She was wearing a Ramones T-shirt with striped layers underneath, black fingernails and a little sneer on her face the first time we met. "I checked out your website, I like your photos" she said with a shrug making sure not to sound too enthusiastic about my work. Stasha and her Mom were meeting with me to plan her big Quinceanera celebration. Which is a traditional Latino celebration when a girl becomes a woman at the age of fifteen. As we were planning the time line for the event Stasha's mom referred to it as her mini wedding. I thought it was sounding more like an over the top sweet 16 party, like the ones I sometimes get sucked into watching on MTV. Stasha seemed a bit stressed about the whole thing, yet was trying hard to act like she didn't even care about it (but I could tell she did).
During the weeks leading up to the party I did research on the tradition and asked my friend Patti to tell me all about her Quinceanera 20 years ago. Patti remembered every little detail with a big smile on her face and I realized what a special day this would be in Stasha's life. I learned that Stasha would have a court of 14 young people, 7 boys and 7 girls, and she would be the important 15th member of her court. Stasha and her court took dance lessons and practiced a traditional waltz to prepare for their grand entrance. I was honored to be apart of the celebration and curious to see how she would handle the spotlight.
On the big day when I arrived at her house I was so surprised to see Stasha in a frilly pink party dress. She had ringlets in her hair, pearls around her neck and even bows on her high heels. She looked so different from our first meeting. Her outfit was feminine and sweet yet very fashionable. I started out photos with just Stasha and her chihuahua in her dining room. I asked her court to leave the room so she would feel more comfortable while I photographed her. In the quiet dining room with perfect window light, we made a connection and created beautiful images together. As I focused my camera I saw a young woman full of confidence who was more than ready to celebrate her new found womanhood.
A mariachi band, a full house of teens, bouncers, little gifts for each guest, delicious Mexican food, a fancy cake, a grand dancing entrance, a DJ with loud music, and lots of dirty dancing. That was pretty much how the night played out. It was a perfect combination of a miniature wedding and a rocking sweet 16 party ...oh I mean a sweet 15 party!
Beautiful pictures - fun dress!!
Posted by: lucky designs | February 08, 2008 at 09:01 AM
oh I had to post and feature the first picture in my blog! it's d*lightfully d*lsh!
Posted by: Lucia @ D*LSH Design | February 08, 2008 at 02:35 AM
Heather - stupid question, but do you have photos of your trips to Italy? would love to see some. I'm excited for our trip - we are going late July to mid Aug. I can't wait! Maybe one of our blog entries can be about Italy so I can see some pics.
Posted by: Amber | February 06, 2008 at 10:22 AM
AMAZING! That first photo is just incredible!
Posted by: MK | February 06, 2008 at 04:44 AM
Thank you for your positive feedback, it means so much! I shot this event last February so it was fun to re-visit the images. I taught High School art and photography for three years at Stadium High School, so I feel pretty comfortable around teenagers. I saw Stasha at the store the other night looking older and wiser and thought I should post some of her lovely photos. I wonder how her parents will celebrate her sweet 16 next week?
-Heather
Posted by: ONE LOVE PHOTO | February 05, 2008 at 09:18 AM
One Love, you are amazingly creative. I love the group shot of everyone laughing, how do you make teenagers laugh like that? I so enjoyed this post, thank you!
-Crystal
Posted by: Ella Blue Studio | February 05, 2008 at 08:09 AM
Wow, Heather! These are awesome! I, like Sarah, LOVE the toning on your b&w images. Beautiful work. We missed you the other night at Jason & Crystal's!
Posted by: Airika Pope | February 04, 2008 at 05:37 PM
oh wow. that shot of her backwards and the boys facing forward is priceless!
Posted by: Elizabeth @ Elizabeth Anne Designs | February 04, 2008 at 12:28 PM
You documented the event so well! Your photos are beautiful. I wish I had a Quinceanera in my past. Too bad my heritage isn't that cool. :(
Thank you for your nice comments on my blog.
Posted by: ali | February 04, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Ok. Now I have to find my Quinceanera pics! Not as lovely as Stasha's photos, but still memorable. I loved my Quinceanera so much, that on my 30th birthday I threw a Double Quinceanera for myself. Thanks for the shoutout!
Posted by: Patti G. | February 04, 2008 at 08:53 AM
dude heather. You rock my face off. I love your toning on these images. You teach me your black and white photoshop tricks and I'll teach you.. umm.. how to jump really high?? haha These are beautiful.
Posted by: Sarah Rhoads | February 04, 2008 at 08:50 AM
i LOVE the shot of her feet... the unbalanced foot is too stinkin' adorable. these shots are just too cool! i'm sure she LOVES loves them. great work.
Posted by: Ryan Koral | February 04, 2008 at 06:15 AM
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Jane | February 03, 2008 at 08:14 PM