Dream Team Modeling Camp's first week is almost full!!

Dream Team Modeling Camp's first week, starting June 8th from 1-3, just has two more spots left before it's full. The camp, which works on helping girls from 9-17 look and feel beautiful from the inside out, offers tons of fun activities for teen and tween girls, and a special custom app with all of their favorite pictures on it. Prints are available at a reduced rate. The camp runs for several different weeks, all summer long and is different each week.

Dream Team Modeling Camp

 Do you spend hours looking at fashion blogs and instagram pages, wishing that you could be one of the models in the pictures? Or maybe you absolutely HATE having your pictures taken, because they Never come out... or maybe you take thousands of selfies, trying to find the ultimate shot that will impress all of your friends and make you feel GREAT.

Our Summer camps include five days of intense  but fun modeling  in front of the camera and  a special, personalized app with all of your retouched favorite photos on it. You’ll learn about the ins and outs of modeling and also how to always look good in pictures…even in your own selfies!!    5 day summer camps will be the weeks of June 8th,  15^th,  July 6th, July 20th and August 3rd  from 12-2 for tweens  and 2-4 for teens, (studio lighting) and outdoor lighting from  5-7 (tweens) and 7-9 (teens) and are $195, and include a camp t-shirt and personalized app of your favorite shots.  Prints are available to purchase at a reduced rate. You can also form  your own group and make your own times for your group.

The Dreamers  Modeling Group is  teens and tweens who, separated into their own age groups,  come weekly to have beautiful pictures taken of themselves. Sometimes you’ll meet in my home studio in Hudson,  sometimes you’ll go on location to fun and interesting spots in Hudson and throughout the Cleveland Metro area. You will work on a variety of topics, such as unlocking your face's potential with lighting designed just to complement your particular bone structure, posing to make your entire self look longer,  how to not make your hands look like giant claws, working with other people, and objects, (like all models in product ads have to do), working with a makeup artist and hair people, using objects in nature and on set to maximize your pose, working with the latest fashion paints and gold leaf, and much, much more. You'll find out if you are more of a high fashion model or a commercial model, learn about the modeling industry in general, and see what it really  takes to become a model. At the start of each week, you will look at your last week's pictures and each person will have  individualized new goals to work toward.

The next  level is the Dreams Come True Modeling  Team. Members will appear on the Barbara Stitzer Photography website, on the blogs that she  writes and shoots for, and in  her magazine shoots. Guest photographers will come to shoot with the girls as well. Those shoots are always supervised.

After that is our  highest level, the Dream Team  Senior Spokesmodels. My Senior Spokesmodels start in their Junior year, and have the most amazing and creative Senior Pictures of all. As a Barbara Stitzer Photography Spokesmodel, you'll take modeling field trips, model for magazines and blogs,  and have the opportunity to earn cold hard cash!

So Dream big, call or text 330.714.6261    visit the Barbara Stitzer Photography website, http://www.barbstitzer.com   or email barb@barbstitzer.com for more information

Mother's Day Pictures!!

The other day, I had a very sweet eleven year old girl come to me to have her pictures taken to give to her mom for Mother's day..I was taken aback at first...I mean my daughters would never even think of it, but after talking to professionals in all walks of life, I've found that It's a trend...kids taking

themselves shopping to get their sweet little Mommy's a gift for Mother's Day from little necklaces at Walmart to high end boutique photographers.

Mother's Day photographs

aren't anything new, of course. I mean, what mom could resist their little angel's faces suppressing their huge surprise? But I was super impressed with my new buddy, Marie, who is forging new ground in finding the very best gift she can think of for the most important person in her life. 

  

How To Isms

A Commercial Shoot with Babies and Props…the Craziest of the Crazy! (But so much fun!!) Or How to photograph your baby with a toy or gift that’s special to you

By Barbara Stitzer

All photos by Barbara Stitzer

This week, I had the opportunity to shoot photos for an adorable boutique clothing line called Bella and Gracies. Karen, the fabulous owner/designer had some super soft plush puppies that she wanted  to show the world,  so I lined up some of the most beautiful children known to mankind and we went to town. These tips can also be useful for those who want to take a picture of their children with the birthday or holiday toys that have been sent to them by family friends or relatives.

A couple of things that you should know about shooting babies: plan on a five minute shoot.  They might last longer, they might not make it to the party at all, but do your most important things first. This is hard for me, because I’m all about talking to people and making  friends first, and being silly and playing around, but  with babies and toddlers, you have to work fast. Plus,  either they like you or they don’t.   I’m fortunate enough to have my studio in my home, so I like to make sure that there are no weird smells when little people first come in for a shoot, so no garlic, onions, fish or strong smelling vegetables the night before. Also, this sounds kind of counterintuitive, but, greet everyone, and be polite, but don’t try to be besties  with the Littles before the shoot.  Before I had children, I just wanted babies in my life so badly, I maybe even wanted to show myself how incredible I’d be as a mom, and I think that the kids smelled  that desperation steaming off of me, and would start shrieking uncontrollably, which inevitably led to little red faces  dripping with drool and snot, not exactly what you want in a photograph for sure. Plus, a lot of kids get dropped off at home daycares or babysitter’s homes, and cry because Mommy is leaving, so just kind of smile at them, say hi, and let them know that Mommy is staying. I’m a hugger, but take it from me, Don’t reach for the baby, don’t even touch his foot. Talk to Mommy for a bit about just about anything, and then get to the studio. Make sure that you are shooting after naptime and when the baby is well fed when they get there, too.  I usually have music playing, but this week, I  must have forgotten to turn it on, so I just shot without it. Some parents insist that their kids do better without them in the room, but for this kind of thing, there is NO WAY that you can do it alone.  Tell the parents that they will probably get sweaty and that both of them will want to take a nap afterwards and dive in.

Mommy Positioning.

Make sure that  Mommy is very close to the baby, almost in front of the baby so that it looks like the baby is looking at the camera when she really is looking at Mommy.  It’s cold in Ohio, so I try to keep the babies off the ground, unless they are in the sitting and maybe about to crawl stage, in which case, I put them  on the floor so that they don’t have very far to fall. Oh my, I can feel your disapproving look… It’s not like they fall, It’s so that Mommy isn’t scared that they will fall. Because if Mommy is scared, then the baby will be scared, too!!

Some babies like to be gently  bopped on the head with stuffed animals. I usually ask first, then get really close to the baby, and come up with something that would bring the intelligentsia set to their knees, like “aaaaaaahhhhh-BOOP!” and touch their face with the softness. It usually takes about three or four times to see what they’re really going to do, so I do it twice, give it to Mommy and grab my camera. Baby smiles are FAST, it’s hard not to get caught up in all of the adorableness of the moment, so shoot fast and let the booping work its magic.  You can usually get ten to twenty boops off before the baby gets tired of the game.

Prop Positioning

I should mention that it’s a good idea to Boop with something other than the product that you’re photographing. Position the prop so that it faces you and shot the parents what you need to show. In this case, the doggies had adorable floppy ears, unique eyes and a bow to show.  If you give the prop to the parent without instructions, they will give it to the baby face first, and the camera won’t be able to see the face, plus the baby will put it in his mouth and then you’ll have a whole new set of problems.  After the Booping stage is over, the baby is usually in a great mood. You have about two minutes to position your product and shoot it fast, keep cooing to the baby, of if it’s a toddler, tell him how brilliant and amazing he is, have her tell you who their friends are, what their going to do for their birthday, anything to keep their mind off the dreaded Limburger …you know, “cheese”!

Eventually, they will find out how much fun it is to throw the prop in the air or drop it from their chair, and that is when your shoot with props is over, so shoot FAST, be patient,   and have fun. Send me your baby photos to barb@barbstitzer.com, and we’ll get better together!

Lexee

It's funny how things happen sometimes...Lexee is a beautiful senior who lives in Anthem but goes to boarding school in Utah. Her Grandmother, Bonnie is from Minot, North Dakota, where I lived from the time I got married in 1996 until 2003, and she somehow remembered me until now, when she trusted me with the sweet Lexee. I love it when things come together!! How fun is that?!

Baby Brooke

Baby Brooke was one of those babies that you would pray for if you were doing a demonstration on how to shoot a baby and keep her happy. Nothing bothered her! She had outfit changes, hair bow changes, mommy put her down and she didn't even cry...shoooo-eee! There was a moment when she was laying on her tummy, and she just started belly laughing so hard! A little 5 month old belly laugher...charming! What a little beauty, too! I love babies!

American Spa Magazine Shoot

This week I was priveleged to shoot an ad for Dream Innovation's Matt Murdock, an Anthem massage therapist, who has innovated several new massages and teaches his techniques to massage therapists all over the world. Matt is my massage person, and his butterfly massage, shown above, is truly amazing, so I was very excited to shoot it, but terrified, that so many people are going to want his services after seeing his ad that he won't be available for me when I need him! Our beautiful and exotic model, Spencer, is local superstar business SWEAT's own Josh and Laura Roger's babysitter. Laura, after three kids, could be a model herself, she's just too sweet and self effacing to do it. :) Spencer, will be going to ASU in the fall, to become a physician's assistant. She's so going to dominate that school, thanks to her incredible, sparkling personality, and drop-dead gorgeous looks, both of which seem to come directly from her equally beautiful and sweet mom, Rulla, the director of catering at the Biltmore, which you would never guess because she's so tiny, whom I immediately clicked with because we had all of these funny, obscure things in common, like that we both got married at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Nigel! We did several shots for both Matt's butterfly and rain massages. I really like a deep massage, as intense as you can get it, and the butterfly is beyond intense, so I tried to reflect it in the look and feel of the pose, lighting and expressions, which was pretty easy, because Spencer has that kind of dark intensity, and Matt knows exactly what to do. You would think that laying on a massage table and getting a massage for four hours would be a breeze of a modeling assignment, but think again...think about how when you lay down, your face smushes and kind of turns into the sheet, so the fabulous Spencer had to almost hover her face above the table so that it was just glancing the sheet and turn her face way up and away from it so that you could see her eyes. Good thing Matt was there to get the kinks out! I never let models see pictures direct from my camera, just in case there are blinks or awkward positioning, but Rulla had to leave and Matt was giving Spencer a ride home, so they both stayed and saw everything...I shouldn't have worried, because in the shots where Spencer was blinking, she just giggled about it, totally non self conscious, gotta LOVE that!! How refreshing. Just like I was the one to get the massage. Hmmm, I think I'm going to book my next massage with Matt right now!