MazPix Photography

Hilary & Skye

2010-06-22T19:17:00.004-05:00

I shot my first official paid wedding over the weekend. It was a perfect one to start with because it was actually very low key and the couple was very laid back about everything. The couple was actually from Florida & they came back to Central Illinois to do a vow ceremony & reception in front of their family. Everything took place at the Legion Hall in Farmer's City. We started the family photos outdoors, but after about 20 minutes, everyone was beginning to melt! It was a very hot & sunny summer day and rather than having everyone with sweat spots on their clothing and sweat beads dripping from their faces in the photos, the bride decided to move the rest of the group shots indoors. Thankfully I brought my backdrop! So I set it up on the stage, which worked out nicely not only for the group shots, but as the background for the vow ceremony as well.

Like I said, it was the perfect wedding to start with, low pressure, nice couple, short day. Excellent one to get the first time jitters out of the way on! Bring on the next one!

Forever Friends

2010-06-10T09:54:00.005-05:00

I had such a blast photographing this Forever Friends session last night. It was a perfect evening for pictures and the girls were so much fun! From pretending to splash in the fountain, to trying not to fall in the lake, to almost peeing your pants trying to climb a tree... they laughed and giggled the whole time. It reminded me of myself with my friends being happy go lucky with not a care in the world. I had a professional friend session taken with my best buds when I was in high school and I just love those photos and the best part is, I am still friends with all of them! These are great pictures to have because as you part ways for college, you can take your besties with you and keep them close to your heart. Maybe after school, you will all settle back in the same area, maybe not, but no matter what happens, these are the type of friends that will be with you for a lifetime. You will look back at these pictures when you are old ladies and wish you were young enough again to climb a tree and remember how much fun you had doing it! If you want a Forever Friends shoot with your best buds, call me up! They are so much fun to shoot!

Official Photographer for the Normal CornBelters!!

2010-06-08T21:40:00.000-05:00

One day I just happened to think...hmmmm... I'm a new business... The CornBelters are a new organization... I wonder if they have a photographer yet. And I simply picked up the phone, called the office and talked to the guy I needed to talk to. Sure enough! They were in need of a photographer. I told him I was planning on going to the game on Friday anyway, so I would snap some pics and send them to him & we could discuss early next week. So that brought us to Monday when I got the call to come meet with him on Tuesday. I asked if he needed me to bring anything else..i.e. more pics... he said, "Nope, I've seen enough!" And the rest will be history as I embark on the amazing opportunity and the exposure that will come with it! I will be taking action shots for baseball cards and team photos along with anything else they need a photographer for throughout the seasons.

Here's a few from my "trial" shots, but I have since got a new lens and I can't wait til Monday to go use it!!!

beautiful night at the Corn Crib...

meet Corny.. the mascot

safe @ 3rd...

Pretty Pretty Peacock

2010-06-07T00:17:00.001-05:00

I always go to zoos and WISH that the peacocks would spread their feathers for me. Today was the day! And it was more amazing than I imagined it would be. What an absolutely breathtaking bird! I only wish I would have had my professional camera with me today, but I didn't want to chance it with the weather forecast. My point and shoot came through for me though! Enjoy this beautiful bird...

Daycare Orders

2010-05-25T15:30:00.001-05:00

WOW, I am blown away at the turnout of the daycare shoot. I mean, I heard to positive feedback, but the result has far surpassed my expectations! Thank you for your business & know that I had a blast photographing your children! And if you ever have the need for a personal shoot… birthday coming up or family shots… just let me know! I’d be happy to come to you and take some more!

Love those Curls

2010-05-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here’s an example of an active little squirt that mom was getting a bit frustrated with. I told her no worries, I was getting some great shots. Mom wanted her to stand by the greenery… no need, let her go down the slide, I’ll get the greenery in the background. Mom wanted her to sit still, no need I captured that before she got up. Again with the kids, I enjoy the challenge of chasing them around, letting them be themselves and when they have the right expression and the right background behind them, I snap away. Here mom was worried that she didn’t cooperate, but as you can see, she’s actually a beautiful, happy-go-lucky, photogenic little angel.

My Guy

2010-05-22T01:27:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe my son is almost 3! Where has time gone? Despite being a photographer’s child, I was still able to get him to cooperate for his 3 year pictures. Thank goodness! This poor child has had a camera in his face since the day he came into this world. I’m pretty sure he’s used to it.. to the point that he may just grow up to be a photographer as well. Bradyn is a joy to be around, has a big, happy personality and a handsome smile. Happy Birthday B!

Corporate Event? Sure why not!

2010-05-21T15:29:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to be the official photographer at a Pfizer award ceremony at the W Hotel downtown Chicago. I went into it a little nervous because I really didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be a great experience and a ton of fun! The evening started with a little cocktail hour, then an awards ceremony, then dinner, then Care-oke…singing for a cause. The winning team got a $500 donation to the charity of their choice. What a great idea. It was fun to see the groups interact and exhibit great teamwork in planning what they were going to sing and how to best execute the performance. I got some great shots of the group dancing, singing, and acting crazy. Would I do another corporate event? Absolutely! Bring it on! It was great.

Calling all 2011 Seniors!

2010-05-18T15:28:00.001-05:00

Class of 2011, the time has come to start thinking about your senior pictures!! I am just entering the Senior market, so I felt I needed to get out there and get some sample shots so I could show you what I can do. I imagine it’s pretty hard to imagine by looking at the photos of all the kids on my website. So here are a few more mature poses and ideas that will help you decide that MazPix is the right choice for a fun, affordable, quality senior portrait shoot!

Hammin’ it Up

2010-05-15T00:15:00.000-05:00

I remember being 5, to a care or worry in the world…Ooohhh to be 5 again! This little man was a joy to shoot. The feedback I got when mom saw the pictures was great and she said that I really captured the real Andrew. That just solidifies that I am achieving my goal of capturing the personality and individuality of each subject. Her only complaint was, “why didn’t you start doing this 5 years ago!?” Awesome. I love it.

Double the Fun!

2010-05-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

I had a beautiful shoot with some 1 month old twins today. I traveled up to Chicago for this one & boy was it worth every minute of the trip. I could have photographed these sleeping beauties all day long! Unfortunately they were never both awake at the same time. Mom was hoping for a great shot of them both with their eyes open. Even after feeding them, changing their clothes, and all that jazz, it just wasn’t happenin'. I got some great shots anyway and a good one of each of them awake, which made a good collage. That made mom just as happy. She loves it!

Ornery & his little brother

2010-05-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

This shoot was tons of fun! Boys will be boys. I got some peaceful ones, ornery ones, fun ones, and some down right good ones! The little guy even fell asleep in the middle of the shoot. So we worked with it and got an adorable shot of how proud big brother is of his baby bro. It’s moments like this that a photographer is just flexible and let’s the kids be kids, that allows us to capture the real life moments. Sometimes the unposed, unplanned stuff is the best!

A little heartbreaker & his new baby brother

2010-05-02T15:23:00.001-05:00

These two little guys are my best friend’s kids. Dean is 18 months & Reed just turned 1 month. (I’m guessing that means “hands full” LOL). The main goal of this shoot was to get one real good picture of the two boys together for Reed’s birth announcement. Well… Reed had other plans. He just cried and cried and cried when mommy put him down. Even if we thought he was sleeping, we had about 3 seconds of calmness before he started crying again. And as frustrating as it may be for mom who just wants her kids to cooperate for a picture, rest assured that I only need a second or two to capture a great shot! We never got the dream picture of the two of them, but we got some great ones of each of them individually, which worked nicely as a collage announcement. So even if you think your kids won’t cooperate, I can usually grab something that will still melt your heart.

Daycare Darlin's

2010-04-30T23:22:00.000-05:00

I had my first daycare shoot experience the last three days... all I can say is... WHAT A BLAST!! I wanted to set myself apart from the "typical" school photos that everyone envisions, without changing it so much that those who rely on the typical shot would still feel like they had that choice. I spread the shoot over 3 days just to be sure I had plenty of time to capture what I knew I wanted to accomplish. I spent a couple of minutes with each child on a white backdrop, striving to get a full body shot and a head shot. Then I headed outside to chase them around the playground for a moment during their "recess time". I made a surprise appearance the following afternoon during 2 hours of pickup time, so run a slideshow of the first day's pictures so everyone could get a sneak peek of what to expect. Some parents got to see their pictures, some didn't, but even the ones who didn't had great things to say about them and were excited to see their own! The outdoor photos were a HUGE hit! The daycare and the parents all LOVED them. So much so that they asked me on the spot to come back in the fall!!

She's Three!

2010-04-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Next stop, Elkhart, IL. I took pics of these gorgeous girlies on a beautiful spring evening. The main purpose was for Cecilia's 3yr pics, but we squeezed in a few of her older sister as well, and even threw mom into the frame to grab an updated family shot. They were so much fun, they convinced me to stay for a slumber party and watch a movie and pop popcorn. :) Ok, so mom is one of my best friends and I promised the girls a sleepover... I don't think that's bribery to behave during the photo session is it?

Dellinger Kids

2010-04-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

Had a great shoot over the weekend in Lasalle/Peru. The outdoor shots are turning out great! Spring has definitely sprung, the weather is great, and the scenery is beautiful. These three kids were a joy to shoot. Such good listeners, well behaved, and photogenic. They were ready for whatever poses I threw at them.

Fun to be One!

2010-03-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

Check out this little cutie patootie. I had the pleasure of taking Kyla's 1 year photos. It was a fun shoot, she's such a happy little thing. Very smiley, and not quite walking, so other than crawling away here and there, she wasn't too mobile. I even captured a couple of the whole fam too.

sooo precious....

love those eyes....

such a happppy smile...

again with the eyes...oh so blue

beautiful family...

ahhh yes... the candids are always a big hit!

Arch Madness

2010-03-08T14:46:00.000-06:00

MazPix took a little weekend trip to St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Basketball tournament. It was a beautiful weekend. It's always nice to get a little early taste of spring by traveling a little south. Enjoy the exquisite beauty of one of our nation's landmarks along with some really cool architecture at the City Museum.

Photos, Love & Happiness

2010-03-01T17:14:00.000-06:00

Hi, I'm Steph & I created MazPix to fulfill my love and passion for photography. I envisioned my dream job, wrote the plan, and just dropped everything else I ever knew to pursue it. Call it a leap of faith if you wish, I choose to think of it more as a calling and I already knew before I even started, that I would succeed. There's really something to say about absolutely being in love with what you do, there's just no possible way to fail.

I have always loved photography, children & sports, so combining all of my passions into a business just made sense. That's why I chose to specialize in photography for children, sports, and families. That's not to say I won't shoot other things because I have and I will. I also love doing engagements, maternity sessions, corporate events, and weddings.

What I hope you find in my work is that I'm not just the average photographer. First of all I'm for the most part self-taught. Now, you can take that however you want, but for someone to sit down on their own freewill and decide to read photography book after photography book, completing recommended exercises at the end of each chapter, reading some more, shooting some more, testing this, testing that, going out and shooting some sessions, coming back to the drawing board, analyzing my work, going back to the books to see what I should do differently next time... well I may not have a photography degree from a college university, but I claim to at least know a little something about the topic to be able to translate it into pictures that you will cherish for a lifetime. I do not claim to know everything, but in between shoots, you can believe that I hit the books some more to see what else there is to learn!

I also bring with me an enormous level of creativity, passion, and playfulness to every photo shoot and have an eye for that special moment composing it in a meaningful way which translates into one of a kind photos of your loved ones. I have a way that brings out my clients' individuality and personality which makes no two photo sessions the same. When it comes to small children, I realizes that getting a child's pictures taken in a 'sit & smile' format can be a stressful event for both the child and the parents. With the flexibility of a mobile studio, I come to you, where you and your children are comfortable which allows us to use your own special props (I have some too) and meaningful locations. With Maz Pix, it's all about the experience & figuring out a way to let your personality show through the art of photos.

Along with my photography skills, I bring with me an understanding of business in general. I graduated from Illinois State University with an Accounting degree and spent 8 years as an accountant before having the courage to step away from the field to pursue this passion. So doing business with MazPix, I assure you that you will enjoy excellent customer service and timely turnaround of your photos. I love editing them just as much as I love taking them, so I don't waste a moment getting them back to you!

I will leave you with two things... first....Life is too short to not love what you do.

Second...Being a parent, I know first hand how quickly time passes by. With the simple tick of a clock, a first smile or first step becomes history. I have been known to be a 'photo freak' or 'camera happy', but that's ok because having a camera within arms reach at all times has allowed me to capture those moments. It's heartwarming and brings a smile to my face every time I go back and look at them. Whether they are newly born or about to flock the nest, children change so much with each passing day. Let me help you capture the important stages of your family's life so you can look back years from now and remember those special moments too.

I look forward to doing business with you.

- Steph Mazanowski, owner/photographer of MazPix Photography

Welcome to the MazPix Blog!

2010-03-01T17:04:00.000-06:00

specializes in children, high school senior, sports, and family photography. Maz Pix is a mobile studio designed to come to your home, daycare, or favorite outdoor location and provide a fun, memorable photo shoot experience in an environment you are used to while preserving precious memories that will last a lifetime.