Tuesday, January 27, 2009











Ok, the big announcement is here, and you heard it right here on the Barbara Stitzer Photography blog first: Here is the press release for the Happily Every After League's inaugural calendar 2010:



Supporting moms through cancer recovery
11445 E. Via Linda #2-493 Scottsdale, AZ 85259

Happily Ever After League (HEAL) is pleased to announce the first annual

Happily Ever After Calendar
Featuring local Prince and Princesses
from the Valley of the Sun

You will not want to miss this very special opportunity to have your child our first ever calendar for a cause.

Award winning professional photographer Barbara Stitzer will photograph your child, dressed in full prince or princess regalia, or they can choose from our beautiful outfits and props, for a $100 donation per child to HEAL (a savings of $125 for the normal sitting fee). You will also receive the chance to have your child’s photo appear as one of 12 in this calendar with the proceeds from your donation going directly to moms in our community recovering from cancer.

“As a studio, we wanted to plan an event that benefitted a local charity,” says photographer Barbara Stitzer. “The Happily Ever After League was an obvious choice for us.” Barbara Stitzer has won more than 400 local, regional and national photography awards, including having been part of a Pulitzer Prize winning team. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as Forbes, TIME for Kids, Parade, Woman's World, Honeymoon, Shutterbug, and AZ Society Magazine. She speaks about photography and shares tips on national tour for her lab, Millers Professional Imaging, as a way to encourage other photographers to grab their cameras and get going. Her photography celebrates the lives of her clients, and is cherished art for generations to come. She feels very strongly about giving back to her community and has helped raise more than $ 100,000 for charity since moving to Arizona in 2003.


The Happily Ever After League (HEAL) is a local 501c3 non profit organization. HEAL was founded as a positive outcome from the devastation of a cancer diagnosis for Lauren Daniels. Lauren was 35 when diagnosed with breast cancer and the youngest of her three children was only one year of age at the time.

Since July of 2004 HEAL has been providing support services to moms in Arizona with at least one dependent child. HEAL supports moms financially during their time of treatment. HEAL has provided financial support to 300 moms since it was founded in 2004.

The financial assistance relieves some of the stress that moms incur from their diagnosis and helps to pay for very basic necessities such as rent, utilities, groceries and medical bills.

HEAL also opened the HEALing House in October of 2007 to provide emotional support to moms and their families. Families enjoy making special memories at the monthly events and they benefit from the many outreach projects and the HEALing House Food Bank. This facility has served over 600 people since opening.

The photo shoots will take place at Creative Castle Preschool, The Village Health Spa North Scottsdale and the Village Health Spa Gainey Ranch in March.

With your permission we will put your child’s photo on our website to be voted on by those directed to the website. You can vote as many times as you like for $1 donation to HEAL for each vote. The child with the most votes will also be on the cover of the Happily Ever After Calendar.

This 2010 calendar will then be available for sale in September.

For more information or to book a time for your photo session, call: 480-275-0613 or visit our website at http://www.happilyeverafterleague.org/ and http://www.barbstitzer.com/


The above babies and children that will be promoting the calendar shoot. Aren't they just treasures? Yes, nepotism lives. TT is the little Cinderella girl. I can't help it...she's just so beautiful! But, then, so are the others, all of whom I just adored working with. Anyone who calls (480.861.4529) or emails (photobarb@aol.com) me for an appointment and mentions my blog will get a $100 gift card to Barbara Stitzer Photography AND a set of 24 "call me" playdate cards!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Baby Chloe

This beautiful baby just smiled and smiled forever! What a little lovey girl!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Mogan Family

I adore shooting people who are happy and in love, and John and Dyann Mogan are the poster family for these qualities. Together with their dogs Ranger, Pookie, and Hershey, they are an impenetrable force that is so wonderful to see. This is my second year shooting the family, and I'm always so struck with how harmonious they are, how naturally everyone leans in toward each other, even the dogs, and how their glorious good looks and equally amazing personalities just shine through. I've said it before, but I must say it again, especially in reference to my shoot with this group...I really love my job!









Sunday, January 18, 2009

Senior Pictures at Barbara Stitzer Photography

I'm ready to shoot my Juniors who want to be Model Ambassadors! Call me as soon as possible for shoot days 480.861.4529 or email me at photobarb@aol.com

The Happily Ever After League Baby Calendar!




I have some rockin' specials right now; first, if you donate $100 or more to the Breast Cancer 3 day walk, you get a free photo session and a feee hand painted 8x10, a value of $450. Woo Hoo! And you get to help a great cause!I want to tell those of you with young children of a fabulous opportunity; The Happily Every After League, a great organization that helps that families of breast cancer patients with their medical bills, is putting out a calendar for 2010, and YOUR child has the opportunity to be in it! How it works is this: Bring your special Prince or Princess to one of our special photo shoots throughout the Valley in March, (Locations and times to be announced), donate $100or more per child to the Happily Ever After League, and have an amazing sepia handcolored portrait taken of your child. You will have the opportunity to see all of the portraits and order if you wish, but you don't have to at all. Then tell all of your friends and family to go to a special website just set up for the event and vote for your child! Votes are $1 each, and the children with the most votes will be in the calendar! The child with the very most votes will appear on the cover. The calendars will be sold throughout the Valley, at gift shops and book stores, so it's a great opportunity to do a great thing and have a wonderful memory. Please check back here often, as we will only have a few time spots at each location and they'll be going fast. I'll announce where and when each location is as soon as I know so that you can sign up and tell all of your friends. Special Thanks to Sam and Lily for modeling for me for the postcard!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009






I recently had the pleasure of photographing Eric Duntley, the sweetest little boy on earth. So sweet and adorable and well behaved. His parents are pretty great, too! I felt like we parted friends, which is so great about what I do. I get to see the beautiful side of all of my clients, inside and out. At the end, he and his dad, Paul were running around and just "being boys" and I captured them here just as the sun was slipping under the horizon. I love my job. I just do.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Going for it in '09

A couple of my new years resolutions have been to put myself out there this year. As outgoing and kind of jokey as I am with everyone, I'm actually super shy when it comes right down to it, and since TT is going to full day kindergarten in August, I guess I could sit around eating bon bons, but the old wardrobe just couldn't take the stretching, so I have become the newest speaker for my fabulous lab, Millers Professional Imaging, who I have been with for 15 years and absolutely adore, and will go on the road speaking about what I do! Woo hoo! I'm pretty excited.

I am also about to launch a photographic calendar for the Susan G. Komen society; Little Angels. I'll photograph your Little Angel in beautiful Angel attire in exchange for a $100 donation to the three day walk, and then he or she will be entered in a contest where people can vote for them to be in the Calendar! Votes will be $1 each, 100% going towards the Cure, so that hopefully none of our little angels will ever have to be touched by breast cancer in their lifetimes. If you're interested in particpating in this awesome program, please give me a call at480.861.4529 or email me at photobarb@aol.com.

Friday, January 9, 2009




























When Ann Becker asked me to come see her yard before we shot, I almost blew her off. I mean, here I am, the GREAT ME, I can make anything work brilliantly, why should I take the time to do something silly like go over and tell people to move their hose out of the way and make sure to pick up the dog poop...you know, what they already know but don't want to actually do it? Well, I happene to adore Ann, and I wanted to get to know her better anyway, so I gathered up the troops and brought them to New River, where we kept driving and driving, onto a dirt road, and driving, until we reached a sign that said Private Property. Buzz, my husband, was afraid to turn in, but after checking it out, it turned out that Ann's house is RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST!!! No dog poop or water hoses here. She has billion dollar panoramic views of absolutely breathtaking scenery, and she wanted to show her family in it. We spent more than an hour going all around her property, and found several places with good texture and great light to shoot. And here are the results. I'm atually not done; I want to do a collage with all of these cool scenery shots I took, and you know I'm not usually a scenery person. I just loved shooting the Becker family on their property! They were such a cohesive unit...you can tell that they all have such a deep love and respect for each other. It was a great day.

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year, new look...




I have been trying to figure myself out lately, and have realized that I am an enigma. Mommy, photographer, artist, dog person, wife, nose blower, teacher, international businesswoman, toenail clipper, meal planner, butt wiper, cancer surviver. I do it all, on a constant, every day basis. I am maniacal about deadlines, and meticulous about my work. I took this picture of TT and our Great Dane Puppy, Athena, the other day. It is totally the direction that I am going in my personal work...part classic, part iconic, part Norman Rockwell. Maybe I am going back to basics in my personal life, because I paint and paint in my professional life, but then again, I painted this shot of my Zoe, and loved every minute of it. What do you think? What should be my new direction for 2009?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Musser Family







I am so utterly blessed to have such amazing clients...I recently had the opportunity to hang out with the Musser family. Stephanie Musser is the principal of my Zoe's school, so I was a little scared...what if she doesn't like them, will my kid never win a citizenship award again?? Just kidding, Stephanie Musser simply isn't like that!! You can tell a lot about people when you take pictures of them, and I must say, and I'm not kissing any executive booty here, that this family was one of my favorite families of the season! They were always laughing and having a great time together, and teasing each other. Courtnie and Perrie were the coolest teenagers ever, and Dad, Dan didn't hate me at all, which really helped a lot in general. They were a very cohesive unit, and being together and laughing during a photo session makes your having your pictures taken fun memories to have forever. These guys were part of my memories this year. Thanks so much!!