Smokin' Hot Boudoir Marathon

New Updates, Additions, Specials, & Promos...
First off, today May 1st, is the beginning of the official Military Appreciation Month. This coming Friday, May 4th, is also Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Be sure to thank these heroes (and their spouses who stand by them) for their service and sacrifices! It can be something simple like paying for their coffee at the local coffee shop or something more like paying for their family's dinner at the local restaurant. A tank of gas, a soda, or just a heartfelt handshake to say "Thank You". Our men and women in uniform, as well as their spouses, deserve the recognition!!!

And with that said, ANY member of the military - active, reserves, or retired from - is getting my own version of appreciation. Any portrait session booked for a military member in the month of May will be done 100% free of charge (LOL, that was a lot of "m"s). You don't have to be deploying or coming home from a deployment, as per the OpLove guidelines. This is my own biz offering you a gift to show my appreciation. In addition, you will receive a free sheet of wallet prints (8-poses) and 25% off anything you want to order. No purchase obligations or restrictions.  :)

Next up, my Senior Rep Recruiting. I am starting to recruit my Senior Reps for 2013. If you are an upcoming senior or know anyone who is, please pass along this info! Approved Senior Reps get a free session, free prints, discounts, and credits for each referral. I'm looking for outgoing and active students. For more info and the application, please visit my Senior Rep page linked from the top or click here: http://awilkesphoto.blogspot.com/p/seniors.html

One last thing...I have TONS of sessions to get caught up on posting. Please know that I am working as fast as I can on getting them onto my blog and other social media sites. As of right now, I am running about 2 weeks behind on just processing session pics. I promise to get you updated ASAP, but if I happen to miss you, please let me know!  :)

Thanks, hugs, and much love to my loyal clients and fans!!

Session Giveaways

Yes it happens very rarely, but I am giving away 8-Mini Sessions for FREE to be held on April 21, 2012. Spread the word to all your friends and family for this very limited time offer.

Details:
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Times: 9:30am to 7:00pm (see registration form for specific time slots)
Location: any public location in Edmond, OK
Includes: a FREE Mini Session, online private gallery for 30 days, a $30 print credit, and up to 5 images to be posted on my Facebook biz page for you to "tag" yourself. There is no obligation or pressure to purchase anything additional.
The Catch: you must complete the Model Release form allowing me full use of your photos for my portfolio and advertising. Also, a portion of your session will be focused on certain new session ideas (see Registration From for more details).
Registration Link: www.angela-wilkes.com/machform/view.php?id=12

Now for the "Why" behind this full day of Free Sessions that I am offering. Several of my colleagues, family, and friends are questioning that very thing. Well to the you the truth, there are a couple of reasons. One is that I have been soooo swamped with bookings lately that I haven't had the chance to consider or try the many new creative ideas that keep me up at night. Another reason is that I work so much with our military (OpLove) clients that it has seemingly taken over my creative processes. Which leads to a third reason...being stuck in a rut! It happens quite often with us creative mind people. Even with different people in different locations, it's still just the same thing...point, focus, click, & repeat. I can get the "popular poses" in the "popular locations" without a single thought. It has become automatic, which is why I closed my studio in the first place. It happened when I did mostly weddings, corporate, and now mostly military (OpLove) sessions. I am very busy, and for that I am truly grateful. However, my creativeness seems to be hiding lately. I have tons of fabulous ideas but no chance to test them. So here we are...8 Free Session Giveaways on a single day. You will be my test models, and I will provide incentives for allowing me to use you as such.

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.

Last Chance for Christmas Mini Sessions

New Business Cards...

Yayyy, check it out!! I have finally got my new biz cards after over 7 years of the same old, hum-drum cards. And I now have a "digital" business card too, which I am told is the latest thing for businesses. You can see my digital card by clicking here or you can click the v-card icon at the bottom center of this blog. Now that I have confirmed the new printer's quality and how the colors actually look together in print, there will be more matching promo stuff coming soon: brochures, packaging, postcards, and more!

If everything goes as planned, I will be releasing my new type of session within the next week. It's fun and quirky and has the potential to be whatever you can imagine! I will also be offering some awesome specials (maybe even a few FREEBIES) with the announcement. So...be sure to stay up-to-date on my blog (you can subscribe at the bottom left).

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.

My OpLove Promo Video

I just created a new video for promoting Operation: Love ReUnited. The video is comprised of images I have taken over the last several years of my OpLove clients including pre-deployments, currently deployed, and homecomings. Click here for the link to the video which I will also post under "Recommended Links" at the bottom of this page.

I have carefully considered and reviewed this service provided by Animoto. As a result, I have decided to start providing a video with the session photos on disk to each of my OpLove client's as an added gift. Animoto is providing this video conversion service to all OpLove photographers free-of-charge for our clients. So stay tuned for videos to be posted of my OpLove sessions.