May 2013 Tornado relief/auction! (For the Moore, Newcastle, Shawnee and surrounding areas)

I am not the best writer in the world. It is probably why I do not update my blog/website as often as I do facebook. As I write this though, I don’t care if my writing is perfect…I just want to say what I am going to say and not read through this dang thing one hundred times to make sure it sounds perfect and that I have spelled everything correctly.

I have lived in Oklahoma for just shy of 5 years. This is my second tornado to experience…in both, the tornado has missed my home in Newcastle by a mile or so; either to the South or to the North. I feel so many feelings about this recent tornado….Sad…well devastated really. Lucky, guilty…today is the first day that I have not cried nonstop…it all makes me sick as it is…then when I think about those kids…the parents that lost their children…I don’t know…I can’t imagine. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this.

In 2011 when the tornado hit Newcastle (again my first to experience one) I was seven months pregnant I believe? My husband, seven year old daughter (she is nine now) and I headed to the public shelter. It was probably quite a sight. Here is this pregnant, Oompa Loompa of a lady, with a rolling suitcase filled with pictures, laptop and camera behind her. My daughter had two small carry cages with her lizards in them and my husband had our big (and rambunctious) one year old weimaraner puppy. When we arrived at the shelter, we were told that we had to go to the back door and stand over this line since we had animals…this is where a lady proceeded to be very indecisive…She kept opening the back door, unsure of whether she wanted to be in this shelter that was now over capacity by hundreds of people. I typically never say anything to be mean or hurt someone else’s feelings. In fact, I avoid confrontation. I hate it. I am pretty sure that I told this lady to make up her mind and stop opening the door….In my defense, I was afraid that we were all going to be sucked out.

That experience was absolutely terrifying to me. Especially once we came out of the shelter and I saw all of the homes that had been demolished by this tornado. It was then that it hit me…the only thing of importance to me that I brought to the shelter (besides my family) was my pictures or things that had my pictures on them. After thinking about that, I decided that I would always provide my photography services to any families that wanted family images or images of their children, after losing their home to a tornado, at no charge. And because my husband lost his home to a fire growing up, I decided that I would offer that to anyone who lost their home to something tragic such as tornado, fire, flood, etc.

Also, I know that many of my clients know this already but I DO backup all images to external hard drives and then again to a disk before I erase the images off of my computers! I will always replace anything (disk, prints, etc.) at no cost to you, if you have lost your home.

I know these things will not even be on anyone’s minds right now but they are options for the future…

Now, as for what we can do right NOW!

I would first just like to say that I work with some AMAZING people in this industry! Some from Oklahoma, some not. Everyone coming together for one simple purpose though; to raise some money for the tornado victims from Sunday and Monday in Newcastle, Moore, Shawnee and surrounding areas in Oklahoma.

Here’s what we are doing. Starting tonight, on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/autumnmoorephotography we will be auctioning off multiple items… from photography sessions, photography props, backdrops, hats, bows, etc. even a cut, color and deep conditioning treatment from a salon in Moore/OKC off of 104^th…Things for photographers. Things for your kiddos…Things for people in general. Most items can be shipped, so you may participate in this auction even if you don’t live in Oklahoma! 100% of the proceeds will be donated! I am happy to ship anything to anyone willing to bid!

I also had a “de-stash” sale planned already to sell off my props, etc. that I no longer use. I will be listing some of these as well pretty soon. We will also be donating 100% of those proceeds.

I don’t ask that you like any of our facebook pages….this is not a networking thing. This is not a “promote my business thing”…I really just pray that people get involved with this, share this with your friends, family…I want to raise money for these people… Which I am sure everyone else would love to do as well! All of these vendors are going out of their way to make items, ship items….I pray that things will be bid above and beyond what they are worth and normally cost to help these people who have lost so much due to these tornadoes!

The auctions will begin this evening,.I will start adding things around 8 or 9:00 pm. They will end Friday evening at 9pm.

PLEASE SHARE this with anyone you know that might be interested in helping, by bidding! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! Lets make some money for these people!

Also, if you have any other ideas as to what we can do or how I can specifically help, please let me know! I am open to any ideas!

Also, I do have some clients (friends now really) that lost everything in Moore on Monday. The mom literally just picked up her newborn birth announcements, prints and disk last week from my studio. It makes my heart so sad for her…her and her husband are seriously THE sweetest people ever and their children melt my heart! Their daughter was down the hall from some of the children who were seriously injured and lost their lives in the elementary school…she is seriously one of the most well mannered, sweet , fun little girls that I have ever met! I said this to my assistant the moment after they left their newborn session…the family in general felt like old friends throughout the whole session!…anyhow, they have a newborn baby boy and their little girl…I know they are so gracious and would absolutely appreciate any help (and I know so many of their friends have already reached out!)! Their little girl wears a 5/6 clothing and is very girly girl. She has nothing…no bows, clothes, shoes, earrings, dress up, dolls…nothing can be salvaged! The baby boy is breastfed but is sometimes supplemented with Enfamil formula, wears newborn Pampers and newborn and some 0-3 month clothing…they don’t have blankets, baby items, wipes…nothing. I will be accepting any donations for them at my studio tomorrow (Friday) at 3595 NW 32nd Street, Newcastle OK 73065  Phone #392-3432

Thank you to all of the vendors!

Thank you in advance to everyone who is planning on participating!

It is during these times that my hope is restored as to how many wonderful, kind hearted people are still left in this world! I think sometimes it is easy to see all of the bad things that people are doing around you…especially with what the new covers; thefts, deaths, abuse, etc…It always makes me so sad and always makes me think, gosh what are these people thinking?!…Unfortunately those people will always exist in this world. But it is very evident to me, throughout all of this tragedy, how many amazing people are still out there! It makes my heart so happy!!!!!!

GOD BLESS!!!

“When we have nothing left but God, we discover that God is enough.”

The following places you can text to donate $10 to…it is automatically added to your cell phone bill.

The salvation army: Text Storm to 80888

The regional food bank of Oklahoma: Text Food to 32333

The american red cross: Text Redcross to 90999

I am definitely still alive…I think. (Newcastle, OKC children’s newborn photographer, photography)

It has been BUSY. BUSY. BUSY around here! Just when I thought I was so busy already, it got busier! HAA! As of right now, I will not be taking on too many new clients. I still have some availability for some newborns but actually already have quite a few booked out; the spaces are definitely filling up quickly!

I have so many expectant mommies and babies on my “Grow with me plans” that I really need to slow down and make sure that I always have availability for them all, without having to make them wait more than a week…

I hate to get too personal on here, because I do like to keep things professional, but then again, I am kind of an “open book” type of person…I am sure anyone who knows me could tell you that! So here goes!!!

I will say that it is SUCH a blessing to have met all of my wonderful clients/friends! Having just opened my studio in September of 2012, I had NO CLUE that I would be so busy, so soon! I was planning on it gradually happening but instead it kind of happened overnight! While I am SOOOOO thankful, I am definitely still trying to find the “balance”. It is hard to know what you can feasibly take on. Shooting the session is the easy part, but the editing can be overwhelming! PLUS, I went from VERY part time (2-5  sessions on a weekend) to VERY full time…Currently, I shoot 5 days per week, multiple sessions per day; and then stay up ALL NIGHT at least 2 days per week and the other nights get maybe 3-5 hours of sleep MAX…that’s a lot for me considering that I seriously used to be passed out on the couch by 9:30 before this….HAHA! It is all so worth it to me HOWEVER, I know that I cannot possibly continue this way for too much longer…this has been going on since the summer, so we are coming up on a year in a few months! I say all of this, not to complain, but to explain why I will be limiting my sessions. I don’t work weekends now (well VERY rarely) for my family time, but by the time my kids are in bed, I am on the couch editing even then…

I will now be taking my sessions on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays…occasionally weekends (special occasions, mini sessions, etc.) Mondays and Tuesdays will be my editing days and preparation days for the upcoming sessions that week. I am really hoping that will do the trick LOL! And I also hope that if you are a fellow photographer going through this, that this finds you and you know you are not alone! I will keep you posted on how the new schedule works out I will also be researching a bit more on workflow and maybe how to make things more efficient in that area…I am also going to be doing some newborn workshops with some AMAZING photographers that I admire so much, so I will definitely have those fun experiences to share as well!

As always, photogs and those of you trying to learn, I am ALWAYS here to help and encourage as much as possible! I always try to answer every single question received…I don’t know everything about everything but will always do my best to help however I can. I am an open book and don’t have secrets…it doesn’t bother me to share where I get things or how I do things or what my set up looks like…So, ask away!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their week!

I do always keep my Facebook current, as that is where most of my clients view my work. You can always check out that page at: www.facebook.com/autumnmoorephotography

Here is some of my recent work

Easter Mini Sessions (Oklahoma City Newborn & Children’s photographer)

I have gone a bit CRAZY with the Easter Mini set but I do love it! Easter is a bright and fun holiday in my mind!!! I think that all of the kiddos are going to have some much fun on the awesome swing that my husband helped me create! Plus we are going to have 3 sweet little bunnies too! My awesome local, pet shop here in Newcastle Oklahoma helps us out every year with bunnies! You can find them on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/scalesntailspetshop.newcastle

Mini sessions are $125 plus tax and cover the actual shoot and a custom disk (with copyright release) with a minimum of 10 images on it. I always space my minis out an hour so that nobody feels rushed; As a former preschool owner, I know firsthand that all children are different and while one child may warm up within moments of meeting me, another may take 10 minutes of me just playing with them to actually leave their mommas side!

I will be scheduling these sessions all throughout the months of February and most of March. If you are interested in booking a session, please shoot us an email at autumn@autumnmoorephotography.com or give us a call at the studio: (405)392-3432.

Be sure to visit us on Facebook to see all of the awesome sessions posted as they are shot!!!

http://www.facebook.com/autumnmoorephotography

I can’t wait to see all of my “regulars” and then meet some sweet little new faces too! I am truly blessed to do what I love and I thank each and every one of my AWESOME clients for making that a possibility!

Valentine’s mini sessions (Children’s, newborn photographer, photography, Oklahoma City, Newcastle photographer)

I am having too much fun with all of these kiddos for their Valentine’s minis! So excited to see lots of familiar faces and meet some new kiddos too!

Valentine’s minis are almost full but there are still a few times and dates available.

I will be shooting them through the 1st of February 2013. The cost is $125 plus tax and includes the shoot time, as well as a custom disk with a minimum of 10 fully edited images and copyright release for printing rights.

This mini is an important one as, part of the proceeds (25%) are going to the Kelly Bales Cure. Kelly Bales was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her liver. She is a 26 year old wife and mommy that is from Newcastle, Oklahoma. I have a few clients that are friends with her and once I heard her story and about the wonderful person she is, I knew I needed to do something to try to help her and her family! Of course, they are incurring a TON of medical bills with her going through chemo right now…Even if you cannot participate in the mini, I encourage you to at least find out more about her story. I know they would be grateful for anything you have to offer; Whether that be a donation or your prayers!

Her friends have set up a Facebook for her here: http://www.facebook.com/kelly.bales.16?fref=ts

Here are some images from the mini sessions:

Some favorites…(Newborn photographer Newcastle OK)

I wanted to share a few of my favorites from recent sessions….maybe I can keep somewhat current after the holiday season!

Christmas Mini Sessions (Newcastle, OKC newborn children’s photographer)

WOW! It has been CRAZY around here! Between shooting 5-6 days per week and editing 7 days (and very long nights) per week, I am pretty sure that I have not slept for more than 4 hours per night for at least 2 months now. No, really…not exaggerating. I really am not a “night owl” either so I have no idea how I have even kept myself awake. This poor blog has gotten ZERO attention either…I thought I might at least post some images from my Christmas mini sessions. I know at this point, I will not be able to blog all of the sessions that I have missed! I do stay very current though on my Facebook page! You can check that out at:

www.facebook.com/autumnmoorephotography

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Metro Family Magazine Cover shoot (Oklahoma City Newcastle ok photographer)

Yes, yes, I know. STILL VERY far behind on my blogging posts…Hey! At least I am always current and up to date on my facebook page. If you haven’t checked it out, you should definitely visit it at: www.facebook.com/autumnmoorephotography.

Anyhow, I had to share the cover that I shot for Metro Family magazine for the month of October…..We shot it at TG Farms in Newcastle…one of my favorite places to get pumpkins for fall! If you have not ever been to The Great Pumpkin Festival, then you are missing out as well! The Great Pumpkin Festival is held every year at TG Farms… It will be the last Saturday of October…it’s an all day event and SO fun for the kiddos!

On another note, the studio has been open for a month now and is in “full swing”! We are almost booked through the end of the year! YAYYYY! SO appreciative of all of my clients who choose me to capture their moments in life!

Newcastle OK Halloween mini sessions (children’s photographer)

I just had to share my mini session set-up with everyone…I am so excited about the bright fun colors!!! I cannot wait to set up the Christmas set! I know I am getting a bit ahead of myself but boy do I love this time of year!!!! YAY!

Mini sessions are a way to get some fun pictures for much less than a regular priced session…the cost is $109 after tax. You will receive 15-30 edited images on a custom disk with copyright release. It is approximately 20 minutes shoot time.

Photography Studio Grand Opening (Newcastle ok newborn,children’s photographer)

I cannot believe tomorrow is my grand opening! Goodness….I wish I had been able to post more as I prepared to have the studio ready but honestly it has been a CRAZY ride! LOL! To anyone who has ever opened a business, I don’t think I have to explain much more than that!!!

Instead of going into detail about all of the fun (and overly stressful) times, I am just going to show you some before and afters! One of my other passions in life is fixing things up…if I could “flip homes” on the side, I totally would, but as of right now, I cannot seem to find enough time in the day as it is!

Here are some before images of the studio:

1200 Square feet of one hot mess! LOL!

Now during the process of scraping and sanding the cement floors (which you could never pay me enough to do again!!! Hahaha)

And after it’s 2nd glaze in the front room…

And things are arriving!

Like the sticker for my door and my sign…YAY!

And we are working on painting walls and fixing up furniture…

More pictures to come, as this is not the final after but I am so impatient that I had to get some sort of picture once we got the floors, Chevron wall and furniture done!

Of course, to those of you that come tomorrow, you will be able to see the after in person!!!