Family fun with the Scudders

Today, I heard the nicest comment from the father of one of my clients. He said that 'he had the best photo session ever and he had so much fun doing it'. Let's face it, most dads are not fans of pictures. Maybe a couple of point and shoot, yes.. but full on for an hour of professional photography, not so much. It is like pulling teeth. Do the dads out there agree?

During my shoots I try to make it interesting and exciting, and I have to admit a little silly. But it's all in an effort to have a better session, which in turn, will produce better photos. Check it out!

Kiana

Talk about a spunky, outgoing girl, Kiana is the one. I wouldn't mind her rubbing off on my daughter a bit. It was fun hanging out with her for the day. She knows how to work the camera and not over do it.

One of the goals of being a photographer is to make the photo session exciting and captivating. When I went to Joe and Melissa's house for the post-session sales consultation, Kiana was definitely excited to see me. That really made my day, I felt that I accomplished my goal as a photographer.

Reids

Katharine is one of my biggest cheerleader and supporter for my photography business. She's always pimping me to her friends and I thank you so much for that!

Here's some of the shoot from the photo shoot. Marissa always have a heart of gold, although the creation session was for her mom and her, she wanted her friends (my kids) to be part of it. They were having a lot of fun blowing bubbles and playing cowboys.

As always this creation session was a load of fun, watching the kids play and catching up with old friend, good times...

Life Been Good And Fun ~ And Check Out the Beautiful Album!

Excuse the current temporary new look of the blog, it is work in progress. I am having the blog re-designed and also trying to work out some issues. For now, this is the temporary new look. This year, business has really picking up and I've been getting many bookings and many return customers. For those who are friends with me on Facebook know I've been posting many new pictures of my shoots (feel free to add me under tammy.coombs). It's been a lot of fun, especially working with new clients. It's always fun meeting new people.

On top of that, it's so much fun ordering new products to check out the quality and craftsmanship, it's like Christmas all the time. I do like the UPS trucks stopping by my door :)

Here's one of the product I order for one of my good friend/client. This book is BEAUTIFUL!!! I feel like I should be wearing gloves when handling.

Tyler

I met Shannon at a small country school that my daughter goes to. Since it is a very small school a few of the parents welcome us with open arms and Shannon was no exception. Shannon is also a camera enthusiast and loves to take pictures. Maybe that's why we clicked.

I was very excited to be able to photograph her son, Tyler, for modeling shots. She has such lovely and energetic boys. Her husband was really supportive during the whole shoot. And I have to say, it is pretty rare. I have to give Rod kudos for driving around and manning the bike. What a great husband?!

The feeling of YIKES!

It’s funny; the pressure a photographer feels when you are taking pictures for another photographer. My good friend Jenny; a newborn and maternity photographer, asked me to photograph her family. I have to say, I was sweating inside. Not sure if I showed it during the session but I was sure nervous.

During the session we did run into problem with weeds and foxtails poking us, but overall the session was a blast and went pretty smoothly. I had a lot of fun shooting Jenny’s family and at the same time got the opportunity to know her wonderful family more. Jenny really enjoyed the images and is going to print a big family portrait for her wall. NICE!

The Feeling of Flying In Air

Today, I am floating in the air with excitement and satisfaction.  My cousin hired me to photograph her family.  We went to Sausalito because she is moving back to Hong Kong and I want them to remember how beautiful California is with Golden Gate in the background. She also expressed interest in doing a nature scene.  

 

I always have a good time with Stella, we can talk for hours!  Her husband Martin is also a photography geek (talk about pressure, lol!).  Last night I uploaded their gallery from the photo session and they have nothing but wonderful and kind words to say about it.  They wrote a great post on their Facebook along with some of the shots from the gallery and are booking another session for next year. 

 

It is very rewarding when a client is willing to go the extra step to tell you all the wonderful things they felt from the images.  I felt I have done my job and feel good as an artist.

 

Any Publicity is Good Publicity

So today, I did a search on Tammy Coombs Photography on Google to see if Tammy Coombs Photography has suggestions on the search box as I’m typing in the name. As I’m doing this, I wonder what comes up on Google about the business and I came upon this link… KCRA 3 A-List… humm… strange… what is this?
So I went on and click it to see what is it? Viola! I'm on Sacramento's KCRA channel 3's city voter. I'm puzzled and confused as to who and how they found me. A wise man told me, "any publicity is good publicity so congrats." It is a strange but happy feeling that I’m out there somewhere recognized by the internet world.

Check it out and tell me what you think. http://kcra.cityvoter.com/tammy-coombs-photography/biz/282003

Jane and Charles

Charles and I worked at Talking Tire (Telcontar) together. It was Charles' first job out of college, but it was my 4th, due to the dot com boom and bust. I have really great memories from working there. We joked around a lot during work and hung out after work sometimes. I remember partying at Ibiza, good times.

You read it right, Ibiza! Oh man, those were the days. Charles was like my little brother. Then he moved away to Korea and continued his journey.

I am so glad he moved back to the Bay Area. Although, he is a MAN now and no longer that little boy, he came back with a prize.

Jane is super sweet and super thoughtful. But don't let that sweet face of Jane fool you. One of these days, I've got to go to happy hour with them and maybe go check out Ibiza. Well, maybe I won't go that far.

I was so honored when Jane asked me to witness their important event.

Sneak Peak - Gabby

I met Gabby through my co-worker. She has a very unique personality. I love it when she giggled when I tell her to sit like she's waiting for her friend while I was shooting. We were shooting in downtown Lodi and I thought the scenary really suited her well. She's got that skater-punk style which I love.
Here's a few shots from the session. It was a blast to work with her.

My 12 days of Christmas

Another part of being a professional photographer is finding the right products for your clients. There are so many neat products out there and so many vendors, it is not an easy task.

This year, I went to WPPI to personally feel and touch what I really want to offer my clients. The decisions were not easy. I still get a bunch of emails from the vendors I visited trying to get me to sign up with them.

So my 12 days of Christmas started when I start placing orders with my vendors. Yesterday I got my wavy border frames delivered and I felt like a kid at Christmas. I couldn't open that packaging fast enough. AHHH!!! It was a happy AH! I am super happy. Metallic paper ROCKS! I think that's going to be my new thing. Especially with the hip Seniors.

You can't see this, but it is like high-def. WOOOOO....

Sneak Peek - Victoria

This past Sunday, I had a shoot with Victoria. She's a very pretty girl and also super friendly. She was very easy to chat with, making the shoot really fun. One thing I got to know about Victoria is that she is a very motivated and driven girl. Her energy came through in the shoot.

Have a great 2010 Senior year!

Senior girls are way lucky

It's always exciting to find a new product that I can offer to my clients. A nearby local artist came up with this colorful bottle cap idea. It is super cute and fun. I will have to find something similar for my male clients.

Meet Mr. Floppy

This is my latest self-made camera tool. Sometimes, it is hard to yell, "Logan, Logan, what's on the top of my head?", when the big camera is in front of my face blocking the sound coming out of my mouth.
Now my camera will have a fun look and hope to make them giggle. It sure made me giggled when I was shooting this picture.