opal: Ophelia

a look behind the scenes

My name is tammi swanson. I am a photographer, a children's clothing designer, and a stylist. I have also been a model, and a hair and makeup artist. My life, it seems, has always been surrounded by photo shoots and the fashion industry. My passion is children's editorial photography, and children's clothing. The stylist in me is always searching for the perfect items for photo shoots, so I have finally decided to turn my ideas into a children's collection. I see the end result, which is the photo shoot, in my head, and that is where I begin. I describe my designs to my pattern maker, we work out all of the details, and then I shoot the pieces the way I have them envisioned. It's all about creating a story, the mood, the beauty of childhood. I love the children in rennaisance paintings, pale sea and sand colors and tree-lined paths. I love formal gardens, small towns, farms and the countryside. Hopefully, some of you love these things too. This blog will tell the behind the scenes story of how it all comes together. Including what's really going on before, during, and after the photo shoots!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Ophelia

This is the new Ophelia skirt. I photographed it as soon as we arrived on our dear friends rural Oregon farm. We had been in the car for hours and as soon as I saw the spectacular view and the amazing light, I wanted to try and catch it. Mia was as taken by the serenely beautiful setting as I was and amazingly agreed to model it. We dressed her in 5 minutes flat and I threw her hair into a tousled loose bun. Voila! The setting was as perfect as a rennaissance painting, just what I had envisioned for the Ophelia skirt. 15 minutes later we were finished, just catching the last light. I actually have one more photo shoot in mind, but this one is a good start.