But who cares?

Neil and Jess braved 12 degree temps and a snow storm for their session.  I wore jeans (WHAT was I thinking) and got completely soaked.

Dana and Mike were fearless on their wedding day and we did ALL their photographs outside!  I was so into it I forgot to put on my coat!  Yeah.  The whole day outside in a shirt.  Go Tam.  ::laughing shaking head.::

Since one of my focus points this year is to not stress over (or stress LESS)  things that I have absolutely no control over (wish me luck ::grin::). I am offering this list of 5 reasons you may not have considered about weather and why it’s very unpredictable nature (if you’ll pardon the pun) makes your day uniquely yours…it’s something you should prepare for – but not stress over.

5.  You have no control over it. 

Do you see that one coming?  ANYTHING can happen with weather.  The more calm you are about it – the easier it will be to adjust quickly to any change that comes up.  Here’s the trick – let it go.  Laugh about it.   Don’t let it be the thing that makes you upset – let it be the thing that makes it fun.

4.  No squinty, vampire eyes if it’s bright sun.

Now.  I know Twilight  and how trendy all things vampire are right now – but in wedding photography, at least, the dark shadows that happen around your eyeballs when the sun is bowling ball bright are not the best in images.  In order to combat that – photographers will become shade hounds or have to point a flash directly AT YOU to light your face up in a way that makes you look evenly lit.  Trust me – bright sunny days are pretty for sure – but they offer their own challenges – especially if you are getting married in summer and you add hot into the mix.  One weekend this year I saw men sweat THROUGH their jackets.  Man it was hot.  

Um.  I don’t have any examples of squinty vampire eyes.  But you know what I mean right?

3.  Cloudy = AMAZING images.

Soft cloudy, grey clouds, dark clouds – all are STUNNING in images AND you totally avoid “the squint” or the need for sunglasses.  Your eyes won’t water.  And you get the loveliest romantic images.  The colors pop against a grey sky.  Grass, buildings, colors – everything is more vibrant and lively.  Mmmmmmm grey days are my favorite.

2.  Rain = Playful

What other opportunity do we have for rubber boots, or umbrellas or reflections on EVERYTHING?  Rainy days are creative.  There are SO many ways to make images in the rain – and if you’ll remember the way bad weather makes everyone more relaxed – rainy day images are INCREDIBLE.  And sexy.  And bad ass.  Take THAT rainy day.

1.  Bad weather makes a better party.

The above image is from a wedding in Binghamton NY two week AFTER the entire city was flooded.  Like twelve feet of water flooded.  Mud.  Rain.  Clouds.  And the funnest party EVER.  Now.  This is ONLY a Tammy Swales observation/opinion so take it for what it is –– But I believe that everyone is anxious about the weather being perfect on their wedding day  – so when it changes and rains or is windy and IMPERFECT –  something is released – anxiety maybe?  Everyone relaxes — it’s like — “Hey.  It happened.  But now we can stop thinking about it and have FUN!”

…

Okay.  So that’s five.  But I can hear you thinking – okay Tam.  We get it – but what if the weather is REALLY severe?  Lightening or Tornado or Hurricane?   Here’s the answer:  You adjust.  You adapt.  Everyone becomes a team and team thinking is the most amazing thing ever.

I went to Hilton Head SC this year for what I was expecting to be an INCREDIBLE beach wedding.  (You already see what’s coming, right?)   Yup.  Tropical Storm.  Winds at 40 mph.  Crazy Ocean that was muddy colored from the sand being churned up.

Yeah.  Not what we were hoping for.

So team thinking came into play.  Ceremony moved to the pavilion.  Tables were adjusted.  Wedding party photos happened in a PARKING GARAGE.  Don’t judge.  ::grin::  The light was amazing and most importantly:  NO WIND.

The day after session was equally as crazy.  But then we could play in the water and wind and waves and pool and really make the weather a part of the images.  And truly – it was the most amazing day ever.  We laughed and ran and played and no one cared about the weather.

Neither should you.  It’s your day – and the weather is only a tiny part of your story.  But if it’s a BIG part of your story – then imagine the amazing stories you’ll have to tell forever after.  About how you adapted.  About how you laughed.  And about how it was the best damn party you’d ever been too.

And if you REALLY want to get your mind blown – check out this blog entry by the amazing  Bobbi and Mike out of Indianapolis.  They had an ACTUAL TORNADO go over the wedding they were photographing and I cried my eyes out reading about it.  But the story is amazing and incredible.  And, the day and images were amazing.

So stop worrying!  Play!   Dream!  Laugh!  But don’t let weather worries trap you into thinking that it will ruin your day.  It probably will do the exact opposite and make it personally YOURS and be AMAZING.

No stress!

Stay tuned for the COOLEST 2011 Recap EVER.

My favorite thing is hearing their story.  What makes them amazing.  What they are passionate about.  All the fun stuff! 

So, part of a conversation yesterday resonated with me — enough so that I felt compelled to blog about it — because, as always — to ME — SEEING what I’m trying to talk about is as important as the words…

Todays Composition Title:

First Looks.

First Looks are misunderstood.

First Looks break tradition.

First Looks are scary (and exciting, and intimate…and…wait.  I’ll get there.  ::grin::).

A lot of brides come to me and when the subject comes up — they say — “oh no.  I want my fiance’s first view of me to be when I am coming down the aisle”.

Yup.  I TOTALLY get that.  And respect that.  and LOVE it if that’s what you want and choose to do…

But…if you are at all open to this — I want you to think about the advantages of a first look:

It’s yours.

You are not sharing it.  It is your day with your man (or woman).  It’s a moment that you DON’T share, except with each other.  You don’t have to think about your dad, or your mom, or all those people who love you who try to catch your eye as you walk down the aisle.

Nope.  It’s just you two.  Alone.

And it is breath-taking.  And quiet.  And soft.  And romantic.

THEN!

You have TIME.  For photographs…for time to breathe and laugh and play a little bit.

And here’s the biggest secret that no one really understands until you go through it –

When you come down the aisle and the music plays and everyone is crying…

You Forget the First Look Ever Happened.

You are IN THE MOMENT.

It’s Magical.

Then the OTHER magical part?  ALL YOUR PICTURES ARE ALREADY DONE.  You don’t have to make family and friends wait for you to go off somewhere — you’ve ALREADY DONE IT.

It’s efficient.  Which, really, is not a romantic word…but I can tell you that it makes your day smoother, less stressful, and fun.  And it gives your photographer time to do what you are PAYING THEM TO DO — which is take beautiful photographs of important people who love you and who you love.

I am a big supporter of First Looks.

But it’s, ultimately up to you.  I just wanted to give you something else to think about (and look at.)

…

So … Elyse and Josh had their First Look at…wait for it…the EXACT place they had their first kiss.

Perfection!

And then?  We had time to play and take cool pics.

Maybe just…think about it?

xoxo T

Suzanne — you are AMAZING and I had so much fun yesterday!  xo T

I want to run around in circles and yell:  “The sun is here.  The SUN is FINALLY HERE!!”

(disclaimer:  no couples were harmed in the taking of these images.)

These little clips are not new — there are some AMAZING artists who are creating some absolutely INSANE stop motion clips.

Check this out.

And this.

Cool, eh?

How could I NOT want to make one?

All I needed was some victims…erm…willing and wonderful clients who wanted to try something completely different.

Enter:  Melanie and Mark.

Lesson:  Stop Motion takes A LOT LONGER than you will ever expect it too.  Plus, since we hadn’t tried this before — we faced a lot of “unexpected” challenges…nothing a good roll of duct tape couldn’t fix — but still — we were problem solving ON THE SPOT all day long.  ::laughing and shaking head::

Here’s our final product.  To put it into context — Melanie and Mark watched fireworks on their first date…and our challenge was to incorporate that experience with the theme of their wedding “Van Gogh’s Starry Night”.  Yeah, right?  FUN!!

Hope you LOVE this.  It was AMAZING to put together and thank goodness I have an amazing team working with me!!

I did my best to embed the link here — but being less proficient that I thought and VERY IMPATIENT — you have to click the picture.  But then it will be awesome.  I promise.

Stop Motion Save the Date

Ashley and Gil got married at the end of July at the Genesee Valley Club — an amazing and beautiful venue.  It was a perfect day and I was ready to go with my cracker jack team of support in the form of uber talented Jessica Weiser who came in from Maine a couple of times this summer to help me — and Erich Camping who tagged along to do some video and playful shots.

When all that mixes together – how can you have anything BUT the most amazing wedding?  Ashley worked super hard to pull ALL of the details together, Stacy K Floral put together GORGEOUS yellow center pieces and bouquets.

Because the venue was the location for both the ceremony and the reception, Ashley and Gil opted to have a first look — to see each other ahead of time and do most of the portraits before the wedding.  It was an amazing choice.  When a couple builds in enough time to REALLY get photographs — that’s when we can all play.  And oh my goodness, play we did.  Ashley was a champ — despite a deep fear of bees (farm on a hot day in July = bees) she and Gil ROCKED out the photographs — and that was before the real action of the day began.

A note about the wellies.  Ashley early on mentioned that she grew up on a horse farm — can you imagine me NOT getting excited?  So I SUGGESTED that having pics in a barn with wellies would be an absolute DREAM — and Ashley LISTENED!  She got these for a bridal shower gift — and I about cried when I saw them.  Truly — trusting your photographer and being willing to try things because of that trust = amazing.

Grey Likes Weddings Blog agreed when they published this wedding as an amazing use of grey and yellow — see more about it here.  We couldn’t agree more!!

We were off to the most gorgeous wedding at the aforementioned Genesee Valley Club.  Now I am a complete nerd when it comes to emotion.  If you see me photographing a wedding – -don’t LOOK.  Most likely I will be crying my eyes out.  This one – I really needed some kleenex.  ::grin::  Happiness + Loving Family and Friends + Wedding = Complete Bliss.  An excellent ceremony delivered by Pastor Jack (as usual!)!

The reception was beautiful and I had so much fun with everyone.  Truly an amazing blending of two totally cool families.

And the waiting part?  We knew that this wedding was going to be published — so we couldn’t share on the internets until it showed up — which it did on Friday!  We couldn’t be happier.  Ashley did an amazing job pulling everything together and we all had a TOTAL blast working with everyone!  A special shout out to Jessica and Erich for helping me document this PERFECT day!

Finally — I HAVE to share this.  (Sorry Ash).  Best Cake Moment. EVER.  Watch it and tell me you can’t just hear Ashley tell Gil — “please don’t put cake on my face”…and then the consequences which are hilarious. I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still!

Take an extra 10 seconds.  It’s totally worth it.    Link:  The Cake Boss.

Thanks to everyone who made this an amazing experience:  and remember I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Shannon and Kieran’s beautiful wedding was featured on Hot Pink Brides wedding blog yesterday!!!!

Shannon planned the entire day on her own…and did an incredible job!!! From their ceremony to their wonderful reception at Oak Hill Country Club Shannon and Kieran’s wedding was gorgeous, stylish and so much fun! She even climbed these steps in Manhattan Square Park in bright red high heels!!!!

Shannon and Kieran, we are so excited for you!!!! And we’d like to send a special thank you again to Hot Pink Brides!!

Annie and Richard’s wedding has been featured in Junebug Wedding‘s style blog What Junebug Loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are BEYOND thrilled and want to send a special thanks to Annie and Richard and Junebug Weddings!!!

Annie works for Nickelodeon and Richard teaches tae kwan do, and they combined their lively, creative personalities to fill their day with playful and unique details. The result was a wedding day that was so much fun and super funky – just like them! The Audubon Center in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park was the perfect setting too!

Read all about Annie and Richard’s day from their perspective here! Thank you guys so much! And thank you to the Junebug team!