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Appassionata

Monday, February 11, 2013 Posted in Music,Photography

I recently enjoyed the most creative photoshoot with a very creative couple: Jill and Jeff of the Appassionata Duo. They are both members of the Tulsa Symphony and are phenomenal musicians. She is a harpist and he is a violist. You really should check out their web site here. They met me at my studio in the Belvidere Mansion in Claremore on a Monday afternoon,   and did we ever have a great time! There are so many beautiful spots within the mansion for portraits—we didn’t even begin to tap into all of them—but the ones we chose worked out extremely well. They were so gracious and accommodating. One thing that is always a treat in photographing musicians is that they have finely tuned (no pun intended!) awareness of their body position in space. I’m sure this comes from many years of learning, without looking, just where to place the fingers to pluck the strings or where to hold your arm and hand to draw the bow. Because of their skill, it’s an absolute dream when it comes to posing them: they know just how to make the micro-adjustments that turn the portrait from blah to wow! Attached are a small sampling of some of the many winning images from the shoot. I’m pleased with how they turned out, and Jeff and Jill are too!

Tom Launius, CPP
Oak Tree Photography
918.729.0500

Taste of Tulsa 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Posted in Event

Was this ever a wonderful event! I loved the energy, the people, the food, and, of course, the cause: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tulsa. I was thrilled to be the portrait photographer, taking great pictures of those who attended. For those who had your portrait taken, here is how this works: look at the gallery of images displayed at the bottom of this post. They are numbered sequentially from 1 through 100. Look for your image(s) and, when you find them, email me at tom@oaktree.pro and give me the sequence number that is displayed below each image when you view it. Then I will email you the digital image(s) in a size suitable to print as a 5×7. Of course, you may also share your digital image via email, on your smart phone, Facebook, et cetera!
Now, in honor of the wonderful evening that we enjoyed together, and as a special thanks for having supported Big Brothers Big Sisters, I would like to encourage you to contact me no later than March 1st and book a portrait session! This can be for your family, for a child, for a high school senior, or for a pet. If you book with me by March 1st, and schedule your portrait session by Memorial Day, then I will waive my studio garden session fee of $100 for those who come to my estate grounds in Claremore, or reduce my $200 home session fee to $50 for those who have their portraits done at their home. Please contact me at your earliest convenience, since the available dates and times will fill up quickly. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tom Launius
Oak Tree Photography
918.729.0500
tom@oaktree.pro

 

RSU Public Television 25th Anniversary Celebration

Sunday, October 7, 2012 Posted in Event,Photography

Back in the days before there was cable and hundreds of channels from which to choose, Public Television singlehandedly nurtured my intellectual and aesthetic life with its programs on history, art, music, politics. And interesting enough, now that there are a gazillion channels from which to choose, Public Television still informs and challenges me in countless helpful ways. So, I was pleased when asked to photograph the 25th Anniversary Celebration for the Rogers State University Public Television Station. As is customary, I began by taking studio quality portraits of those who have come to the event. This is so much fun: extremely fast paced, with people lined up eager for a portrait, and only a minute to a minute and a half to greet each individual or couple, to pose them to look their best, then to draw a great expression from them for a superb portrait. I find it exhilarating. The portraits are in the gallery at the bottom of this posting.

If you are one of the attendees at the event and would like a complimentary digital copy of your portrait in this posting, just get in touch with me and I’ll be happy to email it to you. Also, please remember the special promotion that I will be doing for all of you: if you contact me and book a portrait session that takes place before Thanksgiving, and at the time of booking your session, you make a $20 contribution to RSU Public Television, then I will waive the session fee and also supply you with a complimentary 8×10 from the session. This offer is good not only for you, but for any of your friends, family, and colleagues. So, tell them about this terrific offer to support RSU Public Television, get in touch with me yourself, and lets create some marvelous portraits!

Tom Launius, CPP
Oak Tree Photography

Great Gatsby

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Posted in Event,Photography

The flappers and molls, gangsters and style-setters of the Roaring Twenties were in full regalia at the Will Rogers Memorial on a September Saturday, when the stars came out and the Fall breezes were blowing. I enjoyed the privilege of being the photographer for the evening, and I had no shortage of people, dressed to the nines, eager to pose for the camera and show their Great Gatsby style. If you’re one of those people and you see your picture among those displayed here, get in touch with me by phone or email, and I can arrange for you to receive one of the images.

Tom Launius, CPP
Oak Tree Photography

Poses with Poise

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 Posted in Family,Photography

When it comes to portrait photography, no one wants to “look posed”. In fact, I’ve had clients tell me, “I don’t want to be posed in my pictures”. At the same time, everyone wants to look good in their portraits. And, if that is going to happen, just “being yourself” or “acting natural” in front of the camera won’t cut it. In fact, that approach usually leaves people looking heavy, tired, or awkward in their pictures. So, I direct people in ways to stand, where to place their hands, and, most of all, how to connect with one another to show their bond of love. As I direct them, though, I keep things playful, encouraging them to breathe and to have fun. As I do this, I enjoy myself too, and the results show in the portraits! The above portrait is a pleasing example of this: the family and I had a great time together during the entire session, and once we came to the point of taking this portrait of the whole family, they were relaxed and responsive to my direction, confident that I was on their side and was leading them into looking their absolute best. Do they “look posed”  in the portrait? (That is, do they look awkward and unnatural?) Not at all! But were they posed? Well, yes they were, but in an artful way that makes them look like they were just being themselves. Which, of course, is the point with all posing!

Tom Launius
918.729.0500