Blog - Tammie Gilchrist Photography

Thursday

Jul292010

Wedding Photographer, Ukiah California {Ben & Caitlin}

This blog post is way overdue...I'm so sorry Ben and Caitlin if you're reading my blog and thought I had forgotten about you, because I haven't! This is what I get for having both my bride and groom as friends on my facebook -- I go and neglect blogging about it too!!

A little history between me and this wonderful couple:

I met Ben in Anatomy at Mendocino College about a year ago. Nice guy, very friendly and madly in love with his sweety. Although we didn't have a lot of time for chit chat between memorizing 246,854 bones, he always had time to swoon about his Caitlin, and it was very obvious one day they would be married.

Fast forward six months, a career change for me and a gift to the newly engaged couple -- it was July 3rd 2010, Ben and Caitlin's wedding day.

I was nervously excited to photograph their wedding, and since I have just begun my adventure into the photography world, being nervous was totally acceptable. I have been pretty fortunate I must say, because while I am quite the 'newbie', I have been able to shoot with great fellow photographers, done a lot of portrait work as well as a few other projects here and there -- so the nervous butterflies quickly disappeared once I got on the road and headed towards Ukiah.

Arriving on time to Toppers (yeah, I know...ON TIME!!) I showed up just as Caitlin was sitting down in the chair to get her hair done. The room with filled with many generations of women in her family; Grandma, mom Nancy, an Aunt and her two sisters Allison and Laura. A little intimating at first, I quickly introduced myself, hugged everyone and sat back with the camera and photographed the next hour with the ladies.

A few hours passed, and we met back up at Caitlin's parents home where the girls were getting ready, and where their cute backyard wedding would be held. I grabbed the dress, veil, shoes and rings first for those detail shots -- and then made my way into the bathroom while the girls all got their makeup on. The love between the girls was a little overwhelming for me at times, maybe it was the heat (it was so dang hot over there for this coastal chick) or maybe it was because of my own two daughters. I pictured Emma getting ready on her wedding day, having the help of her big sister -- tears ball up in my eyes just thinking about this...

I was not able to get over to Ben's while he was getting ready, but I did step outside just as they pulled up in front of the house. I capture the pure joy on Ben's face, or maybe it was nervousness. But it was emotion, raw, pure emotion and it was beautiful. At that point, if I had any hesitation about my abilities to capture their day it had all passed. Ben's smile put me at ease :)

The light of the day was gorgeous, the friends and family members present were just gorgeous as the light and the bridal party was stunning. Caitlin's family put their hearts and souls into the details of the wedding day, all the way down to the ring bearer's pillow which grandma stiched together and the flowers Caitlin's dad put together for everyone.

Enjoy the details of this wedding along with a few private moments I captured of Ben & Caitlin.

1 Comment | |

Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 11:43PM

Thursday

Jul292010

Family Photography - Northern California Photographer

This may be my last blog post from my home computer (unless of course I get inspired before Sunday afternoon ;) and wanted to make sure I snuck in a few images that didn't make facebook for some very sweet clients.

A few months ago my friend Mia of Mendocino Minerals and I donated our time and talent to a local service group for a silent auction. Weeks passed and I soon forgot about the donation until one afternoon while I was in the drive-through while out of town.

The phone rang, I answered it and low and behold it was this very sweet-voiced person by the name of Nancy. Nancy was the winner of the silent auction, and was ready to cash in her winning bid with a Family Session. Nice!

Nancy, along with her husband Travis and their very cute, very adorable little boys would be sharing their shoot with Grandma Pam, Grandpa Leonard, Travis' sister Jennifer, Jennifer's husband Michael and their very cute, super happy baby boy Noah. Woah, that's a lot of family! And I was so excited to capture some great images of them!

I have to be honest, I loved them before I even started shooting - this family showed up wearing the ultimate in family fashion - I mean, seriously.

Coordinating. Casual. Relaxed. Tailored and Classic.

Take a look at the sneak peaks...they have no idea, but their images will be my 'what to wear to your Family Session' information cards. Just a few days ago I had an inquiry for a Christmas session -- when my future client asked what they should wear, without any hesitation I told her to check out my last Family Session. You guys rocked it - and it shows!!

I can't wait to be able to donate another Family Session to other service clubs locally -- it's the least I can do and wish I could do more. Are you a business owner? If so, what do you do to give back? I'd love to know!

On with the images...here you go! Enjoy!

2 Comments | |

Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:44PM

Monday

Jul262010

Wedding Photographer, Fort Bragg California {Roshan & Trevor}

There's just something about weddings that do it for me -- I always get sucked in by the details. I think if my bride's truly, honestly knew how I felt inside when I see a flower arrangement by the gift table, beautiful brocade embroidery down the front of their dress or gorgeous red heels...well, I just swoon inside --

I've been told I see things differently than most people do - and I do believe this is a good thing.

This makes for the kind of photographer that I am - I not only see the big picture, but I also see the tiny pieces of that picture, the details, the minutia -- the things, I'm sure, my brides have spent hours, and hours planning out, hoping and wishing everyone else saw too.

I have to be honest though - I'm not really sure their guests see all these details.

What I do know is this - I do know that I see them. Because that is what I do.

And I take pictures of it. Because that is what I love to do.

And apparently I have a knack at putting all these pieces together, like a big puzzle.

My husband always thought I'd become a designer of some kind, probably in interiors. I, on the other hand always thought I'd become a doctor -- probably a surgeon.

I've taken the passion of design, the eye for detail, the skill of a surgeon and put them all together to create beautiful images that lasts a lifetime...

Isn't this what every bride deserves?

I think they do ♥

1 Comment | |

Monday, July 26, 2010 at 11:54PM

Thursday

Jul222010

Northern California Photographer - Personal

This has been an unusual summer...but now that I think about it, the past 2 or 3 summer's have been unusual as a matter of fact. It seems that each summer I set out to have a great summer with my kids because in the Fall I have big plans that will keep me super duper busy all the way through the follow summer (wow, that was a long, run-on sentence!)

If you had asked me about 9 or 10 months ago what I was going to do in the summer, I would have said I'd be livin' it up because the next (and my last) semester of school would be starting in September and I'd be so busy with studying I wouldn't have time to play much with my kids.

Fast forward almost a year now, and I am no longer taking college classes, and instead building on what I hope to be a successful photography business. Summer has not been 100% playtime with my kids. And in fact, I have to be honest, I really haven't done much with them at all.

I feel guilty because I have had a really hard time managing it all - the housework, book keeping, mothering, my wifely duties (which are?? but I felt like I needed to add that in ;) and then keeping on top of my photography business. Which you know (if you're a business owner, not just a professional photographer) running a business is NOT all that easy. It is in fact, the HARDEST thing I have ever done, and trust me I had two near-seizure, literally lost my vision-episodes while studying for my physiology class a few semesters ago -- a believe me, running a business is harder than that class was. I'm. Not. Kidding.

But I have no intentions of quitting. I just have to get a little (okay, a lot) more organized, prioritize and focused. Time management will be my friend. I will no longer be an OCD organizational freak with ADHD!

In fact, I had a great day organizing finances. All my ducks are in a row with bills, money coming in, money going out...thank you lord, this was not easy, but I got it done.

One day I will pay someone to do this for me. One day.

Now onto another exciting job tomorrow. Cull through images? Cleaning up my hard drive? Cut out coupons and write out the dinners for next week? Laundry??? There are just so many options :)

So you ask, what does a girl do when she's had a full day of bill organizing and bill paying (and I did some laundry and reheated spaghetti for dinner :)?

She looks through her files, picks out a few shots from a shoot she did with her beautiful daughter and posts them to her blog.

♥Tammie

P.S. This was of course, once my kids went to bed. I did make sure we got plenty of snuggle time before they passed out :) Gotta love summer time bed time schedules!

1 Comment | |

Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 10:19PM

Tuesday

Jul202010

Professional Photography - Northern California Photographer

If you have a business and need a 'facelift' of your images, this is something I would love to help you with. I really do LOVE seeing how much a new profile image does for a website -- welcoming your past, present and future clients into your world. And what better way to do that than with a fabulous image (or three) of yourself and your employees?

If you have a local business, you LOVE what you see then shoot me a message and we can go from there.

Out of town? Not a local? Although I am located in Northern California, I don't mind traveling and in fact, I love it!!

Here are a few images of Professionals I have taken in the past few months. I really like photographing Families, Babies, Weddings...but a professional headshot is something I love taking!

...It's like High School Senior portraits...only better!!

Beautiful faces featured...left to right, top and then bottom are:

Stephanie Reitzell, owner of Tranquility Massage and Spa, Cloverdale, Ca.

Leslie Camarri, owner of both Hot Fire Design & Melting Touch, Santa Rosa Ca.

Marianella Brey hair & makeup artist located in the salon Mantras, Mendocino Ca.

Dr. Mia Berrettini, owner Mendocino Minerals, Fort Bragg, Ca.

Featured - Northern California Photographer

A few months ago I did some photography for a local vendor, Flower's Etc. What had started out as me asking the owner, Jennifer, if I could shoot some flowers for my portfolio, turned into an hour-long shoot of pictures that would soon be published in a Telaflora's monthly newsletter.

It is quite amazing how people from my little town of Fort Bragg, Ca are doing things and become recognized (all over the world) for doing it so well.

Congrats to Flower's Etc for your beautiful flower design and your work to help build the butterfly species too!!

If you haven't heard of the amazing flower arrangement/live butterfly combination you should check out this link. It is the article that tells all about it, as well as featuring a couple of my photos I took of the flowers as well as my professional headshot of Jennifer.

~Tammie

Featured on Mendocino Minerals Blog!

I'm so happy for my good friend Mia of Mendocino Minerals to have a blog up and running (created by Leslie Camarri of Hot Fire Design). She's super smart, knowledgeable in all things chemistry and a little fashionista to boot...and of course she creates her own makeup line (a perfect combination of both worlds!). I have had a few shoots with her and in fact her first blog post features a stunning image of a model from the 2nd shoot we did together, owner and operator of Tranquility Massage Stephanie Rietzel.

If by chance you haven't had time to make your way to Mia's website you should go now -- Mendocino Minerals. I have the worlds most sensitive skin (and the beginning stages of rosacea). It's been about 5 or 6 months now since using her products and unless I'm super stressed out, I don't break out. My skin feels good and the makeup lasts a long time, covering my red skin nicely. If you're not used to loose minerals there is a bit of a learning curve but play with it, and you'll find your way quickly. I personally spray my face with the mist then lightly brush on the foundation. It drys matte (just the way I like it!) and then I add some veil. I'm not an eye makeup girl so I skip this (unless I'm going out at night) and just do my mascara and I'm done. It's easy. And the best thing (after it being great quality makeup) is that is affordable. Mia has worked really hard to keep her prices reasonable, so there's really no excuse not to try it.

Thanks again Mia for featuring Tammie Gilchrist Photography on your blog -- You guys are the BEST!

~Tammie

1 Comment | |

Friday, July 2, 2010 at 7:57PM

Monday

Jun282010

Second Story Dance Studio, Spring Dance Concert 2010 - Fort Bragg, California

At the end of the school year my daughter's dance company puts on a performance for everyone to see. It's a truly amazing 2 hours filled with ballet, jazz, tap and MUCH MUCH more! And of course the (stage;) mom that I am, I wouldn't miss a second of it. Friday night was dress rehearsal, and of course I waited in line to be one of the first ones in so I could get right up in front. Camera in hand (and one in the purse) I was ready (as was every single person around me! It was crazy...truly paparazzi we were!!

The good news...Emma loved seeing me in the front. She performs better when we're watching her. And boy oh boy did she perform. Little did I know, but two days before during her first rehearsal on the stage I realized something...she had so many key roles it was amazing. She opens the show. She leads out her class. She dances them off. And then she leads out the group for their bow. I guess it helps to be a class favorite, because that, my friends she is. She has been in Miss Serafina's (this is what she calls her, by her own choice and it's so dang cute! especially since Serafina is an older lady and married, Emma is so southern! ;)...she has been in Serafina's class for the past three years. Serafina is not the type of lady who will allow the kids to get away with anything, she's firm and yes, pretty loud but Emma just adores her -- and Serafina adores her right back. Last year Emma opened the show as well, and did a fabulous job (along with her big sister Savannah who unfortunately didn't get to open the show with her this year). And this was Emma's last year with Serafina, so maybe this was another reason Emma was put in charge of so much. But for whatever reason, she did great.

The bad news...Savannah did not love seeing me in the front. She gets so nervous and self conscious she can't focus. She is a beautiful dancer and has more grace than me, you and that girl sitting next to you all put together, but have her dance in front of her mom and she turns into a fumbling fool...So I promised I wouldn't sit there again. And I didn't. The show I watched I was so far back, there was no way she could see me. Well, that and the fact that we sat behind a very nice women and her very (wild, talkative, she must have fed them a coke before the show) beautiful kids as well.

I of course, the (stage) mom that I am, I had my camera ready for some shots of the girls Sunday afternoon. It was the last day of her their performance, and it was beautiful outside. I had a very limited amount of time I could shoot the girls, so I grabbed them and went to town. I love photographing my children. Maybe it's because they're so used to me or maybe it's just because their my kids -- but I love it and quite honestly, could spend hours and hours everyday doing it. But today, I only had about 3 minutes....

And then like any good friend, I went ahead and took a couple very quick (very quick!!) pictures of friend's kids...these girls are all in jazz together. Let me tell you, they ROCKED the house!! (but I think what I like the best is the outfits and all that makeup!) Nicely done girls!!

1 Comment | |

Monday, June 28, 2010 at 2:44PM

Thursday

Jun172010

A full day of shooting and brainstorming with Leslie Camarri, Marianella Brey & Mendocino Minerals.

It's super duper late...but for some odd reason I got my 2nd wind about a half hour ago (I BETTER not stay up till 2 again tonight, I'm just too tired!)...

Today was great. Actually any day I get to shoot is a great day. We started at 10:30 this morning...which is a little bit early for me, but I think if we hadn't started at 10:30 we would have been too far behind and would have never been able to capture our group shot I had planned on before Mia took off for another appointment.

And so I'm not rude, let me introduce a few new friends I made today :)

Our model for the day was Leslie Camarri. She lives not too far from Mendocino and came up for a few days just for this shoot. Leslie not only has a beautiful face (see below :), she's got the brains to go with it...she's a web designer and owns her own business by the name of Hot Fire Design. And then just when you thought, woah...she's a model, a web gal..and there's more? Why yes there is :) She's also a masseuse and owns Melting Touch. (a little side note...I 'liked' Melting Touch on facebook long before I even knew her! Too funny!!)

Anyway...I had a great time shooting Leslie today. She plans to use some of the images I took to refresh her web sites as well as incorporate the different 'looks' she wore on her face for Mendocino Minerals websites and brochures.

My other new friend I made today is makeup artist and hair stylist Marianella Brey. I was so happy to finally get to work with her -- a few months back I 2nd shot a fashion show she worked, and long story short I didn't feel like I could gift her any images because of the fact I was just the 2nd shooter and the main shooter was trying to make some money by selling her images -- and had told Marianella we needed to get together for a shoot. And we finally did!

She is so cute, and boy oh boy does that girl have beautiful skin! And those eyes! Crazy!!! I'll be shooting with her a little more next week (I hope, right Marianella??) with a different model showcasing hair and face. Mariannea is one girl I'd love seeing again at weddings while the brides and the other girls are getting all dolled up...You can find Mariannella here on facebook and at her salon's website Mantras.

It was a fabulous day all around. Our session lasted until 1:30 when we had to break for various other appointments (which I will be sharing my appointment in another blog post soon.

Take care my online friends and family & have a great night!

Love,

Tammie

Me, Marianella Brey, Leslie Camarri & Mia Berrettini of Mendocino Minerals

1 Comment | |

Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 10:11PM

Wednesday

Jun162010

Show It & the freedom tour - San Francisco, Ca

Yesterday started out a beautiful day here in town, a day where I'd probably spend sitting in the house with windows wide open, relaxing and waiting for the kids to get out of school so we could go do something fun.

But it wasn't like any other beautiful day because I was on my way to San Francisco to help out with the Show It crew as they setup for their San Francisco conference during their freedom tour. I'll put a link to the site here if you're interested in their other stops -- definitely worth the $50 just to have some one-on-one time with their tech guys.

I got into SF around 2 and found my way to the hall (not an easy task I might add, and definitely don't always trust those google maps to get you to the right place, or else you may end up hit by a bus - right DJ ;) But I got there, and jumped right in. Straight away I meet Kevin and Stephen. Kevin is the super hero support stud for Show it and Stephen is Stephen Knuth wedding photographer from San Diego, Ca. (I'd post a link to Kevin, but um...I can't seem to find him anywhere. Kevin, are you on facebook? Twitter??)

Kevin was great. At first, when I first meet these guys they're not all like 'hey, I'm Kevin, the super hero support stud from Show It' and 'Hi, I'm Stephen, you know, Stephen Knuth wedding photographer you saw a few weeks ago on the [b]school study hall' ... But they are! And once my mind started working (I did have a 4 hour drive to SF, apparently it was still in drive mode at the time!) I realized I knew 'Kevin' from Show It Live webinars I listen to while I edit. What a guy. So knowledgeable. If I ever have questions about Show It, I know he's the guy to ask. And Stephen. Well, duh. After seeing his full name during his talk, I realized where I had seen him before. Again. Duh. ;) When the speakers had finished I made my way back over to the thirst relief booth to laugh at myself, how I recognized him from the webinar. I never even asked him at first when we were setting up if he was a photographer, or to make matters worse if he was speaking that night. He is super friendly, and was super helpful with his suggestions and tips when I talked to him after the conference as we were taking down the Thirst Relief booth together. You can find more info on him here. He was so real I know if I ever had any other questions I'd definitely go to him and ask - thanks again, I'm so happy we met!

I think that's what I loved the most about this conference...is that I made the most of my time in SF by helping out. I involved myself and was able to take away so much more than just paying $50 bucks, showing up sitting, watching, listening, writing down a few notes saying my thank you's and leaving. I know Kevin was so appreciative for my help, and the rest of the 'sherpas' who helped, but let's be honest...it was great and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone was so kind and I hope I was able to walk out of there that night having made a few new friends that I wouldn't have ever made if it wasn't for me stepping outside of my box and doing something new. Try new and uncomfortable. I highly recommend it. Because if you don't, I honestly don't know how you're going to grow as a photographer. Or a person for that matter. You'll remain stagnant. And Stagnant is just not good.

So anyways....I have had this 'I'm starting to feel like a stalker' feeling when I think about saying hi to Jasmin 'one more time' at another conference she's speaking at (let's see...I've been at this for about 7 months and I've seen her a...3 times :) So this time around, I was NOT going to be that fan AGAIN. I wanted to have a different connection, like real person to real person. And OMG when I saw her and she actually recognized me.... (okay, okay...sounding a little stalker-ish...LOL!!) that totally made my night :)

And here I'm being honest AGAIN...I so wanted to send her a note saying stupid things like 'oh jasmin thank you for being such an inspiration...oh jasmin thank you for coming out even if you didn't feel well'...but again, sounding a little stalker-ish to me so I will not be doing that). But what I can do is this, put it on my blog and say thank you. About 7 months ago when I came to a fork in the road of life where I turned left and continued onto to school to be an RN or took the right path (dark, narrow, kind of scary road) to photography, I was fortunate enough to have found a few really fabulous role models. Jasmin Star is one of them. She has been an inspiration, someone to look up to. She is truly original and unique. I think the reason she resonates within so many newbies is that there is a piece of them inside what she has done, who she is...it's a powerful to feel connected to another person and she has done that, made a connection with so many photographers. So thank you again for sharing yourself with us. I know that was not the last conference I will see you at, and truly look forward to the next time we meet.

Speaking of me being a stalker...Jessica Claire spoke last night too. Now I have to just say right away, this girl talks fast! Whew! I actually knew this from attending the Escalate conference, so I had come prepared. No, I did not record her and boy oh boy, I did NOT try to write anything down...I just sat and LISTENED. She's been at this pro photographer game for a long time and is a been there..done that..learned from it..and moved on kind of girl -- she knows who she is, what she wants and gives excellent advice and direction during her lectures. I wish wish wish I could summarize what she had to talk about. But it's nearly impossible. Not that it was hard to follow, but I took something away maybe not very few people took. At least not my version. Because depending on where you are with your life, in the career we call 'photography' you will hear things differently. Jessica reaffirmed to me that i own the buisness and it doesn't own me! Up until just last week I had been nonstop 24 hours/7 days a week working on or towards SOMETHING. I guess I was worried if I slowed down, took a breath, relaxed for a minute I might miss the boat to success! So I stopped. In fact, I took two days off. OMG I did. Yes I DID! And guess what? Nothing bad happened. Yes, I swear this is true. I didn't miss anything photography related. So yes, I took what Jessica had to say about structure in your life maybe differently than others because that topic just seem to resonant within me so much at this time in my life. Thank you Jessica. You had no idea how much I needed that reaffirmation. Truly a blessing :)

I have, from the beginning, set goals for myself (thank you Mary Marantz for this piece of advice!) in my journal. My last biggie was to be published, and well my friends...you know we've reached that one just last month! (although I'll be working on having weddings published soon enough :) My next goal is to be a lot more involved with something of this magnitude (the actual Show It Freedom tour). I'm not sure how or when it will happen, but it will. I did a little reading in Stephen's blog and just two years ago he attended this same conference and two years later there he is, a speaker representing @actionrunner and @thirstrelief. Wow!

To wrap things up, I'm posting the shots of the night. I'm thinking i'm looking a little caricature-ish :) And holy cow, that flash was bright! But so happy to have these images to share.

Me & Jessica Claire --- Jasmin Star & Me!

Thank you so much for the experience Show It. I wish everyone on the tour nothing but the best. What an amazing day I had spent with lovely people who one day, I'd love to see again.

Love,

Tammie

3 Comments | |

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:43AM