Tammy Mitchell Photography

Hostess with the Mostess: Political Parties

Tammy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:04:04 +0000

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!

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

Tammy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:30:01 +0000

i {heart} faces: jump for joy

Tammy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:26:24 +0000

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!!

Have a great day!

-t

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

Tammy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:01:17 +0000

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

Tammy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:02:03 +0000

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???

Tammy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:56:37 +0000

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…

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!

have a great day!

-t

let’s party: you’re invited!!!

Tammy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:36:41 +0000

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…

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.

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???

Tammy — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:14:33 +0000

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 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

Tammy — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:07:07 +0000

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???

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

Tammy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:52:36 +0000

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!

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

the butterflies on the straws…Stunning!

cute little bowls to hold the goodies courtesey of Anthropologie

the darling birthday princess

a finished masterpiece

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.

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

Have a great day!
-t