Tara Swain Photography

Oh, star fall down on me
Let me make a wish upon you
Hold on, let me think
Think of what I’m wishing for

Wait, don’t go away
Just not yet
‘Cause I thought I had it
But I forget

And I won’t let you fall away from me
You will never fade
And I won’t let you fall away from me
You will never fade away from me

And now I let my dreams consume me
And tell me what to think
But hold on, hold on.
What am I dreaming?

Wait, don’t go away
Just not yet.
‘Cause I thought that I had it
But I forget

And I won’t let you fall away from me
You will never fade away
I won’t let you fall away
You will never fade away

And I won’t let you fall away
You will never fade away
And I won’t let you fall away from me
You will never fade

Oh, star fall down on me

Well, the long awaited workshop date has come and gone.. and…. it was fabulous. I never imagined that it would have gone as smoothly as it did or been as much FUN as it was. I had an amazing group of woman photographers from across Texas, Oklahoma and 2 sweet ladies who made a much longer trip.. 1 from Hawaii and 1 from Alaska!! To say that I feel honored to have had so many make the trek to Paris, is an understatement. I had such an amazing time getting to know and teaching all these beautiful ladies.

Here are some of my favorites from our first shoot “The Whimsy Shoot.” Our model, Baylor, did an AMAZING job and was absolutely beautiful. We had a hard time narrowing down the ideas for this shoot. We ended up using something different than I had originally brought to Jessica. This was the first shoot, but it was the last one that we finalized because we couldn’t narrow down exactly what we wanted to do. Finally we started leaning more toward a celestial and then i remembered a song I had heard on the radio while driving on day and jotted down. I thought the lyrics were beautiful and it would make for an awesome concept. The next thing I knew, Jessica was back in Houston and texting me images of the amazing things she had been crafting on all week. To see if all come together was awesome. She blew me away.

Dress by: The Measure
Styled by: Jessica of The Cotton Exchange.
Hair and makeup by: Tiffany of Smokin Hot Makeup

These are the vendors who donated incredible products and discounts to the attendees. I wish I had filmed the reactions as the girls were going through their bags and finding all of the awesome goodies they were getting to take home! :D
Miss Ruby Sue
Just Josie
Little Dreamers Inc.
Traditions in Thyme
Chic Baby Rose
Ginny Haupert Textures
Vintage Rose Wraps
Pepper Lu
My Blueberry Hill
Riley Lane Creations
Lillian Grace
Little Town Boutique
The Organic Bloom
Paris Baby
The Measure
The Purple Chameleon
Dear Emmie
Starlit Nest Gifts
La Couture Amore
Kiwi and Kiki
2 Crystal Chicks

..and an ENORMOUS thank you to all of the fabulous businesses who supported us, helped out or donated items for props, etc.
The Cotton Exchange
Smokin Hot Makeup
Birds of a Feather
Catering 4 You
Eco-Green Boutique
SoHo
Tony’s Tuxes
The Huckleberry
GirlsandCake

I’m putting a little vendor spotlight on one of my favorite vendors, Pepper Lu. I’ve actually got most of PepperLu’s inventory including the ottomans and most of their new line of hats (which I’m in LOVE with.) But today I’m featuring their faux floor mats. PepperLu mats are made with a 25% lycra/75% polyester blend fabric and 100% natural rubber. The mats can also be washed in a washing machine on cold and laid out flat to dry. I currently store these in the studio just rolled up and stuck to the side (or in a prop closet.) However, we’re currently working on a new way to store them so I’ll be posting pictures of the finished studio (and prop closet) in another feature with how I store everything, once it’s complete!!

What I love most about the mats is no annoying reflection like real wood floors can give off! They are also soft enough to set a baby, or lie a happy little 3 month old on their backs to get a birds eye shot! They are light weight and easy to transport, so you on location photographers who set up in your clients home.. these are perfect for you! They are also perfect if your limited on space in your studio, or if your just like me and love the look and quality of the product! I HAVE taken these with me to clients homes, and I’ll continue to use them in the new natural light studio.

ALL of the below images (except the backdrops in the top 2 images) are PepperLu mats! Here are a few of my images using some of my PepperLu mats. A few of the ones pictured below aren’t available on the website at this time, but you can always contact PepperLu and see when it will be available again! The ones that ARE pictured below that are available on the site right now are:

Old School
Old World Brick
Vintage Marange
Rembrandt

So here’s the best part.. we’re going to have a little giveaway! PepperLu is generously donating a $50 store credit to 1 lucky duck! HOWEVER… they are also giving 10% off to anyone and everyone who want to place an order in the meantime. Use the code: Swain10 (This code expires March 8th so MAKE SURE you use it before then!)

The best part is, you don’t have to WAIT to order. If you see something you can’t live without, order it NOW and use your code. If your the lucky winner of the $50 virtual credit, PepperLu will simply credit $50 back to you if you placed an order between now and the 8th, using my code!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

First, become a fan of Tara Swain Photography AND PepperLu on Facebook.

NEXT, leave a comment on THIS post with the name of your favorite PepperLu mat!

For an additional entry, post the link to THIS blog post on your Facebook with the caption “I love Tara Swain Photography and PepperLu!” then come back to this post and leave ANOTHER comment stating that you shared the giveaway on your Facebook.

AND for a 3RD entry.. go to the PepperLu Facebook Fan page and write “Tara Swain Photography sent me!!” (Make sure to tag “Tara Swain Photography” by just putting an @ symbol before typing out the business name. But you must already be a fan of the TSP fan page in order to do that. Then come back and leave one final comment on this blog post!

So you can enter your name into the giveaway a total of 3 TIMES!! 3 chances to win!!! The giveaway is live from now through Wednesday, March 7th, 11:59pm est. The winner will be announced Thursday, March 8th right here on THIS blog post. Just pull this link back up and I will add the updated giveaway winer at the bottom!

PepperLu was also one of the awesome vendors who donated to my workshop attendees (more on that later) and 1 of my attendees took away her very own $50 credit to their store. Become a FAN, do a little shopping and enter the giveaway and you might just win a credit too!! If the response is good, we’ll do this again, so spread the word!!

**This giveaway is in NO WAY associated with Facebook and you must be 18 years or older to participate. Prizes have no cash value and winners will not be notified via Facebook. Winners are chosen at random.

It’s hard to believe that the first workshop is ALMOST here. I am SO excited and just counting down the days. It’s definitely been a lot of work getting everything prepared but I can’t express to you how excited I am to see everything come together. All that is left now is to round up the last few things we need for our shoots.. (which are going to be phenomenal by the way.) ;) VERY few people know the details of these shoots, including most of the models.. so just you wait. :)

I have been receiving quite a few emails about another group workshop for later this year.. so looks like the big group workshop #2 will be September 11th and September 12th of this year!! Before announcing it on Facebook I’ve already got 3 attendee’s!! My schedule has seemed to be crazier than usual here lately so I’m behind on blogging and emails but am finally getting it on the blog now!!

The details:

2 day workshop with Tara Swain Photography, covering branding, marketing your name, your business and your art, workflow, styling shoots, how I work with my clients, the in’s and out’s of business, finding the best natural light in different scenarios, shooting, post processing and everything in between. Attendees will receive handouts, “goodies” from some of my favorite vendors, companies and Etsy designers. Attendees will also have some portfolio building opportunities during our amazing, styled concept shoots.

There will only be a limited number of attendees accepted and spots will be on a first come, first serve basis. Tuition covers the 2 day workshop and lunch for each attendee both days. Travel fees and housing will be responsibility of attendee. A non-refundable retainer of $300 is due immediately to secure your spot. Remaining balance will be due 30 days prior to the workshop. Unfortunately the workshop is open only to photographers who live and/or work outside of the Paris or Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex area.

The best part about this Fall workshop.. the brand new studio will be finished in PLENTY of time so we’ll be working on natural studio lighting as well as everything else. If you have any questions or if you would like to reserve one of the limited spots, please let me know!!