tammy swales

Does this sound like anything you've said before? I never look good in photos. I look HORRIBLE in photos. OMG DELETE THAT IMMEDIATELY! I always look awkward What am I supposed to do? Just take the damn photo and get it over with! Are you nodding your head? (My favorite thing is to sneakily ask to look at the photo series and then delete the photos I hate when the iphone owner thinks I am admiring his or her amazing work.) Here's the secret no one really talks about: EVERYONE FEELS THAT WAY. Even the most famous of famous -- look AWKWARD AND GEEKY when they first start out -- you know...


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First. Hi. Second.  Have you ever gotten to hung up on doing something -- procrastinating, worrying, putting it off for "just one more day" -- so much so that you get incapacitated from actually doing it?  Yeah.  That NEVER happens to me.  ::laughing::  So much time went by between blog posts -- that I completely shut down about it -- I pretended that my blog didn't exist, didn't really matter, no one was really looking at it anyway, right?   Wrong.   Blogging, believe it or not is actually something I LOVE to do.  I don't know why I got stuck.  I just did.   But...


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Yup.  It was cold.   So cold that that my fingers were sticking to my equipment.  (That's cold.) 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.::        


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2011. So I was faced with a dilemma about 2011. How to talk about it.  How to show you my work.  How to make you happy to see it.  (I'm still working on that one!  ::grin:: ) Do I talk about the new studio? Or how we've grown in leaps and bounds? Or my team? Or the cool projects I've gotten to do this year? Or the traveling? Or what I've learned? Or what's new? .... I could.  But then the blog entry would be 156 pages long and you'd be here until Sunday morning reading this.  And I'm frankly, not that interesting.  ;) Then I thought,  well, maybe I can post...


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I’ve had this blog entry percolating in my head for a while…it’s something that comes up at EVERY meeting I have with my couples and I hear the worry when they bring it up – what if it rains, Tam, what if the weather is bad? 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...


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I meet with really cool people. 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...


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So.  I say this every year. Are you doing family pictures? Yes? Okay. Here's my advice -- whoever you choose for your photographer -- BOOK the SESSION NOW.  Seriously.  If you have ideas of fall photos, holiday cards, your family with great colors outside -- yeah.  You know what i'm going to say, right? Limited.  Openings. So...that being said -- this family booked and we had a huge amount of fun running all over their house and yard and just PLAYING (cuz I LOVE to play!) and George (I maintain that "GEORGE" is the best boy's name ever -- just say it to yourself.  Right? ...


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So.  First let me show you:   Then let me TELL you: Jillian and Kevin are getting married in October.  In Hilton Head, SC.  Think that's going to be amazing?!  yeah.  me too.  ::grin:: Kevin recently opened this super cool performance and repair shop called The Little Speed Shop -- and it was the COOLEST location to shoot in...let's see...I had a BMW...a Maserati...a workshop...yeah.  I was TOTALLY feelin' it!  So we played.  And played.  And then the sun set in this amazing burst of color... I felt like I was in a movie.  Right? And it lends itself to the conversation...


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Jill and Andy.  Yeah.  Look at them.  You wouldn't imagine that Andy wasn't really "feelin" the photograph session, would you?  I'm so proud of that!  I tell everyone that the first few minutes of every session will (if you will excuse the expression) suck.  It's awkward.  It's scary.  there's a big black camera in your face.   Talk about intimidating!  But eventually, it all fades away and it becomes fun.  And I live for that. Jill and Andy are getting married next year.  Unfortunately for ME -- I was already booked for their wedding date.   ::sniff::  But a really great photographer...


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I feel it's COMPLETELY UNFAIR that Suzanne looks so amazing pregnant.  I mean...when I had my son...let's just say certain parts of my body reached epic proportions.  ::laughing::  When Suzanne walked into my studio, I swear, she brought the sunlight with her.  And, at 8 months pregnant...I repeat, it's just not FAIR!  ::laughing:: Suzanne -- you are AMAZING and I had so much fun yesterday!  xo T  


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