I'm an electronic musician, and I've worked extensively in front of cameras over the past 5+ years for film, fashion and athletic work from Boston to Miami with many people with varying styles and personalities. I will 100% speak to the importance of a photographer as a charismatic presence in equal to a skilled eye - Erica excels in both of these areas.
My first interaction with Erica, was walking cold on-to-set. I had hired her for a promotional shoot to get new press-photos and a headshot for bookings, social media and web use, etc. Erica was incredibly friendly, well-prepared, and provided access to a location for the shoot that was a very privileged set because of her long-standing and exalted reputation here in Pittsburgh. I've met dozens of people from across the arts community who have all known Erica, and as a newcomer to PGH, I've heard that "a friend of Erica Dilcer is a friend of mine" line multiple times.
We shot for two hours. Before expected, I had a LOAD of great material at my disposal from multiple angles and with different lighting configurations from throughout the shoot. I understand that this is likely a different style of shoot from what you may researching Erica’s work for, but the constant in the equation is what you’re looking for, which is Erica herself.
I’ve maintained VERY close contact with Erica, and in many ways consider her the first friend I made in this city. I’ve had the opportunities to see her work from projects current and past, and it’s typical to reach out and catch her in the middle of doing lab-work (“editing” in the digital era of photo). She works tirelessly and passionately on her craft and for her clients. In a city as tightly-knit as Pittsburgh, where your name is your word, Erica’s exceptional quality of work with people and her cameras provide the backbone to her name. Once you’ve worked with her, you will forever have a go-to contact for all things that can be made timeless through a lens.

We wanted a photographer who would capture the special moments, not just the standard scenarios of your typical wedding. After Meeting Erica and seeing a her portfolio we knew she was the photographer for us. Her photos are moving and full of fun unexpected emotion.

Erica is an artist when it comes to photography, her photos are deep and dynamic and we are very very pleased with our wedding photos and would hire her for other events as well.

She is kind, helpful and fun, all of our guests enjoyed interacting with her and felt comfortable with her around. So much so, that most of the time I didn't even notice her and from our photos, neither did our guests -- she took beautiful photos showing our guests fun side as well as great still shots and of course the standard group shots as well.

Erica has a great eye! She shot our outdoor August wedding, and she did an outstanding job! She not only gave us the standard \"posed\" photographs, but captured the setting and mood beautifully with many candid photos of our guests, the food, flowers etc. She arrived on time, listened to what we wanted, and delivered above and beyond our expectations. She was unobtrusive while shooting - we hardly noticed her presence - but produced a beautiful and complete record of our special day! She is very reasonably priced compared to many others that we checked out. She was prompt with the proofs and our book is perfect. We recommend her to everyone we know and would be happy to talk to anyone who has any doubts about her talent and professionalism!

Erica is an incredibly, artistically outstanding photographer. She puts everybody at ease in front of the camera. She was also very flexible - we changed the wedding time from 4:00pm to 6:00pm and there was no problem. Her cost is high, but her work is worth much more than she charges. It is WELL worth it. Communication was excellent - in fact, she was more organized than we were, regarding what types of shots we were looking for and that kind of thing.

I am not comfortable in front of cameras and am notorious for making silly faces when I know someone has a camera pointed my way, but I do believe Erica may have taken more "well-behaved" photos of me than anybody has in many, many years. This is a testament to her personability and ability to put clients at ease.

I am a semi-professional photographer who has also shot 6 weddings - so I am picky, and know what I like and I know what I want. And that is what Erica gave us - exactly what we wanted, and we loved it.\r\n\r\nAnyone can do the posed shots, the permutations and combinations of bride, groom, family, friends and relatives, and of course Erica did that admirably.\r\n\r\nBut what Erica excelled at was capturing the mood of the day - the spontaneous moments of joy and laughter, the secret smiles and stolen glances, the casual intimacies and warm embraces of friends. She was everywhere and invisible - if I looked for her, I could always find her, but I never noticed her shooting, and yet after the wedding, looking at the proofs, I saw the whole arc of our day from muzzy awakenings to last goodbyes.\r\n\r\nErica got every shot I would have wanted, and more. Choosing what pictures finally showed up in our book was hard work, because there was so many great shots to choose from! I\'d recommend Erica to anyone who wanted a wedding (or any other event!) to be shot with skill, professionalism, and an artistic eye. When I look at our photos, I see the woman I fell in love with, and the wife whom I am still crazy about. When I look at our photos, I say \"now *that* was my wedding - I remember that laugh, I remember that kiss, I remember that smile...\" \r\n\r\nAnd Erica took all those pictures, and froze that memory in time :-)

Erica is a very talented photographer, but not for wedding. We prepaid her for our for photos, not only did she hassle us about the overage of time at our wedding. Her photos were blurry as well as she was unprofessional in getting us the photos to see. She knew that she was so terrible that she gave us the proofs. SHe truly was a great disappointment. If you want to have someone give you professional packages. Erica is not for you.