Tammy Zelez Photography

Accessorize Your Style

August 7, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

My mom loves making jewelry! She has been doing it for years and has so much fun with it! It is her “zen” to just forget about everything and get creative. Of course, I wanted her to make me some pieces that had the Boho vibe for my rep shoot and she did an amazing job! She is always watching the trends and she wanted to incorporate tassels, silver, feathers and wooden beads to really enhance the “hippie” in my look. I loved how each piece worked perfectly with the girls outfits!

My mother is an amazing woman, someone I admire so much! She is not only my mom but my best friend and one of my biggest fans. She encourages me everyday and for that I am so grateful. And of course, reminds me where I get my creativity from! LOL I love you, Mom! Thank you for being a part of this shoot and being a huge supporter! Your work is always amazing and I am a huge fan!! Harlee 13 Harlee 14 Harlee is wearing a beautiful beaded necklace with gold feathers and a tassel that matches the subtle teal accents throughout. The necklace popped on the backdrop of her white dress! Mariah 5 Mariah 7 Mariah’s outfit was tied together with a gorgeous three strand leather bracelet accented with beautiful silver and wooden beads. This was a perfect fit for her coachella style she wore! Christa 14 Christa 15 Christa’s wooden beaded necklace fit her to a “T”! The orange tassel gave the perfect pop of color to both of her outfits, proving to be a versatile accessory to a free spirit wardrobe! Christa shows that wearing orange can add personality and vibrancy to an outfit and can make a bold statement! It looks stunning with her skin tone as well!

Accessories can play such a huge part of your senior photos! Add them to every outfit and make your statement!

Nail Art

August 4, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

Our nail artist, Corina, helped us with the Rep shoot, prepping hair, helping with reflector, taking behind the scenes shots! She was awesome! Not only did she help but a couple of the reps went to her for some nail creations for the shoot as well. Jessica had a boho vibe going on her nails while Alyssa was loving the glitter!

I am just in love with how all of us can help each other promote our craft!! Are you in the Phoenix area? Make sure you check out Corina’s instagram page and book an appointment with her! She is truly talented and her creations are perfect every time!! She is a great person to talk to, as well, while getting your nails done!!

Back to school nails?

https://www.instagram.com/cocorose16/

Jessica nails 2 alyssa nails w

Dress for your Inner Hippie

August 1, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

I wanted to have tie dye dresses incorporated into the senior rep shoot. I had this vision of what I wanted. I called my friend Lori and asked her if she wanted to be a part of it. I told her I just wanted simple with a hippie vibe. She is a wedding dress designer so this was super easy for her! She made the dresses with each of the necklines being a little different. They were perfect. I wanted to help with something, because my sewing capabilities consist of making anything that is a square! I was given the tie dye job! Ok, do you know how scary it is to take a beautifully made dress and tie dye it in the HOPES that it will turn out?? It’s pretty scary. But? It was fun too! Lori and I worked on the tie dye part of these dresses for 4 days straight! There is a lot more that goes into to tie dying than I thought! They turned out beautiful and I am very pleased with the finished product!

Lori is a custom wedding dress designer who is so talented! She is such a genuine woman and a total perfectionist! I am so fortunate that she partnered with us for this shoot! Please click on her link below and check out her website! You can contact her through there as well. She has more dresses coming to her site soon!

http://www.veryspecialdress.com/

Harlee Claire Beth Ali Lexie Emily Ellie Alyssa

Peace, Love and Hippie Hair

July 31, 2016July 31, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

The theme for the 2017 senior rep shoot was Hippie. I wanted to keep the style natural and neutral. Tiffany and I brainstormed about how the hair and makeup should be. We wanted to have the girls be a part of the style of the shoot by making head pieces. I bought a bunch of different material and told them to make whatever inspired them! All the head pieces in the photos were created by them! It was a fun day for the girls to get to know each other before our rep session.

Tiffany’s styles for hair came out perfect! We are way into braids right now, so she incorporated those along with very natural curls, giving them a total boho vibe! It got pretty windy on both days of shooting, but I really feel that added to the theme!

Some of the girls had Tiffany do their makeup as well which was very neutral and the added jewels spiced it up a bit!

Every rep was asked to pick the style they wanted and were able to add the head piece of choice. That worked out so well because they each loved the finished product! They all rocked their looks!

Are you looking to add hair and makeup to your senior session? Add Tiffany’s amazing talents to your package! Check out my pricing page for further details.

Appreciation Post!

July 30, 2016July 30, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

This year I wanted a hippie theme for the 2017 Rep shoot. The style is very “in” right now which helped! With 16 senior reps, we had to break it into 2 shoot days. Tiffany and I scouted some locations trying to find a good fit. We had decided to do hair and makeup at her house so everyone would be comfortable. As well, wanted to find a location that was close to get the most shoot time. 211 The area we found was perfect! I couldn’t have been happier about it! We spent the morning of both days doing hair and makeup and picking out outfits. Both days were so much fun, getting to know the girls and taking some amazing photos!!

These shoots could not have happened without the help of some amazing people.

The first thanks goes to my amazingly talented hair and makeup artist, Tiffany! You complete me! Your work is on point every time! I love you to death and I love working with you! Thank you for being my partner in crime and for making my shoots that much better! I appreciate you opening your home to our reps and making them look amazing.

Next up is our assistant Corina/ our Nail Diva. Thank you for being the all around go to girl! You helped Tiffany with hair and makeup, helped me with the set and behind the scenes shots, helped the girls with outfit/accessories choices, everything! Tiffany and I could not have done this alone, so thank you!! A post about her nail design for the shoot, coming soon.

Thank you to Lori, my designer. Another separate post coming to the blog about the hippie dresses that she made for the shoot. You are a great friend and I am so glad we met! I had so much fun helping in the “tye dying” part of the dress making process. You helped bring my image to life and gave more dimension to my theme! I appreciate you!

My mom designed some of the jewelry for this shoot as well, post to come. Again, added a special touch because they were handmade by my mom. You mean so much to me! You are there for me ALL the time and for that I am so grateful! Thank you for supporting me in this journey to being the best photographer I can be and always giving me the encouragement I need. I love you so much!

Thank you Liz for being my support mom! I appreciate you more than you know! Thank you to my girls, Kaycee and Maddie. The best assistants out there! Everything from go pro footage to reflectors, pose assistants, helping fix hair (because both days were extremely windy) and making the girls laugh! You both know I love the fact that I can “take my daughters to work”. That means so much to me! Thank you for being my motivators! I love you both!

Thank you 2017 senior reps! I appreciate each one of you for being with me in the coming year to help me grow my business! I hope you all have had and continue to have fun with this program and I can’t wait for all of your personal senior sessions!!

Lastly, I’d like to thank my husband. I truly don’t think he gets enough credit. He may not be with me on shoots but he is my biggest supporter. He gives me the confidence that I lack, he encourages me, he is my level head, he is my rock. He gave me the opportunity to make my dream of being a full time photographer a reality. He makes me smile even when he is not around. I love him with my whole heart and soul. Clint, I appreciate you and I thank God everyday that he gave me you!

And thank you readers!! Without you, this would simply be a journal entry! Please stay tuned for my upcoming posts on these amazing entrepreneurs and their amazing skills!

https://www.instagram.com/vividhaircreations/

https://www.instagram.com/cocorose16/

http://www.veryspecialdress.com/

Much love,

Tammy

When one door closes..

July 28, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

In November of 2015, I starting preparing for my 3rd senior rep season.I knew I had a lot of research to do to make 2017 the best program yet. I wanted to revamp, have an open house in search of reps, and have the shoot done in April instead of June. Anyone who lives in Arizona knows that it is not fun shooting in the summer! Having another job kept me from having all the time in the world to get all this done. So I needed as much time as possible.

I had asked my current reps to start getting me emails of as many girls as they could that they thought might have interest in my program. My 2016 seniors went to work. I had 6 girls from 2 high schools and they gave me emails of girls from 9 different high schools! They talked to everyone they knew and even searched their twitter followers! The response was amazing! I couldn’t believe it! I had no idea there would be so much interest! After all, it was just little old me!

I started sending out the applications and they came rushing back! There were so many girls that thought this would be a fun opportunity. My work load was going to double!

I had been at a new job that I was not passionate about for about a year and was just not happy. When I started receiving all the emails about the rep program, my husband looked at me and said, “quit your job and pursue your photography. Live out that passion. Be happy.” With him supporting me, I knew I could make it happen. And I did.

I hosted my very first open house! The night was awesome! So overwhelming but I was so grateful. Everyone was so excited! My rep program has doubled from last year and I am so appreciative of the support from each and every one of them! I can not wait to see what this year brings!! I thank God for closing one door and opening this one!! I hope I can shine for him! group 2 website Group 1 website

Stay tuned for more photos of these amazing shoots and all the amazing people who helped them to be a success!!!

Cole & Sam!

April 19, 2016 tammyzelezphotographyLeave a comment

S C 2 Sam 3 Cole 3 Sam 4 Cole 1 These two seniors have been together for 2 years and wanted their senior session together! They had so much fun making each other laugh! I am excited for the both of them for their future together! Congrats on graduation Sam and Cole!!