Tammy Mitchell Photography » family photographer

orange county children’s photographer: sneak for mom

Tammy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:52:37 +0000

i know you’ve probably been checking several times a day since saturday mom… i would be too with cuties like this!!! waiting is always the worst part…so here’s a little something to help!

stay tuned for more!

have a great day!
-t

everyday life: my little fish

Tammy — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:58:22 +0000

Our first summer activity this year is getting the kids in swim lessons to make sure they are good and ready to spend the summer in the pool! Big kids lessons don’t start for another week, but Ash got to start this week. Unlike Andy, Ashley is afraid of EVERYTHING…and I do mean everything! It’s been quite the challenge getting her to try new things and warm up to things like strange noises, dogs, rides at disneyland, water, just about everything. I thought for sure we were in trouble when we drove by the pool on Sunday night as kind of a test run to make sure she felt more comfortable on Monday and she started telling us she was scared of lessons. (nevermind the fact that she had been swimming just the week before and in the pool for nearly two hours swimming like a fish) When Monday morning rolled around she couldn’t stop taking about how much she didn’t want to go to lessons, how her tummy hurt, the teacher might not be nice…etc, etc. Amazingly enough, when we got there she hopped right in the pool and then begged to stay when lessons were over. Each morning since she gets out of bed, puts on her swimsuit and asks when we get to leave for lessons about every 2 minutes. That makes for a VERY long morning considering her lesson aren’t until 1pm!!! Hopefully all of these lessons will make her a great little swimmer this year! Even if she can’t swim she sure looks adorable in the gear!

a little after workout nourishment…

my little bathing beauty…

(on a side note, I bought her three swimsuits to get her through the summer because they are usually thrashed pretty quickly…(yay for $4.97 suits at the gap!) but each morning she comes down in the pink one assuring me that she will wear the other ones “tomorrow.” )

have a great day!
-t

Orange County Children’s Photographer: The Grassy Knoll

Tammy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:50:49 +0000

I LOVE this time of year here in So Cal. Especially this year. We have gotten SO much rain this year that everything is extra green. It won’t be long before it’s dried out seeing as how temps are already in the 70′s and 80′s these days (hallelujah!!). There is this AMAZING hill right behind our house that I keep driving by and thinking “i need to gotake some shots there” then the other day i was driving by and caught a wedding photog with a bride and groom halfway up the hill. It made me feel better that I’m not the only one who drives around town thinking about backdrops!! lol!! so, i had to take advantage of it as many times as I could this week!!

I’ve decided that I’m a whimp of a photog. I have a serious aversion to any kind of insect or reptile. All of these visions of grandeur in my head…hiking ash up the hill…grass up to her knees…well, that kind of went out the window as soon as I realized that the hill was FULL of life. Swarms of insects, rushing in the bushes from squirrels, rabbits and lizards… YIKES!!! I was actually worried that we would run into a few rattle snakes…we’ve seen a few BIG ones in the road near there over the years, so I decided that my little girl was not hiking up that hill! I planted her at the bottom of the hill, tried to get over the goosebumps that over took my body everytime a lizard ran by and took some shots!

If you want some pictures of your little ones on this gorgeous hill, give me a call quickly before it’s too late!!

Have a great day!

-t

orange county children’s photographer: the face of four

Tammy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:25:08 +0000

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

Happy Birthday Ashley! We love you!

have a great day!
-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

Orange County Children’s Photography: The Blue Tutu

Tammy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:24:30 +0000

About 6 months ago or so I got the idea to make tutus. You know, another thing to add to my list. I had picked up these fantastic parasols in Chinatown when John and I went in May, and I had yet to put them to much good use. I thought it would be fun to make a tutu in every color that I bought the parasols in. I went to work making tutus, and then the busy season set in. Christmas card shoots took over my life and the tutus and parasols got shoved in a closet and were forgotten. Once Christmas came I was ready for a break from the camera.

This week the weather reports have been threatening heavy rain heading our way for the week. So, like any normal Californian I have been stocking my pantry shelves, loading up on crafts, games, and movies for the kids, and preparing to be stranded at home for the 3 days it might rain. See, since it only rains here 3 days a YEAR, we don’t leave the house when it does.

Anyhoo….on Friday I got the itch to get out the camera again. I can only stay away so long!! I grabbed the tutus and ran miss ash over to do a shoot before the weather took a turn for the worse. We had so much fun!

Now that the creative photo juices are flowing again I have some fun ideas for valentines!! I can’t wait to share them!

Have a great Monday!
-t

Days of giveaways: MellonMonkeys

Tammy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:21:48 +0000

Is that a cute name or what?? Well, their ties are even cuter. We attend church every Sunday and it is a time for my little guy to get dressed up. I think it’s good for kids, especially boys, to get used to dressing up at a young age…otherwise they’ll never want to do it. SO, every Sunday it’s a tie for Andy. That presents a problem sometimes. Ties for little boys always seem to have teddy bears, or sailboats, or just some other juvenile print on them that just doesn’t get me excited. When I saw these I fell in love….

(john hates that I gave him a faux hawk for these pics by the way…he keeps asking why he has a fin on his head. I LOVE it!)

Aren’t those the cutest??? You can have them custom made in a milion different fabrics and colors. FINALLY something fun and different for boys!

But wait! It gets even better!! If you have a little girl you can get MATCHING dresses to go with the ties!! How cute is that???

The lucky winner of this giveaway will receive TWO yes, you read that right, 2 ties in any size and style of you choosing. Just in time for the holidays your little guy can look too cute. You know the drill…head on over to mellonmonkeys and pick your two favorites. Let me know here in the comments which ones are your favorites. Winner will be announced MONDAY. If you FB, blog, or Tweet about the giveaway let me know for some extra entries.

Winner must contact me at tammylmitchell@cox.net within 48 hours of announcement otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
have a great day!
-t

Orange County Photographer: The GAP Shoot

Tammy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:59:41 +0000

PERSONALITY. That’s what comes to mind when I think of this family. We are lucky enough to share the end of a cul-de-sac with this fun, spunky, full of life family. Mark and Pam are a party in their own right…then add in three little ones (who were all under three until just a month ago!) and you have some serious fun. When mom informed me that she wanted a “winter and mountains” looking shoot I thought, fun! Then when I saw the kids outfits it took on a whole new meaning. SO cute!! They look like they walked right off the pages of a GAP ad. LOVE it!

Mom started the phone calls about an hour after the shoot, begging to see just a few. She informed me that this was the FIRST time she had ever had to wait to see pictures…and this momma gets a LOT of pictures taken. I have to admit, it was a little fun to torture her. Hopefully it was worth the wait Pam!!

Taken before the “real” shooting began right as we arrived…and one of my absolute favorites!

The Christmas card photo…

And then the real fun for me. Chasing the kids around!! This is seriously my favorite part of my job. I LOVE capturing kids while they are just being themselves.

this little one gets a little extra blog love…just because I want to sqeeze her every time I see her!!!

Can you tell where these cute kiddos are getting their personlity and zest for life? From this beautiful couple. Mark joked that he had to take pictures like this for their wedding…why now too?? I love to capture a few images of the originals. The ones that started it all and keep it all together everyday.

SUCH a cute fam. Hopefully you are feeling better now Pam.

Have a great day!

-t

ps…don’t forget the giveaway ends tonight!!! get your entries for those cute t-shirts in today!!!

Orange County Family Photographer: The Hanson Clan

Tammy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:04:04 +0000

I was so excited to catch up with this cute family last week. I met Renee and couple of years ago when our sons played for the same t-ball team. After talking to her for just a short time at a practice I felt like I had known her forever. She is SO fun and easy going, engaging and just one of those “lights up a room” kind of people. Not to mention totally gorgeous…

I received a phone call from Renee just this morning worrying that she hadn’t seen anything posted. She was afraid that there wasn’t anything blog worthy…don’t worry Renee…I think we found a few. Not to mention the MANY more that will be in your gallery…but I have to save SOME surprises!

It’s no wonder that with a couple like this you get some cute kiddos! We were joking with Nick talking to him about girlfriends trying to get him to smile…there’s no doubt that even though he says he doesn’t have any now…there will be plenty in his future!

Ellie is the middle child. Although she wasn’t a fan of this outfit she sure looks cute in it!

This little cute ball of spunk rounds out the family. I can’t believe I knew her when she was just tiny…they change SO fast!!

A beautiful family…

LOVE this shot…

Some handsome boys

thank you SO much Hanson family for spending the afternoon with me. It is ALWAYS a pleasure!! Can’t wait to see lots more of you during baseball season!!

have a great day!
-t