wallflower friends - wallflower blog - featured: stacy vitallo

Saturday

Aug212010

featured: stacy vitallo

we'd like to now introduce you to stacy -- photographer and graphic designer. deb actually met stacy years ago, when they worked together, donating their services to the no limits theatre group. needless to say, stacy has such a giving, kind soul. we've seen stacy grow so much since the workshop and we're so very proud of her. she also has continued to be such an inspirational spirit for all the spring wallflower friends -- being one of the first to offer words of encouragement and support and creating photography projects for friends to participate in.

Name: stacy vitallo
Business Name: cabin fever graphics
Location: st. charles, il
Website: www.cabinfevergraphics.com
Blog: http://www.cabinfevergraphics.com/http___web.me.com_svitallo/blog/blog.html

How many years have you been a photographer?
i got my first camera when i was in 5th grade. one of those "kodak disc" cameras. remember those? i've loved photography ever since. i would say i fell in love with photography all over again about three years ago, when i got my first DSLR.

How would you describe your style?
i think my style leans toward photo-journalistic. i don't always capture smiles or even looking at the camera. i like capturing the moment.

i'm still trying to figure out my style when it comes to processing. i don't know if i will ever get that nailed down -- i take each image as an individual item. i try to keep a series in a similar look and feel, but some images are unique. i also get distracted with textures. and well...i'm getting there.

Can you share why you chose to attend the wallflower friends retreat this past spring?
i have been a fan of deb's work for many years due to us working together on a couple of non-profit projects. i have credited her for "jump-starting" my hobby into a part-time gig. when i saw the opportunity to learn from her *in person* on her blog, i couldn't pass it up. i admit i was a little freaked out about attending as an amateur, but i was never treated like a beginner at the retreat. i was given as much respect as the women who have been shooting for years. that was amazing, and probably what gave me the confidence i have now.

What was your favorite part of the retreat?
one of my favorite parts was watching deb and leah interact with the families. being one of the few at the retreat without an established business, i needed to see how they interacted with clients -- posing… talking to the children… all of that. i hadn't worked with anyone whom i didn't know *at all* at that time. since the retreat, i've met and photographed quite a few people that i haven't met until the day of the shoot. i am usually a very shy person around people i don't know, but because of the retreat, and the confidence i gained in my skills, i haven't had a problem at all. i am able to walk into the situation and do my thing and have had success on all levels.

i also have to agree with the other girls already featured that i too enjoyed the dinners. to me, the fact that these two amazing women would just open up and share with us… anything and everything we asked about… was incredible.

Have you (as a photographer) or has your business grown or changed since returning from the retreat? If so, in what ways?
i would definitely say that i, as a photographer, have changed since the retreat. i learned from our portfolio review to step back a little to avoid those "almost" photos. i admitted that i was taking my hobby to the next level and wasn't there for all the business particulars, so the portfolio review gave me a lot of insight and helped me gain the confidence i needed to be able to actually charge a person to take their photos. (smile)

i also used to think that no one would like my photos of landscapes or anything that didn't have a picture of a person in it. while i know most here are children and family photographers, i have recently gravitated toward outdoor nature photography. i still enjoy shooting kids and families, but i feel a sense of content when i edit a nature scene or some beautiful evening shots i did at navy pier in downtown chicago. i guess i always thought those were shots "for me", until i recently sold one of my navy pier shots. how about that?

What type of photographer do you feel would most benefit from the wallflower friends retreat?
any photographer looking for encouragement or someone who wants to know that they are not alone in their fears of being "good enough" should attend this retreat. i left twentynine palms with such a wonderful feeling of confidence that i can't describe. another great thing is the bond that we all created, i feel now that if i have a question or a problem, i have these women to go to for advice. so many times people in the same line of work look at each other as competitors and don't share their answers or "tricks", but when you meet people like the women i met at the spring retreat, there's not competition. no secrets. no hidden agendas. we're all friends and supporters. that--to me--is priceless

Where do you see your photography going in the next couple years? Did the retreat help shape that vision?
in the next couple of years, i hope my photography continues to grow. i learn more and more everyday and the retreat definitely helped me shape that vision. i don't think i would be doing the research or trying new things such as shooting light trails or trying to experiment with lenses like the lensbaby, if it weren't for the encouragement of the wallflower retreat or the friendships i have made with the others who attended.

If you feel you've grown in some way b/c of the retreat and can share the growth through photos, can you please share -- both in writing & before & after photos.
i think it might have been my second blog post, where i talked about how much i learned from the retreat and how i have grown. i showed some images that i took three years ago and how i would edit and process them differently today. i didn't re-shoot them, simply took my new approach to them.

i guess the thing that hit me the hardest was that i am a graphic designer. i have been retouching photos and color correcting/editing images for 16 years. i never spent a single moment on enhancing any of my images until about a year ago. never. never retouched out an eyesore. never manipulated or color enhanced any of them. why? why didn't i? i guess i never thought a thing about it. until i wanted to be better than a snapshot shooter. i wanted my photos to really be worthy of framing. thanks to deb & leah and the wallflower retreat, i look at each and every photograph i produce as something someone would want to hang on their walls.

What inspires you, in general?
giving back. i have been involved with many non-profit organizations over the years…most recentlymendaheart.org and UMDF. i love being part of organizations that helps others. i feel extremely blessed to have healthy children and being a part of these organizations inspires me to use my talents to give back to their organizations. i did quite a bit of design work for the UMDF walkathon in Norcross, GA in April of this year. i even got my family to head down there for the walk. and with mendaheart, i've photographed some of the heart children and have been involved with a total redesign of their website. i'm hoping that this type of work inspires my children to see how lucky we are to have our health and teaches them the personal rewards of volunteering their time to others.

What photographers most inspire you?
it might seem cliche, but my wallflower friends inspire me the most. i am a pretty busy lady. i don't know many of the big names in this industry, nor do i have time to research them (i know of a few) but for now, i'm most inspired by the women of the wall… and i love you all dearly.

Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 11:41AM |

11 Comments | in

featured,

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Reader Comments (11)

I love this article. She seems so down to earth and REAL.
And I notice I tend to have a similar "style" (which I'm not ready to say is permanent). That golden, warm, quasi-vintage, wheat-y kind of feel. LOVE it.

August 22, 2010 |

Nicole Larsen

stacy--this was so well done. thank you so much for taking the time to share with us!! you are such an inspiration!! xo

August 22, 2010 |

leah

what a blessing and honor to be featured. thank you deb & leah for sharing your wisdom & encouraging us to be ourselves.

@nicole, thank you for your kind words. :)

August 22, 2010 |

stacy

I loved this! I felt like I could relate to Stacy so well, as I am currently an amateur that would LOVE to be a professional, with some confidence and mentoring. :) Stacy, your pictures are lovely, thank you for sharing your story!

August 22, 2010 |

Amy Lynne

I am one of the lucky ones that got to know Stacy at the retreat and she's even more amazing and generous in person. we are all so amazingly proud of her.

August 22, 2010 |

francesca

As someone who has worked with Stacy as an artist and designer, and watched her photography take wings, there is something else about her that I consider extraordinary. Stacy is one of the most generative people I know. The woman is a phenomena. She does more with her life in a day than most people manage in a week or two and she does it with such grace and effortlessness that I and I'm sure many of her friends wonder how she does it.

A lot of people envy creative people, but they seldom realize the pure effort that it takes to be really good. Stacy has amazing optimism and vitality and it has been a pleasure to watch her talent unfold.

Yay!

August 22, 2010 |

Monica Rix Paxson

well said Monica!

August 23, 2010 |

RuthAnn

Stacy's work has movement and is spirited! Stacy, I love that ferris wheel photo. I think it is my favorite one yet!

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