I had the pleasure and honor of photographing a wonderful family this past weekend. I’ve known Steve Batz for a couple of years mostly because we are both photographers and I’ve shot with him several times. I’ve known him to be a kind, good humored, low-key personality, who happens to be an excellent photographer. However, when you put him together with the three beautiful women in his life, his personality blossoms. I spent a sunny afternoon with them in a park nearby their home and they were all kinds of fun. You can tell by looking at these photos that they are a fun-loving family who enjoy being together.
I put together a quick slideshow or our shoot. Enjoy.
Thanks, Batz family, for letting me spend a few hours capturing your unique family personality. It was an honor.
Roger Aylstock-WOW Karen! Stunning work! You captured the love that is shared in that family. Was it a painful procedure to have the camera surgically removed from Steve’s hand for this shoot?
April 7, 2011 - 5:26 pm
Lesley Cox -Wow! Those girls have gorgeous heads of hair! What a cute family. You did a great job. I love the one with the sun on the grass.
April 7, 2011 - 7:42 pm
photowannabe-Karen, these are terrific. You captured their personalities so well. Of course, I’m a bit prejudiced but seriously…they are great.
Sue (Steve’s Mom)
PS, Love Roger’s comment about Steve’s camera.
April 11, 2011 - 7:17 pm
Gunhild Jones, Beverly Jones -WOW, What a nice group of family pictures of my Niece and family.
I liked them too. Great pictures of my Cousin and her family. They are great to be around.
April 15, 2011 - 6:22 pm
Life with Kaishon-What a beautiful family! I love Steven’s Mom : ) She is a blessing that makes the world a much better place. I can tell that Steven and his family do this also. LOVE their smiles. LOVE the light. Gorgeous!
This is the first day that we have really been able to get out and go for a walk. Obie is almost laughing he is so giddy to be out. We have been cooped up with snow and rain and wind and wet, so he has been stuck inside.
I know it’s supposed to get cool again this weekend, but I’m hoping that the weather will hold out for the family photo shoot I have scheduled. This is such a pretty little spot off the beaten track. Usually there are deer grazing here, but I think I got here a little late this morning.
I love spring. Contact me to sign up for your Spring Photo Shoot.
This is the current Mrs. Santa Clarita Valley, Julie Winkle. She is running for Mrs. California 2011. As you can see, she is gorgeous and has a beautiful family. That’s her husband, Jack, (middle left) and her son (middle right) in the above pics.
Let me tell you a little about Julie. It is obvious to anyone who sees her, that she is a true beauty. She’s about 5’9″ tall with long blond hair and gorgeous green eyes. It is also obvious to anyone who observes her for any length of time that she is just as beautiful inside as she is on the outside. She is a Christian woman who takes her faith seriously. She has a good sense of humor with an infectious laugh and is very quick to laugh at herself. She is generous, almost to a fault. She is naturally hospitable and wants anyone who enters her home to be comfortable and make themselves at home. She has housed people in her home who need a place to stay until they get on their feet and can afford their own place. She has also housed college students who can’t afford housing while they attend a nearby college.
She is also the bravest, strongest woman I know. When her only child was around 2 years old, he was diagnosed with severe autism. Although a devastating diagnosis, she and her husband researched the disease, consulted doctors, determined a course of action that would best suit their son and moved forward with it. To say their lives have been challenged with this diagnosis is a severe understatement. However, their lives have been ultimately blessed and their little boy is happy and a loving child. Julie strongly supports several charities, one of which is “Autism Speaks”. Running for Mrs. California will give her an excellent platform to support this charity.
Most of all, Julie is a kind, loving and supportive friend. I should know. She’s been my best friend for the last 20 years. I may be biased, but all the things I said above are true. She has been a huge blessing in my life.
Vote for YOUR Mrs. California United States! All proceeds go to charity, and winner gets a sash, cash and trophy!
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Vote for Julie Winkle, Mrs. Santa Clarita Valley
Here’s a little slideshow I made with some shots of her photo shoot taken by me in November and December, some personal shots that I have taken thru the years and some shots taken by Julie and some of her friends (Michelle Hopkins).
*The two middle shots in the collage above, were not taken by me. They were provided by Julie and edited by me.
Tamara Motschenbacher -Julie could not have gotten a better photographer to show her outer beauty & her inside beauty. The photos are just awesome. Love them all, especially the ones where the concentration is on her eyes. Beautiful eyes.
Good job Karen!
March 24, 2011 - 10:26 am
Karen Schmautz-Thank you so much for your kind comments, Tam. She is a wonderful friend.
Sometimes it does a photographer good to have her picture taken. She finds that her empathy for her clients increases dramatically. Looking into the cold eye of the camera and having no idea what I look like puts the fear of God into anyone. But, I knew I needed to update my profile pics, so I set up my lights, combed my hair and put some make up on. Then, I practiced some poses in the mirror…none of which were good. After that, I set up my camera with my remote shutter release and began taking pictures. Sheesh! Of the pics I took, I liked this one the most, so I am going to use it for a while. (I discovered that fake laughter is not my thing…it looked like I was convulsing.)
So, to my clients…I promise to remind myself of this experience and treat you with the utmost respect and sympathy. If I can do it, you can too. I promise to give you a great experience, you will have fun and I will make sure you have wonderful and beautiful shots that you will love so much that you will want LARGE canvases of them hanging on your walls so that you are reminded on a daily basis how great you look.
“If you could see what I see”, then you would see how beautiful you are.
As I was sitting on the floor in the MGM Grand Convention Center waiting in line for the first speaker of the convention (Sal Cincotta who was fabulous, by the way), this is the view that made me happy to be there. I spent 5 days in fabulous Vegas attending one of the biggest photographers’ conventions of the year, WPPI or Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. Sixteen thousand wedding and portrait photographers, vendors, and other people affiliated with the industry were present. Although most of my days were spent either listening to speakers or browsing the trade show, I did have some time to walk around the city with my camera and a photographer friend of mine. Here are some of my impressions.
And, of course, I made a video slideshow of the whole adventure.
Tamara Motschenbacher -Karen,
These pictures are just beautiful. I’ve always thought your work was wonderful, but these just have gone over the top. I almost don’t have the words to describe them. The buildings and their reflections, are just genius. The composition is just amazing. Love love love them. And the colors, are gorgeous!
You take escalators and make them look like wonderful pieces of art. And you caught one of my favorite things, the shoes, love the shoes.
You say to shoot everyday, well, I better get started, because I have a long way to catch up with you, lol!
March 4, 2011 - 8:25 am
Roger Aylstock-Those are great images of Vegas Karen. Nice shot of the Excalibur. I think I can see my hotel room. ;-P
March 12, 2011 - 1:53 pm
Joyce Figueroa -Karen,
Your photography is amazing!
The video is awesome!
Roger Aylstock - WOW Karen! Stunning work! You captured the love that is shared in that family. Was it a painful procedure to have the camera surgically removed from Steve’s hand for this shoot?
Lesley Cox - Wow! Those girls have gorgeous heads of hair! What a cute family. You did a great job. I love the one with the sun on the grass.
photowannabe - Karen, these are terrific. You captured their personalities so well. Of course, I’m a bit prejudiced but seriously…they are great.
Sue (Steve’s Mom)
PS, Love Roger’s comment about Steve’s camera.
Gunhild Jones, Beverly Jones - WOW, What a nice group of family pictures of my Niece and family.
I liked them too. Great pictures of my Cousin and her family. They are great to be around.
Life with Kaishon - What a beautiful family! I love Steven’s Mom : ) She is a blessing that makes the world a much better place. I can tell that Steven and his family do this also. LOVE their smiles. LOVE the light. Gorgeous!