Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Raskin Family












Every once in a while, I meet a family who is so chic, so interesting, so totally COOL that I'm kind of intimidated. I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore 99.9% of my families that I shoot, and usually work with them for years and years, but you know the ones I mean...the people who have so very much going for them that they really don't need to be nice to you, and you wouldn't hate them for it, but how, somehow, they are just the ones who are incredibly kind, welcoming, open, (which is key, really, on both party's parts in making meaningful pictures) and inexplicably, you realize that you've totally clicked. This is how I feel about the Raskin family. The moment I met Joan, and her daughter Maddie, her husband Randy, and sons Remi and Jonathan, I felt like I came home, they were so welcoming, and I really wanted to do right by them.
Of course, I got nervous and kind of tanked. A light stand fell on poor Randy's foot, I had just taken a new lens out of the box and didn't realize that I was on manual focus while shooting in autofocus mode, something that I had never done in 16 years of shooting... so I tried hard not to show my total mortification, closed my eyes, took a deep breath and forced away the nerves... through it all, they were totally gracious about it, laughing and funny and carrying my bags out to the car, something that NO ONE ever offers to do, I might add. Then, at the viewing, after really complimenting the heck out of me, which is always a nice thing, Joan and I got into a very much needed conversation on my part...I just felt so honored that she would share like that with me. The more I see of that woman, the more I admire her. She's totally my role model. Am I allowed to have a role model so much younger, prettier and skinnier than me? Well, either way, I'm taking it! And, we got some shots that are different and funny and totally them, ones I'm really very proud of. They made it to the front slide show of my website, http://www.barbstitzer.com/, if you would like to see my favorites!