Because we saw these two sisters enjoying their time together in front of the camera, we are inviting all our high school seniors to share their sessions with their siblings. Although we do not post our session rates, please call or email and we will let you know about our senior packages. We have reasonable studio experiences available for less than you might think.  For the next two weeks we are offering an additional 5×7 FREE with all our senior sessions, provided it includes your sister or brother or both! By the way, if you are not “model pretty,” or even if you are, click here on our  PAGE for tips on how Anyone Can Look Good For A Photo.

Photo Event #1:   On Satuday, April 14, Charmaine Beleele will conduct a workshop, “Posing Power,” for photographers and models from 2:00-4:00 in downtown Dallas.

This is the workshop for you if you want to model, expand your portfolio, or if you want to learn how to photograph people looking their best in front of the camera!

Even beginning models and Photographers can learn how to make people look good for the lens! Tickets for this workshop are limited! Call 479-629-8936 for hotel and carpooling information.

Photo Event #2:  On Sunday afternoon, April 15, we are attending the seminar “How To Photograph Everyone” by world famous photographer and teacher, Clay Blackmore.

You would enjoy this no matter how advanced your skills. You will book and pay your tuition at this special site.

We think every girl should know how to photograph her guy!) In our society, men simply do not have their portraits made as often as women. This is not only true for Angel Kissed Studio, but we have a feeling it is true everywhere.

First, we believe you should place him in flattering light, of course.  Open shade (no tree leafy tree limb shadows!) is best for outside. Indoors, look for morning or late afternoon light streaming and slanting through a window.

Try not to have the light blasting or beaming right into his face flatly. No one looks good in harsh, straight-on light.

Second, we advise you to keep the background simple, uncluttered. If you take a look at your interior, there are probably areas that are fussier, busier, or actually more feminine than others, so this is especially true of photos made in the home environment.

Third,  you should not photograph him posed with his shoulders squared up perfectly evenly. That is what is wrong with a  driver’s license photo. He should slant one shoulder toward the camera just a little.

If the shoulder near the background slopes down or tilts down, a man will might weak. In fact, that is the “feminine pose” in classic portraiture. Direct  to look at you, then slant and then turn a shoulder into the camera a little. a man looks more powerful.

Fourth,  unless your man has an especially  ”smiling” nature, do not force a smile. No cheese, please! Just a natural, pleasant expression is what you need. Lock in on the eyes.  Say something nice to attract a nice look. Breathe out, and “click!”

There you have it:  Our top four most masculine photography tips, for the guys in your life.

As promised last month, this month, AKS brings you some sweet professional tips that you can use in your own photography. We think photography is such a wonderful art, we want share it.  In this day and age, cameras are very affordable and designed to make great memories. Although we want you to visit us for your major portraits, we still hope you will create memories from your own heart and soul.  We think there is a little “portrait maker” in everyone. Toward that end, here are three tips to help you improve your photographs of friends and family:

1.  About the background:  Look at the light, then the background. Most beginning photographers do the opposite! Then a bright, dark or busy background becomes a distraction rather than an enhancement of the person in your photo.

2.  About the lens:  Get close when you want a portrayal of a person, as close as your lens allows. Focus in on the eyes. Turn the face 1/3rd away from the camera, and direct your friend to turn his/her eyes to your lens. Rather than telling your friend to grin or smile wide or say “cheese,” just direct them to look pleasant and give you a natural expression, born of the moment.

3.  About the pose:  Look at the possibilities of angles:  Put the shoulders, top of the head, waist and hips at angles, not straight on!  For some tips on posing groups, check out our resource page on photographing groups.

Spring is coming to the Ozarks! Arkansas beauty is waking up in little leaves and buds and blades of grass. Next week we will bring you three more photo tips that will help you capture a taste of  nature and Spring, no matter where you live!

Some of the ladies took home the roses after they served their purpose in the photograph. Fashion! Fantasy! Fun! In Fort Smith!  That is photography shot from the heart by photographers with a passion for making beautiful moments!

We invite our readers to watch this blog for our next event when we host the students from the Photography classes.  Make some memories. Find out how it feels to be a model for a day. Meet “Andrea,” one of our new models in this week’s featured shot.

Next week we will bring you an article that will make you take your camera out of the closet and enjoy your own photo skills:  We will be publishing How To Improve Your Photography In 5 Easy Steps!

We still want you to become a client at Angel Kissed Photography of course, but we will also begin sending you our Top Tips for your own memory making. Why? Because photography is such a beautiful, fun pastime that we encourage our clients to enjoy it as often as they can. Today’s cameras can empower you to capture many moments when the pros of Angel Kissed Studio might not be present!

1.  Change background

2.   Add some strategic light and shadow. Remove harsh flash shadow.

3.   Adjust the color.

4.   Accent the client’s best features.

5.  Soften, darken or lighten the edges with a little “airbrush” technique.

6.  Enjoy the magic of a little art plus a little technology.  For more amazing transformations of client’s images as well as Angel Kissed work, take a look at our sister site!

At Angel Kissed Studio, it’s All About the Client:  In this portrait, Meet Anthony Museiac, Project Manager for our client, Randall Construction Company/Concrete Division. See his story at their site. Just click on their blog at the bottom of their home page.

The Happy 20011 Holiday Scene:  Each year, the clients at Angel Kissed look forward to the  special Holiday scene we create.  We build the set the week after Halloween and it remains available until Jan. 6. This year’s theme was “Winter Wonderland.”

We used 90 yards of chiffon snow banks and a mini-forest of crystal white trees. Winter birds and faux sugar fruit decorated the trees for a  little extra bling, and we staged it against our winter sky, our favorite masterpiece background.

With unseasonably high winter temperatures here in Arkansas, the best place for a snowy look this season was in our studio.

Normally people would really need their mittens in the Fort Smith November, December and January weather, but 2011 was a different story.  With bright clear days in the 50 degree range, they really did not need heavy winter gear.

They brought their wooly mittens, scarves and coats only for  “costumes,” to celebrate our winter scene.

WHAT IS THE NEXT BIG THING in the studio?  Our next holiday scene will celebrate Valentine’s Day with options in pink or red.  We will raise the curtain on that one Jan.10.  Call to find out the details of our package specials to celebrate the Love in your life!

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR STUDIO WORKSHOPS:  Are you a new photographer, interested in starting your own business?  Whether you want to BE a pro, or just shoot like one, Angel Kissed Studio will be hosting 2 six week sessions for accomplished photographers who are beginning their careers.

Come learn the Top Ten Things we wish we had known about the Photo Biz,  our first year!  We begin Jan 5, and meet regularly Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00.  Just call the studio and we will help you register through the University of Arkansas.

It is that time of year when our name, “Angel Kissed,” proclaims its real meaning.  Unknown to many of our readers is the story behind the name.  Each Christmas, the name becomes more meaningful and this is the bitter-sweet story:

My husband and I were on a one of my first big photography assignments in Mexico, Spring of 1995.  We received news that my beloved step-dad had passed away suddenly. My husband put me on a plane to go to the funeral.

I had not lived in Fort Smith, AR, for 25 years. Los Angeles, CA. was the city where I grew up, and my married life had been in Oklahoma City.  I always felt tied to Fort Smith because my family returned there so I could attend University in that state.

As I flew there to be present for my Mom, I day-dreamed of the Christmas of  1995 when many members of my family had been together. It was a heart-warming Christmas.

My wonderful step-Dad made pies with my mom and then he played with my toddling nieces and nephews. The children’s laughter was hysterical as he tossed them into the drifts of an early snow. They thought they could fly, his little snow angels.

The clouds outside of the plane lulled me to sleep and I dreamt of that joyous Christmas.  I thought I saw him tossing cherubs in the clouds, teaching them how to fly.

And “Dad” turned and smiled at me and kissed my cheek, just as he had done that Christmas Eve. 1995.

He said, “Take care of your mom; she’s getting older,” words he had really said on his last Christmas , but they seemed more meaningful to me in the dream.

So I knew then, before the plane ever landed, that my husband and I would move to Fort Smith, AR. We would name my first American photography studio, “Angel Kissed,” in honor of my step-dad and my Mom.

15 years after that plane ride, Mom passed away in 2010, but a photograph of her and my step-dad,  from that 1995 Christmas, is prominently displayed on studio gallery wall.   They stand as a welcoming hallmark of  the Christmas Spirit of generosity and hospitality.

Thier character has become part of the old-fashioned warmth, charm and friendliness of Angel Kissed Photography.

For me, Christmas is the joy of time spent with family and friends who are the angels of our lives.   We are all “angel-kissed,” by This Special Season, and the memories we make and keep.

We take this time to wish you, our friends, clients and readers,  a Magical Holiday. May your homes be filled with joy and your hearts be filled with love.

Personally Yours,

CharMaine R. Beleele

Our second new dimension was the establishment of our sister business, Artistry By Charmaine. At that site we can enhance photographs already in your possession  with our Photoshop skills. We can give you a more professional or  polished look for your web site or for Face Book without a studio visit. Many of

Our involvement with electronic media led to our third new dimension.   It might be true that a picture can be worth 1000 words, but when it comes to the internet,  we have learned that  the power of words is still necessary.  When presenting yourself on the Internet, concise, creative words can be as important as photography.

Offering words and text became the next logical area in the multi-media development of Angel Kissed Studio. Original writing for your website or your blog is our newest service. Charmaine has established a new reputation in SEO skills with a  world-class web design company, Orlando Website Design. Discover more about SEO writing and Charmaine’s new free-lance writing offers at their site. Just click on the  Design Workshop tab at the top of the page.

We call this fabulous new photographic background ”Paris”  because it reminds us of a brocade wall-paper in a Paris Hotel.