The Weaver Family

Kristie came to me on the same mission as lots of people with little kids...to have everyone smiling and looking at the camera, especially her beautiful little daughter, Emma,who has an aversion to cameras...and, of course, we got a lot of those, but like all plans with kids, the unexpected is always better, if you're just willing to let go of your preconceived notions, and was ultimately what she was attracted to. I always talk about "the magic"; the zig when you're expecting a zag, a moment that you could never, in a million years force, moments which after 16 years of being a professional photographer, still give me a thrill when they come up, which they do in almost every shoot, so when I had Kristie and her hubby kiss, and the kids put their hands over their eyes, which was really cute, but then Owen peeked out just a little bit, and I almost lost it. Now some people might say, "oh, they weren't looking", "oh, you can't see our whole faces looking straight at the camera", and I always think about that, because I want to be sensitive to my client's needs, of course, but I never judge the quality of a picture by whether people are looking or smiling, as evidenced by my walls. It was a moment...a moment that you couldn't plan for or pose...I just had to be there to capture it. And, fortunately, Kristie was savvy enough to actually order them for her home...I'm so excited for her!

These puppies camto me via the lovely Anne, who wanted to have a shot of her sweet "babies". They were so much fun! Pumpkin, the pomeranian in front, kept doing donuts all around the ser, she was so excite! I love photographing dogs!!

Angela is just the most interesting person. She's so well traveled. She was in Europe last year, and is going back again this year. She has the cutest little doggie whose teeth show out, has done a ton of unique, interesting jobs, and we just had a lot of fun taking pictures of her new show girl self.

Alex

Alex is one of those free spirits who you know is just going to take on the world and win. She wanted to get funky, so we met in Tempe, and hung out on the railroad tracks. The light was amazing, Alex was totally confident and knew exactly how to move, and before she and her sweet Mommy Pat roared off into the night in their superfine convertible jaguar that I totally want to lift, we got some very cool and fun shots! We met up where she was helping out through NCL at the Happily Ever After Leaue Ball, for whom I shot a calendar (see happilyeverafterleague.org), and we had so much fun looking at her pictures together!

Margaret and Kent

When the very chic but not too trendy Kent annd Margaret roared up to the Marketplace in DC ranch in a cute little silver Mercedes for their phots shoot and asked me if they could be photographed in the tailgate of my Suburban, I just started giggling...and pretty much didn't stop the entire shoot. These guys were a laugh a minute, culminating when the 6'1" Margaret picked up Kent and gave him a piggy pack ride outside of Eddie V's! Thank you to all who honked. It was a knock out moment in time!

Remi

I shot Remi in and around his palatial mansion in Mc Cormick Ranch last week. It's located in THE prime corner of the lake out there. Remi's car is nicer than mine...ummm, a LOT nicer, and when he came down the stairs to meet me, he looked like he just walked off the set of Gossip Girl, and given that most teenage boys hate hate having their pictures taken, I was happily suprised to realize how very fun and cool he was. His vibrant, outgoing, and equally beautiful mom and sister Maddie helped out with lighting and outfit picking, and the shoot just rolled along. Remi wanted "edgy", and I was prepared... I whipped out my new radio poppers...it gives everything such a new, edgy look, don't you think?

Angela

I have been wanting to photograph Angela for her senior pictures ever since the day, when she was seven, and we were in Destin, Florida. Our family and her family, who are the closest thing to family I probably have, and I love them all, madly, rented a boat to go out to shell island. I barely knew the Skowroneks at that time, and as soon as we set sail, a virtual hurricane overtook us, the first of many weird, zany, disasterous, and absolutely fantastic vacations between our family and theirs, but that, of course, is another story...anyway, there I was, a new mom, with a nursing baby, all flustered and utterly drenched, silently cursing everyone and their brother for not giving me the good sense to stay home with little Zoe, freaking out at the awkwardness of trying to hold a conversation while trying to stay covered up in gale force winds while nursing under an umbrella that dad John just happened to have, and feeling really just uncomfortable and weird about the whole thing, and then who should crawl under that umbrella, but this teeny little slip of a girl, Angela, saying, in this sweet little voice, "Would you like to have a tea party?" Well, I fell in love with the girl then and there, and swore that I'd do right by her by the time her senior pictures came. We even have super secret names for each other...how often does that happen?! And now, here she is...isn't she glorious? I'd have a tea party with her any day. If you would like to see her video, go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Anthem-AZ/Barbara-Stitzer-Photography/45325794506?ref=ts. Enjoy!