Drama, Drama, Drama

Yep, it has been nothing but DRAMA lately! In case you haven't heard, we had to abruptly move out of our rent house in north Edmond. My family and I have been staying in an extended stay hotel in OKC for over a month. Every thing we own is in storage other than a few needed biz files that need urgent attention. I promise that I am working as fast as possible with what I have to get everyone taken care of, but it has proven very difficult lately. Please hang in there with me while I work through all this. We are currently house-hunting, and we put in an offer on a home around I-40 & Choctaw Rd. It has beautiful acreage, so I am super excited about making a beautiful outdoor "studio" and a fabulous office area for my clients!

So in light of that, I have had to greatly restrict my sessions. Please see below for the sessions that I am accepting:
1) OpLove - only current/previous clients for predeployment or homecomings
2) Boudoir - at your location choice only. No marathons will be planned at this time. See my other website Desired Assets
3) Maternity/Newborn
4) Real estate through my secondary company OK Photo Tours.

If you have submitted an order and received a confirmation, please be assured that I have gotten it. Everything has been delayed because 1) it was sent to my old address and never forwarded to my new temporary one, or 2) I had to wait until I had a current mailing address to order it. Either way, I promise that I haven't forgotten you!!! There were several orders sent to my old address (or lost in the mail to you from there) that I have had to re-order. The hotel does not allow package or mail delivery, so I am having to send everything to a family members house to ensure delivery. If you have not received an order confirmation, please email me asap! The internet here is horrible, at best, when there is connectivity. I will go to a local internet cafe to check your order status and email you an update. **Please do not message me through my Facebook biz page! I cannot access them from my phone or tablet, so I am only able to check them every 2 weeks or so.**

So with all the updated info I mentioned above, I guess that I am ultimately asking that you to please be patient with me during this chaotic transition period. I promise to be back on track as soon as possible! Please pray for us, keep your fingers crossed, and hope for my good karma to come back to me soon. Thanks everyone & I'll talk to you soon!!!
- Ang

Smokin' Hot Boudoir Marathon

New Info, My Lacking, & Other Updates...

Yes, my wonderful followers...I have been MIA lately (and yes again). I have had some major health issues that have limited my ability to accept sessions & have caused a delay in processing pics. Add to that some recent issues with my pro lab about their large prints, and it's a whirlwind of "YUCK" lately!!

OpLove has recently teamed up with the Long Road Home Project in support of 3 vets riding bicycles from Seattle, WA to Washington D.C. The journey will start in July 2012 and end on about Vet's Day (Nov 2012). They will stop at every major city and base/post to interview military members and vets asking one major question..."What can we do as a nation to help our troops as they come home?" This is such a wonderful and inspiring idea!! They are still looking for vets, of any age, to apply for the journey. If you are interested or know someone who might be, the application is available on their website. Food, lodging, bicycles and all expenses related to the ride will be covered by the Long Road Home Project. They will have a film crew following them throughout the journey. It will be a webcast available weekly online, as well as turned into a full documentary. Many of our OpLove photographers will be attending their stops to grab some photos along their journey. If you know of any vet that may be interested or of any OpLove photographer that may be willing to volunteer, please let me know or send them to the Long Road Home Project's website. Here is a map of the tentative area they will be traveling through...

Another OpLove update, on a personal/business note. Because of the many of units returning home in the next 6 months or so, I am having to limit my homecoming sessions. Existing and/or previous OpLove clients coming home will take priority of scheduling a homecoming session. I will accept a new client's homecoming session as long as it does not interfere or overlap with a current client's homecoming. With that said and if I am not available, I will refer you to a couple other OpLove photographers that may be available to take your session. In addition, OpLove has recently re-defined the regions covered as a "deployment" based on the guidelines provided to the org. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am currently working on building a FAQ page for my OpLove clients about the new regs.

Boudoir updates: My www.Desired Assets.com page has not been updated since Dec of last year, when I first launched the site. Per some client requests, I have removed numerous images from the password protected gallery. The site is still up and active, but the gallery of sample images has been modified greatly. It's a privacy issue that I totally understand, so I hope you do too.  :)

Believe it or not...I had a couple other things to post about, but I cannot remember them all right now. So this is it for now. More updates and pics (I promise to get caught up) soon!!!
- Ang

Christmas, News, & Updates

There are many things that I haven't blogged about yet, but it's the holidays so I've been a bit preoccupied. Here is the run-down version of what's been going on...

UPDATE: I am in the process of completely rebuilding my main website. I will no longer be using a "photographers template", but instead it will be built from scratch. I was originally going to launch it on Jan 1st, but alas I need it to be done sooner than that.  :(   With some new publicity (TV & newspaper) coming over the Christmas holidays in the OKC area, I want a fresh new look when potential clients stop by to visit.
UPDATE: In addition to a new main website, prices for certain sessions and products will be changing. Some higher, some lower, and some entirely new items. Print & product prices are only changing because of my lab updating their prices.
UPDATE: My Desired Assets boudoir website will likely launch over the next week, within days after Christmas. I am still building the gallery, but I hope for it to be 90% done when it goes public. The website link will be here: www.DesiredAssets.com
NEWS: Today, I interviewed with Bryan Dean of The Oklahoman newspaper. She is working on a story about my participation with OpLove. After the interview, she mentioned that she was hoping to have it run this weekend...on Sunday, Christmas Day, on the COVER of the Metro Family section. She's not sure if that will happen with it being such an important weekend, but she is hopeful. I am too, but I am truly grateful for any publicity about this wonderful org!
NEWS: I set up the interview & filming schedule for Freedom 43 (tv news in OKC). They will be filming interviews & part of my client session on Tuesday, Dec 27th at a local park. It is still unsure when it will actually air on tv, but myself and my clients are very excited.
CHRISTMAS: Just in case you hadn't noticed...Christmas is this weekend! I was so busy getting last minute client orders to the various labs that I totally spaced out on ordering my own business Christmas Cards. Once I sent in my own order, the lab politely responded that they won't be ready until AFTER Christmas. Grrrrrr on me! So for all intended good thoughts and holiday wishes, here is the design of the card that all my clients would have received.   :)

Check back soon for more updates and posts! Meanwhile, I personally want to wish all my clients, fans, and colleagues a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Stay safe in your travels, and I look forward to seeing you next year!!!

Black Friday Updates

Two Reminder Announcements for Black Friday Weekend

First is the Today Show segment, that I was honored to be a part of, about Operation: Love Reunited (OpLove) finally aired this morning. It was a really great story, and I am extremely happy with how well they put it together. The link to the story is here:

I absolutely love how they ended the piece with Denny throwing Dawson into the air on video and then stopping it with a snapshot of Dawson grinning ear-to-ear. I thought that I would be okay watching it but as soon as Denny started talking in the beginning, I started tearing up.  :)

And the second reminder is about my Black Friday Specials available only this weekend until Sunday night at 11:59pm. Most of the discounts are for 50% off sessions and/or prints! Visit my "Gifts" page at the top to purchase these limited time deals.

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

Black Friday Specials for 3 days
Friday, November 25th at 12:01am until Sunday, November 27th at 11:59pm

Special A - Family Session + $50 Print Credit for $75 (more than 50% off)

Special B - Boudoir Session + Free Pin-Up Calendar for $75

Special C - BOGO (buy one get one) Prints Only for $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations

Don't delay...these HUGE discounts are only available for 3 days! Go to the "Gifts" page (link at the top) to secure your Black Friday Special.

Boudoir at a B&B

At the beginning of this month, I met Lady G (a pseudonym for Lady Gorgeous) at a local bed & breakfast for a boudoir session. I was running a few minutes late, but she was fashionably worth it!  :)  She was absolutely beautiful, especially with her hair & make-up done all fancy-like!! Her initial nervousness at the time of our consult was definitely resolved by the time I arrived and started snapping pics. We talked, laughed, and had a blast. (Hello, Mr Bubbles...LOL!) Our session will result in some smokin' sexy gifts to her betrothed, either for Christmas and/or as a wedding gift. Because I totally respect her privacy and the fact that it'll be a surprise gift, I'm only going to post one pic from our session. She has this awesome Audrey Hepburn kind of classy-look to her, which looks fabulous in B&W!.

I have decided...

No More Weddings! Yes, after much consideration and deliberation, I have decided not to book any weddings for at least a year. It's not because I am tired of all the happy newlyweds or even the stress of shooting a wedding. It is mostly because of the physical demands of properly photographing a wedding as well as the time investment to prep, shoot, and process everything. As most of you know, I started off my business many years ago shooting weddings and quickly booked every weekend from April to September with at least one wedding, and more often two or three. And during the week, I was doing corporate sessions for a magazine contract. This left little time to really truly develop and promote my own portrait photography. So, I am shifting my attention to portraits - families, kiddos, seniors, boudoir, and military. I am also working on a new idea for a new kind of portrait session. Hopefully, I will have the details hammered out in the next week or two.

I am excited about this decision and what will come of it. I look forward to what the upcoming year will bring and the many new people I will meet. Over the next couple months, I will be offering numerous exciting specials, discounts, and even a few freebies to attract new clients. Be sure to stay updated to take advantage of the opportunities!

New Site for the New Year!

Yes, I have done it again! I have redesigned my entire website in preparation for the new year. Not only has the layout changed, but the content and photos have been updated also. Some of the major changes include removing the Wedding section, adding a Boudoir section, and adding a Restoration section. And for my wedding clients, please do not fret! I will still be providing wedding photography, however it will be on a much more limited scale. In the near future, I will be adding the Wedding section back into the site with further details on the limited availability.

The new site has only been live for 2 days, but I am already receiving a lot of positive feedback and comments about it. I am still tweaking it and adding photos, so please be patient as it continues to change for the better. If you notice a mis-spellings or any other inconsistencies with the site, please let me know. (I've been staring at it so long that my eyes are crossing.) 

Book Your Valentine's Day Boudoir Session Now!

Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot quickly!

And to answer a couple of common questions I have received so far:
1) Here are a couple of places I recommend for lingerie purchases: Frederick's of Hollywood and Victoria's Secret
2) Yes, you can bring props or other personal items. They add a great personal touch to the session. I recommend basic items - your man's favorite tie, high heels, candles, jewelry, etc.
3) The shooting area is completely private. The hair & make-up artist will be in a separate room. I will leave the shooting area during your outfit changes. A robe will also be provided during the session.