When professional photographer Margo Hollands looks through her camera’s viewfinder she doesn’t look for just a great smile. Before shooting she takes the time to get to know the individual or family, gain their trust, and then she goes about capturing their essence in megapixels. “My pictures are about relationships, not about this is what we look like,” Hollands said. Born in Spring Valley, N.Y., Hollands has lived in West Milford for the last 10 years. Her passion is photography and her home studio in town allows her to do what she loves best. Seventeen years in the business, Hollands credits her parents for piquing her interest in photography. Her dad was into movie cameras while her mom preferred still photos. “As a teenager I became interested and I wanted to document people and interesting things in my life,” she said. She first studied at the New School in New York City and has taken many workshops and courses including classes at the Center for Photography in Woodstock and the New Jersey Media Center in Cape May. Hollands takes her profession seriously and she is currently affiliated with Ringwood Manor Association of the Arts, the New Jersey Photography Forum, The New Jersey Center for Visual Arts and the Professional Photographers of America. In business since 1996, she opened her studio in West Milford in 2008. She does studio work and location work including First Communions, holiday parties and family celebrations. “My main emphasis is children and families, my specialty is with newborns and maternity,” she said Working with newborns gives Holland great pleasure. “The best part of my job is that sometimes I get to hold them. They always amaze me, how their personalities are right there and how very alert and responsive they can be,” Hollands said. The easiest child to work with, she said, is between the ages of eight and twelve because they can take direction. Photographing toddlers can be challenging, but the little ones give Hollands the opportunity to bring out the toys, get down on the floor and play, and she loves it. Hollands shoots with Nikon D80 and D100 digital cameras and uses Adobe editing programs. She provided some simple advice for amateur photographers. “Turn the camera!” she said. By shooting vertical photos the result is more concentration on the subject and a lot less dead space that does not tell the intended story. Hollands is currently excited about an upcoming venture. The Lightroom, a new business opening at 1468 Union Valley Road in West Milford, will provide a variety of classes for all levels of photographers, including children. Hollands will be an associated photographer, specializing in maternity, newborns, babies and children. “It will be a full service photographic studio and a Mecca for community photographers. The first class starts in July and a full course schedule will be offered in the fall,” she said. Hollands work can be viewed at http://margohollands.dotphoto.com. To visit the Lightroom site for further information go to www.lightroomstudios.com Hollands enjoys traveling, visiting Europe once each year. She goes to the city a lot, and being a dedicated people watcher she finds different cultures fascinating. Surely she’s observing with a photographer’s eye. Does she like to cook? “Oh, no,” she said. Lucky for Holland, her boyfriend is an excellent cook who serves up everything from barbeque to French sauces. Bet she has photos of him cooking. Fall-off-the-bone Baby Back Ribs Rib Rub (you won’t use it all) 1/4 cup sugar 2 tbsp. Kosher flake salt 1 1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika or Hungarian sweet paprika 3/4 tsp. ground Cumin 1/4 tsp. whole celery seed 3/4 tsp. Barbeque of the Americas 3/4 tsp. chili powder 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 3 racks of baby back pork ribs 3 cans regular beer Prep time: 10 minutes plus 4 hours marinating time Cook time: 4-6 hours plus 20 minutes or so browning time Serves: 6-9 Combine all of the rub ingredients, mix well Early in day, remove membrane from back of ribs, rinse and pat dry Rub the rib rub generously into ribs, about 3 tsp. per rack Place on jelly roll pan, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for approximately four hours Grill or broil ribs on both sides, a little black is good Preheat oven to 250 degrees While ribs are browning, for each rack tear off two sheets of heavy duty, wide aluminum foil, 12 inches longer than ribs Place rack of ribs on top of two sheets of foil, bring sides together and seal tightly, then seal one end Pour one can of beer into each packet and close tightly Place packets on jellyroll pan Bake at 250 degrees in oven or grill over low heat for 4-6 hours, depending on doneness preferred Open packets carefully, discard liquid, serve with favorite sauce