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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!   

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!

chuck collage

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!!

ash on bed 2 web

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…

ash 5 web

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!

ash collage 1 web

ash collage 2 web

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…

Back of Invitation copy

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.  :)

blog invite copy

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

Missing: Have You Seen Chelsea???

This one hits too close to home.  She is from my alma mater, my hometown…a very small, tight knit community.  She’s been missing since Thursday night.  Keep your eyes and ears posted and spread the word. 

chelsea 2

 

chelsea king

CHELSEA KING SEARCH CENTER
Description:
This group is created for all information related to the volunteer search efforts in conjunciton with law enforcement and the Laura Recovery Center. Updates will be posted regurlarly.

Chelsea King

Age 17

5′5, 115 pounds

Blond Hair, Blue eyes

Senior at Poway High School

Honor Student, straight A’s

Peer counseling

Cross Country Runner

Clean Up San Diego Volunteer

Tutor to San Diego Youth

Responsible, Conscientious, Loving, Intelligent, Cherished by all who know her

Her car was located thurs late afternoon (2/25) in the Rancho Bernardo Community center parking lot. We believe she went running.

If you have ANY Information at all, please contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000 and PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW. HELP US FIND OUR CHELSEA.

As a mom with little kids this makes me sick to my stomach.  Pray for her and her family!
-t

Photoshop Friday: Colors and Brightness

I have had some interest from people over on the facebook fan page for photoshop tips and tricks, so I thought I’d share them here too for those of you that aren’t facebook users :)

I am NOT a huge editor.  I prefer to know my camera and do my best to nail the shot without the aid of photoshop.  That being said, I do adjust ALL of my photos…just minorly.  There is something to be said (in my opinion) for making the image shine just a little bit more with two simple and quick tricks. 

The two most used combinations on my computer are control M and control U.  If you’re a Mac user they would be apple M and apple U for you.  Control M will adjust your curves (or the brighness of your image) and control U controls the hue/saturation of your image.  By nudging these measurements ever so slightly you can make a HUGE difference in your images. 

See what I mean???

facebook brighter collage web

The image on the left is my sooc image (straight out of camera) and the on on the right has a teeny bit of tweaking with those two measurements.  Pretty big difference, huh?  Give it a try and let me know what you think! :)

Have a great weekend!
-t

Hostess with the Mostess: Kids Party Ideas

This little shindig is LONG overdue for some blog love.  I can’t believe I never shared it!  No fear though…it’s perfect timing since it’s pallette is great for spring.  You all know I’ve got a weakness for lime green and pink so this was definitely a favorite. 

I think these last several years of attending and shooting elaborate parties have taught me that kids are really very happy with the simple pleasures.   Sure, they love bounce houses and ponies and magicians, (and I love to plan paties like that!!!) but put a table full of goodies in front of them and let them decorate a homemade cupcake and they are JUST as happy.  Just something to keep in mind for those of you planning birthday’s in the near future…that would be me. ;)

Enjoy this gorgeous party!

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Mom attended to every gorgeous detail…LOVE the white hydrangeas in a lime green ribbon wrapped box!

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the butterflies on the straws…Stunning!

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cute little bowls to hold the goodies courtesey of Anthropologie

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the darling birthday princess

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a finished masterpiece

quin 7 web

i LOVE the lighting in these shots…YUM!!!  after decorating cupcakes the kids gathered to make bead necklaces on PIPE CLEANERS.  Genius!!  For little kids they stay stiff enough for them to feed the beads onto…great tip to remember!!  You can then twist multiple strands together to make a necklace that’s long enough.

quin collage 1

Hope you’re feeling inspired to plan your next event!

Have a great day!
-t