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Tammy Mitchell Photography bio picture

Thanks for stopping by!

I love to celebrate beautiful things!   My interests include anything crafty, colorful and fun!  I love to travel, cook, craft, design, create, entertain, decorate, sew..and the list goes on.  Stunning images inspire me and I hope I can share a few things here that will inspire you too!

I have always loved photographs.  My grandma has always taken a million pictures and it inspired me from a young age.  With my first 110 camera I captured fun memories of family vacations and everyday activities.  Since having kids my focus has turned to the art of the portrait.  In my eyes the "perfect" portrait doesn't mean a creaseless shirt and stiff poses, but instead a twinkle in the eye and a glimpse into the soul. 

My specialty is children.  I love to capture them in their natural element.  I want to capture who your child is at this moment.  The little noses, funny smiles and dirt covered faces that make them the person that they are right now. 

My approach is VERY relaxed...very "photo journalistic."  I'm not a girl that likes to pose.  My idea of a perfect shoot is to meet you somewhere fun and let your kids play and be themselves while I fade into the background.  I believe it's those moments that you truly want to remember.   Anyone can take a picture.  I want to capture a moment and tell a story.  

I'd LOVE to come play with your little ones.  Think of a place where they are happiest.  Disneyland? Chuck E Cheese?  Krispy Kreme?  Think outside the box.  Let's get together and let them explore, get dirty and have some fun!  Those WILL be your cherished memories!   

orange county children’s photographer: the face of four

st. patty’s day is an extra lucky day in our house.  it’s the day our sweet baby girl joined our family.  i honestly can’t believe that it was four years ago.  as i sit here and write this at 11:13pm on the 16th I remember exactly where i was at this time four years ago.  how i was feeling…the stress, the excitement, knowing I wasn’t going to sleep a wink.  SO anxious to meet the sweet little girl that i had come to know over the nine months that she had spent growing, wiggling and kicking inside me.  it seems like it was just yesterday. 

she has grown to be everything i’d hoped.  sweet, sassy, smart as  whip, funny as all get out, and just plain fun.  she is crafty and thoughtful,  stubborn and witty…pretty much just like they say: sugar and spice and everything nice. 

she also loves to have her picture taken.   lucky me. :)

please excuse me while i share a few (or a lot) of our fun “last day of three” shoot yesterday :)

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Happy Birthday Ashley!  We love you!

have a great day!
-t

Orange County Children’s Photographer: Spunky

I could shoot this little ball of spunk all day.  She is SO cute and just makes me laugh all the time.  I’m so glad that her big brother is on the same baseball team as Andy which means I get to see her several times a week!!

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couldn’t you just eat her up??? 

have a great day!

-t

Protected: {Picture Perfect} Week Two: Aperture

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Hostess with the Mostess: Political Parties

No, not the kind of political party you’re thinking. We’re talking a good old fashioned red, white and blue bash. Last week I hosted a meet the candidate night. There’s a local guy here running for senate and I wanted a chance to listen to him speak and see who he was and what he was about. It was an interesting and informative evening. Even my kids sat completely engrossed for the 90 minutes that he spoke. Andy came home that night telling me how interesting he thought it was and that it was like a great history lesson…pretty good for a 7 year old! ;)
My mom has attended MANY of these types of events lately trying to educate herself and informed me when I decided to host one that usually you find a room, put up some folding chairs, pass out fliers in your neighborhood and invite the candidate to come and speak…well, if you know me, you know I can’t just do that…this was an excuse to party! ;) There at least had to be nice invitations, a few decorations and some food. :)

I contacted a SUPER talented baker in our neighborhood to see if I could talk her into designing something fun and patriotic for the evening. She came up with a total show stopper…SO cute!

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Not only did it look good, but it tasted AMAZING!!!  Cake made from scratch with the best chocolate buttercream filling I’ve tasted.  YUM!!! 

Lucky for you, Jodie has decided to go into the cake making business and would love to design something for your next event.  If you’re in the Orange County area you can contact her here:

jodie.williams@gmail.com

and you can check out more of her amazing deisngs too…

Jodie’s Cake Gallery

Have a great day!
-t

Protected: {Picture Perfect} Online Class: Focus and Recompose Video

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i {heart} faces: jump for joy

 

It’s Monday again and there is another fun challenge over at i {heart} faces.  This week’s challenge involves your favorite jumping picture.  You’ve all seen this one before, but it’s definitely my fave!!

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Have a great day!

-t

Protected: {Picture Perfect} Week One: Getting to Know Your Camera

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{Picture Perfect} starts Monday…come join us!! One spot left!!

What are you doing Monday????  Session 2 of {Picture Perfect} starts…come and join us!!  There is ONE spot left!!

A few things people are saying about the class:

“Tammy rocks! I definitely learned a lot and things I haven’t learned in other photography classes.”

“Thanks so much for doing this class. I have taken a few at the local community college and came away feeling like I should just sell this camera and pay for a good photographer every few months. Now I am actually excited to take my camera places and I’m not afraid of it anymore!! THANK YOU!!”

“I just wanted to extend another thank you for helping me to understand my camera. It felt so good to leave class knowing so much more about my camera then before I took the class.”

“You just really teach this very well…you are addicting..you are easy to learn from .”

(blushing over here) ;)

If you’ve been thinking about joining me and some other fun classmates for session 2 now’s the time to do it. There is only one spot left!! I like to keep the size smaller so that we can really get to know each other and I can give you more of the individualized help you want! :) Class will begin March 8, 2010 and run for 6 weeks. The cost is $200. This class is structured so that it is VERY flexible. The only time we have anything scheduled is Tuesday nights at 7PM PST for our weekly chat(I know, that’s right during American Idol for some of you!!! ;) ) but if you’re not available at that time I am on the board regularly to answer your questions that come up! :) Even if you’re going to be out of town for a bit or something everything is designed so you can catch right up! 

We will cover getting to know your camera, focusing techniques, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, metering, lighting and composition. We WILL have you shooting manual and loving it by the end of this course! ;)

You can register securely through paypal here:

 

Hope to see you in class!! :)

Have a great day!
-t

everyday life: how does this happen???

so often i find myself wishing that a day will pass quickly, or a week, or on a tuesday that a weekend will hurry up and arrive. :)   i forget that while i am being so impatient and wishing for days and years to fly by so i can get on with something else that i am excited for that those precious and fleeting moments with my babies being babies are passing me by too.

it seems like just yesterday that i was making preparations for a sweet little girl to arrive in our home and then i blinked and this happened…

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somehow she went from a newborn to a sweet, sassy, full of personality, hillarious little almost 4 year old. 

we went to run some quick errands today and i was reminded how precious every moment is. 

-her wanting to hold my hand so “we can be a family that loves each other” is what she said. 

-her referring to me as mommy and momma and gazing up at me like she is just the happiest she has ever been.

-her talking my ear off in the dressing room while i  listened to all the other women in their rooms snickering at how funny it was

-the adoring glances that she gets everywhere we go and is completely unaware of

it won’t be long before i don’t have a little cutie that WANTS to hold my hand anymore and thinks that i am the bees knees.  until then i am going to stop trying to speed up time and freeze it for awhile so i can soak up every minute!

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have a great day!

-t

let’s party: you’re invited!!!

ok, I’ll be the first to admit…i am NOT, i repeat NOT a political activist.  :)   i am however a concerned citizen who feels like the world might be headed in a direction that i’m not so crazy about.  i’ve decided to throw a little shindig…

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there’s a guy from orange county that is running for the US senate in November and he has me intrigued…so like any good citizen should, i’m going to educate myself.  i’ve invited Chuck DeVore over to speak for a half hour or so and introduce himself to me and anyone else who’s interested.  :)

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and if i need to bribe you…i have commissioned the uber talented cake designer miss jodie williams to create yummy cupcakes and a gorgeous cake too.  it will be a fun and interesting evening.  i’ve never met a politician…have you??

if you’re in the southern CA area and interested in attending, drop me a line @ tammylmitchell@cox.net and i’ll give you the location details.

have a great day!
-t