ETA: 4 years later, Stephanie is still the best family/portrait photographer I've ever found. Her pictures speak for themselves. We have a 6 year old and a 16 month old, so we've been to plenty of professional photographers, and take a lot of photographs of the kids ourselves on our digital SLR. I have to say that for us, Stephanie absolutely reinvented the wheel in terms of the way she approached our holiday photo session and the results. I've never been happier with photographs taken of my kids, and I can say that hand on heart. When I took our holiday card photos in past years, they never turned out quite right. Other photographers would take pictures of my daughter on similar backgrounds, in similar poses.. But nice pictures, no flubs or weird expressions - which is what I was hoping for for our 2009 holiday card. Stephanie Howard offers clients the opportunity to buy digital files of their favorite images to use for prints or cards, which was a big draw for us but I mostly just wanted someone *else* to have to worry about posing them just right. After all, we needed a great shot of a kindergartener with a then 6 month old who couldn't do much of anything. In every shot I tried to take, the baby looked like he was desperately trying to stage an escape from his sister's arms! When we met Stephanie at a local park for the session, she was very friendly, but also pretty quiet and unassuming. We expected her to give out instructions on how she wanted to do things, where we should have the children sit, etc. She did none of this, which threw us a little. She asked us to hang out but not interact too much with the kids, so she watched them do their thing and followed with a camera. This made us nervous, because we didn't notice her deliberately posing anything at all. In retrospect, she let the children be themselves and removed them from our expectation of what the pictures would be. She stopped us from trying to stage the pictures, and just photographed what she saw. I guess as parents, and every day photographers of our families, we try to create great pictures, instead of just focusing on the people and letting go of control. When we got in our car after that session, my husband was convinced that we hadn't gotten the shots we wanted or needed. He'd been trying to tell our daughter how to pose for the pictures, but instead, she was off climbing on tree branches, and rolling on the grass with the baby. I don't think either of us realized the moments that we were missing, but Stephanie and her camera caught it all. Waiting for the online proofs was hard, but once we saw them, we were amazed. Instead of the deliberately posed shots we were used to, usually with my daughter smiling and looking at the camera, we got to see beautiful photographs of genuine moments between the two children. Nothing forced, nothing formulaic or contrived. The colors, framing and focus of each shot were all perfect, but what was most striking to us was that Stephanie had managed to capture the unique qualities and energy of each of the kids, separate and together without making a big deal of it. Every picture had a mood or feeling that came through loud and clear and seemed absolutely natural in every way. Shouldn't something so amazing look like it takes a lot of hard work? To me, it was as if she'd worked magic but what Stephanie did was the opposite of what most of us do when we're trying to take a picture. She simply let them be themselves, behaving naturally and instead of trying to direct them to do something, she just waited for it to happen. And took the picture. I wish I could show you my favorite photograph from that session, because I have it hanging in my hallway now. It's of my daughter, hair all over the place, laying in the grass and laughing at the chubby baby facing her and grinning back. It's a lot of joy for one little photograph, and it's unbelievably perfect to me. I'm so glad we took those pictures and look forward to taking more with this photographer as the kids get older. read more

I met Stephanie about 5 years ago and she's been my go-to photographer ever since. She's done my headshots and recently did a fashion shoot for my company. I've never looked elsewhere for a photographer, and here's why: TALENT She's an immensely gifted photographer who breathes life and meaning into her subjects. Her images are always rich and authentic. It's like she recognizes your true self, lures it out and captures those moments when you are most beautiful. More often than not, these are moments you didn't know existed! That ability to recognize the person is so important. If you've ever seen photos where something feels off, disconnected, you'd get what I mean. Some photographers impose an aesthetic that's incompatible with their subjects. The result is a dissonance that's hard to put your finger on but you know it's there and it makes the image not very pleasant to look at. Stephanie relates to the person and makes the camera work for you. The result is meaningful, harmonious images. Additionally, Stephanie's photos carry a depth of visual narrative. She's your person if you want photos that ooze with authentic character and, in my opinion, this is the kind of photography that can genuinely record memories as they really were but in the most flattering light. Which brings me to her next quality- ABILITY TO REALLY LISTEN Nothing is more frustrating than hiring someone to help you do something you don't have the skills to do and they end up ignoring your every request. Stephanie really listens because she actually cares. Now, I'm not talking about issuing micromanaging directives (never micromanage a creative person and expect the results to be decent!). I'm talking about Stephanie's willingness to understand my vision, ask questions and push back when I start screwing up my original plan. It's so rare to find a talented creative who's this capable of collaboration. Stephanie's respect for my vision doesn't mean she withholds her own. On the contrary, she finds a way to complement my vision with hers. The result is a healthy and constructive give-and-take that produces some very fine photography. CUSTOMER SERVICE She guides you from the moment you bounce an idea off her all the way through to the end when the photos are touched up. You're never left in the dark. She's so friendly, communicative and just so easy to work with. Trust me, I've compared Stephanie's work to other photographers' work on the same person and the difference was dramatic. Stephanie's images are always superior. Through Stephanie's lens, you will discover a side of you that's authentically beautiful and worthy of being captured on film over and over again. read more

Stephanie is an absolutely amazing photographer. A true artist. And on top of that, she is the nicest, most professional, most reliable person you'll ever meet. She not only took the best pictures of us and our family that anyone's ever taken in our lives; after I ordered the prints, she bought the frames, put the pictures in them, and designed two walls of my house with the photos. They are the best-looking parts of the house now! I can say without a doubt that knowing Stephanie and having her capture our family as we grow year to year (we have three kids) has improved our lives for the better. Every time I walk by those walls I'm grateful we have gotten to know her. My mother and my sister and her kids were in town for a weekend, and on super short notice, Stephanie came and photographed us all. Now my mother is planning to do all family reunions in LA and my sister who wasn't with us in the photo session is planning to make a special trip to LA from Toronto just so that Stephanie can photograph all of us! She captures the essence of everyone's personality, and she gets all of us at our best. We just adore Stephanie. The photos are picture-perfect, you could easily see them in Real Simple or Martha Stewart Living or one of those glossy magazines. And she is such a lovely person to work with, totally easy-going. She's also very generous, in spirit and with her time. We are going to use Stephanie every year from now on to track our kids' progress! read more

For the past two years, Stephanie has taken pictures of our children for holiday cards and annual portraits. Each year it has been nearly impossible to choose one photograph for the holiday card -- there are so many stunning images. Stephanie a singular talent. She has a unique ability to capture a subject's personality. Her photographs are not only beautiful but extremely evocative. I think anyone would be lucky to have a portrait done by her. In addition, she's an absolute pleasure to work with. A consummate pro who kids adore. read more

Stephanie is amazing. She has photographed my children since my first was a toddler and we have hired her to do a session with our kids (there are now three of them) for five years in a row. She is fantastic with children-- relaxed, warm and comfortable-- the sessions feel like an extended playdate rather than a chore. She follows their lead in their own environment (home, yard, local park, etc.) and somehow manages to capture the most natural, beautiful, exuberant images on film. Each year I am speechless and amazed by the results. These sessions yield so much more than great photographs. Her work evokes a feeling, the charms and challenges of a specific moment in our lives. This is what makes her an artist. I am so grateful to have Stephanie and her many talents in our lives! To top it all off, Stephanie is incredibly professional. She's prompt and reliable when it comes to session appointments and ordering prints and products. She's flexible and patient with my own indecision when it comes to ordering (I always want everything) and is beyond helpful in the design and layout for photobooks and holiday cards. So many of our friends have hired Stephanie to photograph their children after seeing the amazing shots up in our home. In a city with many photographers and many other options, Stephanie's work truly stands out! read more

Stephanie is a consummate professional with a wonderful way of making people feel completely at ease. It was such a pleasure to work with her, both before and during our event, and the pictures of our twins b'nai mitzvah were everything I had hoped they would be! read more

Stephanie Howard is a true artist and professional. She has a relaxed, fun manner which makes being photographed by her a true pleasure and an uncanny ability to put everyone at ease, from the smallest of children up through their parents and grandparents. Most miraculously, she then transforms a fun, comfortable and relaxed photo session into a series of stunning, artistic photos which you will treasure forever. Your family will never be photographed more beautifully! read more

Stephanie Howard knows how to get great shots of kids. She has taken pictures of our son every year for the past four years. Her spontaneous, fun, sweet, and light-filled pictures hang in our house and we are constantly asked "Who took these?" Our little guy can be easy to work with, or sometimes he's an age-appropriate curmudgeon. Somehow -- without gimmicks or pleading -- Stephanie manages to get him to get over the dilemma of the moment and just "be." Thus her portraits are never frenzied frozen smiles, but instead they capture the very essence of our son. Sweet, smiley, devious, kind, dear. All those things little kids are, she manages to get in a shot. And considering how fast kids grow, it's funny and sweet to look back at a picture that so fully captures our son at that particular point in his life. We cannot recommend Stephanie highly enough. Totally professional, reasonable, kind, earnest, and really, really good with making kids feel comfortable and their parents, too. She just took our son's 5th birthday party pictures and the results were spectacular. She truly captured the moment from getting balloons to the magician's tricks to sweet photos of grandparents and friends. And then you can count on her to take the unexpected photo either in a family portrait or sibling setting -- or at an event: at his birthday party, Stephanie captured our son and another 5 year old buddy forgetting about the party for a moment and just making each other laugh. Priceless stuff. We are so happy to have found Stephanie and look forward to having her take our photos for years to come. read more