Soooo I might be a little cavalier about parking rules. And…maybe….I don’t pay as close attention to where I should park during a photo session because I get so excited about the light…that all I’m thinking about is getting to it! So when I finished at a location with Colleen and Mark — there was a little present under my windshield wipers. Yuck. Sorry parking lot people. I didn’t notice it wasn’t an “everyone can park here” lot…I promise I won’t do it again. ::sigh:: I couldn’t resist snapping this image though! Funny, right?!
But that’s not the important part of the story. The most important part was the ENTHUSIASM Colleen and Mark displayed for Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe (on Alexandar St). They insisted it was amazing and could not believe I hadn’t been there. Colleen even went so far to post today’s special cupcake on my facebook!
So I had to go.
I brought my mother.
And guess who was sitting on the porch eating cupcakes?! Yup. Sugar Mountain’s BIGGEST FANS IN THE WORLD! ::laughing:: Here’s what they look like without cupcakes:
So. Then I had to try them myself. One of the owners approached us with a sample of their vanilla cupcake…
Oh. Em. Geee.
So…SIX cupcakes were purchased. And they are so beautiful I had to drive straight home and document them for all time…
Say hello to today’s dessert: Rootbeer Float. Very Vanilla. Caramel Apple. Lemon Raspberry. Pink Lemonade.
They are sweet. yummy and Colleen and Mark were absolutely right. They are DELISH.
Here is my unbiased foody review: They. Are. Yummy.
(My mother likes them too. Her opinion is worth more than mine. She cooks. I don’t.)
Also — I didn’t tell anyone I was writing this. I wasn’t paid to promote Sugar Mountain. I just liked them.
Now I have to go walk around the block 158 times. Cuz. That’s. a lot. of. sugar.
Ummmmm…..yeah, I noticed there were only FIVE. I figured it didn’t survive…..kinda hard for those yummy cupcakes to survive ever. And I’m not telling you how I know that lol.
Who could blame a dog or anyone for eating the sixth? Besides, I don’t think it would fit on the chair. When I go to Rochester this weekend I might have to pick some up for my family. Of course there’s no guarantee that they can survive the trip home.
So. I haven’t talked about the Lu in a while. And I just happened to get a rare image of her today — that compels me to share.
Here it is:
My dog HATES the black clicky thing. Anytime I try to photograph her in any significant way she LITERALLY will not look in the camera. And then she barks at me. Loudly. Obnoxiously. Until I put that annoying camera away.
Today was a sneak attack. She was distracted by Jess paying attention to her.
[...] PostsWhat do you get when you add… | Rochester NY Family PhotographerThis blog post brought to you by the dog with camera issues. | Rochester NY PhotographerTammy Swales presents Guest Blogger (and former bride) Shannon Chaudhry | Rochester NY Wedding [...]
Do you have an electric fence? I was at a shoot this week and my camera beeped and the dog freaked out. It was because when the dog gets close to the fence it beeps. I guess he thought I was going to zap him!
As the gang here at Tammy Swales Photography go about our day, our conversations and our (very VERY rare) silences are often punctuated by a cry from any one of us of OMG I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!! Which then of course requires everyone to stop and see what kind of awesomeness we have found today. So…rather than keep all these fantastic discoveries to ourselves we thought we’d share some of them with you!!! See how much we love you? That’s right.
So, for starters, I love this. Actually, I love everything in her entire store! So purdy.
I am currently OBSESSED with the Creators Project. If you have not checked this out yet, then DO IT! Do it now!!! But be forewarned…once you’re hooked there is no going back.
Any greeting card company that organizes its cards by the subjects of Food, Drink, Educational Sort Of, Work, Cheer and Pessimism gets my vote. Fomato has some amazing cards. Some super cute illustrations. And some seriously exciting salutations.
I am constantly calling Jess “Martha Stewart,” especially those mornings like today when she shows up with still-hot, crusty homemade bread. Seriously!!! And Martha/Jess is head over heals for these aprons right now. She just bought this one, and apparently is threatening to either not take it off, or go back for more. (And no. She hasn’t worn it to work yet. Thank God.)
Jess also tells me you can’t go wrong with anything that combines words and coffee, literally!!!
I realized…when I thought about doing a “year in review” post (that would be 2009 peeps. I might be a wee bit behind. lol) that when brides meet with me I show them wedding images…and when families meet with me I show them family images…and when seniors meet with me…I show them senior images…
very rarely do I mix and cross over these groups with each other. So…since I thought it might be interesting to push everyone into one slideshow (read: laaazzzyy ::laughing::) — so that there’s a record of 2009 visually all together in one place. It’s pretty cool.
Some images you’ve seen…some you haven’t. And no, this isn’t EVERYONE who I worked with this year — that slideshow would be about 4000 hours long (not really — but I wanted to fit it into one song – -so this is my best shot)…so I pulled images that appealed to me TODAY. If I worked on a slideshow tomorrow — it would be completely different. So…gather what you want about my mood today — here is 2009 in 4 minutes. Put your seatbelt on please.
There are a couple of things to think about embedded in this series of images…can you guess what they are?
First — trust is important. You should like and TRUST your photographer with your wedding day. I was thinking about this while I was editing Shailer’s dress images. See…I stole this dress. Maybe not “stole”… that is a harsh word…but “borrowed” may be more like it. And I took it outside. (I told them I was taking it outside in my own defense. ::laughing::) Now. Outside has A LOT of different interpretations…it could mean…oh…just out on the porch…or it could mean…”I’m going to hang it from that tree”…or…it could mean “do you think they are looking?” and a mad dash across the street carefully carrying the dress to the absolutely GORGEOUS field down the road.
Trust. There should be no doubt about what your photographer wants to do — because you are paying them to BE your eyes…you hire them for their viewpoint. And creativity. And technical skills. And experience. But this is not about those things (lalala). This is about pushing your comfort level to be able to believe that your photographer gets you….gets what you are about…what you like…how you feel….and is still able to delight you and surprise you.
Sometimes being a photographer is HARD! ::laughing::
So back to the mad dash across the street. Yes. I am careful. SUPER careful. But here’s how I think: if you don’t take a few risks…push a few boundaries…you miss opportunities to have images that NO ONE ELSE has. I always think…your wedding is unique. It is about YOU. Why do you want the same images everyone else has? Shouldn’t it be as unique as you are? Do I sound like a commercial? ::laughing:: I don’t mean to. I really think about these things. I sit in front of the computer for a gazillion hours…and it gives one LOTS of time to think.
So. Just so you know…I confessed to Shailer immediately after her dress had it’s own private adventure. She laughed in the amazing way she has and just told me she trusted me. And that my loyal blog reader (hi mom again) THAT is what it is all about.
HAHA! I love that you did this. I feel the same way and usually jokingly tell my brides, “I’m gonna steal your dress now!”.
Love the detail shot of the bodice and the not so subliminal message posted.
OMG, LMBO! What a great post. So true. Granted, my photographers didn’t run off with my dress, but to your point, trust your photographer! Love the photos!
Engagement. Wait. no. no engagement shoot this week. ::laughing:: I must be delirious!
These are seriously fun to put together. You should see me in front of the computer peering at all of my images from the week. It occurred to me that it might be good for you to understand my workflow (right? cuz you’ve been laying awake at night thinking…I wonder…what Tammy’s workflow is…yeah. I know.)
When I photograph a person…or a wedding…or a dog…I have to immediately go home and look at the images. Sometimes I get so excited about images that I want to leave the shoot and go home and immediately start working on them! Just kidding (sort of). ::laughing:: I always give my clients a sneak peek. Digital has made us all immediate gratification junkies. I see everyone (me too) peering at the images on the back of your cameras — I so get that. So I edit up one or two images and post them. Usually on my facebook first…or email (if it’s boudoir, obviously) if the client prefers that instead…or doesn’t…have…a…facebook…account. Did I just say that outloud?That doesn’t really happen, right?
So. Sneak peek done — my lovely and efficient assistant Jess contacts the client and puts them on the calendar for their proofing appointment. Yep. I do it all in person. Because I like to SEE you react to your images. It means a lot to me — so I make this a priority. So my point being — that I work on images twice — first time is the sneak peek — second time is in preparation for the client seeing the images — so sometimes you’ll recognize a person (or dog or wedding) you saw two weeks ago. Sometimes I pull out old images and work on them just for the fun of it. Those might show up too. I just can’t promise that all my stuff is chronological. It’s more “tammylogical” which makes way less sense but is much more fun. (at least…in MY opinion. ::grin::)
But first…lest you think ALL my work is perfect (because it’s so easy to show only the GOOD stuff) here’s a moment that I LOVE actually, from my session with one year old twins — (happy birthday AJ and Sophie!)…this makes me laugh every time I see it:
haha — funny right? I love everyone’s mouths in this image. I should add speech bubbles!
HOW long has it been since I’ve blogged? Yeah. That long.
So…I reached an interesting point where I got so busy that I um…ahem…got a little behind. And I looked long and hard at where I wanted to be compared to where I was and decided I needed to make some radical changes in the tammyswales.com world.
I needed help. Serious help. (Now…those of you who are my FRIENDS can stop laughing and saying “we’ve been telling you that for YEARS Tam” — not THAT kind of help. ::laughing::)
So. I created a “help wanted” ad. And I heard from some AMAZING people who would have been awesome additions to the Tammy Swales brand. (I love being a brand…it sounds so…cool.) But once I received Jessica’s letter and resume — really — there was no other choice. She was made for me. She….completes me. ::grin::
So — Jess is my new addition to Tammy Swales Photography and if you are contacting me about photographing you or your wedding or your child or your dog or your fiance or your mother — you will likely be contacted by a very cheery, sunshiney person who has all the answers, is very organized and basically keeps me on task when I show signs of being distracted.
An upside and maybe..possibly a downside of working for a photographer is that it is almost an OBLIGATION to be photographed. Repeatedly. In different scenarios and settings. I mean…I think I have to add it into the job description. “Must be guinea pig for any and all photographic ideas for Tammy Swales”.
Today — Jess got her first taste of that. I wanted some Kick Butt pics of her to announce how cool I think it is that she’s working with me. And somehow…her boyfriend wandered into some of the images…which possibly means I have to expand the job description to include all relatives of said employee as well. ::grin:: Of course I am just kidding.
We have a lot to do and a lot to share, Jess and I — so stay tuned — I have been SUPER BUSY and the images — OMG the images are AMAZING.
Without further ado — meet Jess. She can be reached directly at Jess@tammyswales.com — and I’m sure you will adore working with her as much as I do.
And here’s the part where John jumps in…how can I resist these two? Cuteness personified? Seriously?
(Hey. How’d that jumping shot get in here?!)
Then I asked Jess to demonstrate how working for me “looked”. I think she’s going to fit right in around here.
She looks like a great addition…and an added bonus for HER is that she get’s phenomenal photographs of her and her boyfriend. Seriously [srsly], those are amazing!! We should get together soon!!!
Wait a dog gone minute here … I recognize this girl from somewhere … Oh I remember now it was the eyes … Tammy we have not met, but these are way so excellent pictures! I am glad for you and Jessica … KMS
I am THRILLED that you found Jess, Tammy. I’m glad that when you asked, the universe answered in kind. Probably because you have the universe’s direct email address.
8.31.2010
Also…how many of you noticed there were only FIVE cupcakes in the photo? One…had an accident. Yeah. Thats it. The dog ate it. Or…something. ::grin::
8.31.2010
Those are some SERIOUSLY gorgeous mounds of sugar (and beautiful pictures, too)!
9.01.2010
Ummmmm…..yeah, I noticed there were only FIVE. I figured it didn’t survive…..kinda hard for those yummy cupcakes to survive ever. And I’m not telling you how I know that
lol.
9.01.2010
Who could blame a dog or anyone for eating the sixth? Besides, I don’t think it would fit on the chair. When I go to Rochester this weekend I might have to pick some up for my family. Of course there’s no guarantee that they can survive the trip home.
9.02.2010
i hate you a little right now; i’m in major diet-land…and these…they are tempting. deeply, deeply tempting.