! Love the black and whites of the couple at the alter. B-e-a-Utilful!

katie and kevin: an austin wedding at lakeway resort and spa

I was so thrilled to work with Katie and Kevin on their wedding. I had only met Kevin on the wedding day but I could immediately see the love he had for Katie in the way that he looked at her. Their first glance meeting (where they saw each other before their ceremony) was amazing, Katie was so cute as she walked up to Kevin and the emotion was palpable. Next came a very sweet ceremony followed by a fun and beautiful reception with a great band and a lot of dancing and fun! The event went off without a hitch thanks to Bridget Kennedy with Clink! Congratulations Katie and Kevin and thank you for having us to document your day!

VENDORS

ceremony and reception LAKEWAY RESORT AND SPA

ceremony musicians BARTON STRINGS

lighting ILIOS

band SUEDE

Rentals MARQUEE

videographer SILVERTREE

cakes SIMON LEE

floral PETAL PUSHERS

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December 17, 2009 - 2:21 pm Laura - Love the photos! And her cake with the bamboo is awesome!! Such a unique idea!