March 9-16th, 2013

This was my second year to attend WPPI in Las Vegas, the biggest annual convention for professional portrait photographers. I was with Catie Bartlett once again, and our new recruit Jodi Campbell. (We missed our Carly Carlson this year!) We decided to drive this year… and in the words of G.O.B. Bluth, “we made a huge mistake”. Ok, maybe not, but lesson learned and we’ll have to try something different next year. Because 18 strait hours, from Oklahoma to Vegas (and back), in the car is torture. But we had a lot of cool photos opps- a blizzard on the way there, and sight-seeing on the way back.

We stayed in the MGM Grand this year, which was THE BEST, and really the only way to go. Robby & Savannah Doland attended the convention separately, but I was so excited we were able to meet up- love those guys! The biggest lesson I RE-learned this year is not to try to attend a class EVERY block, but rather choose a few topics to focus on, thereby getting a lot more out of it. I probably had a lot more tip if I’d written this post a few months ago, haha. But that was the biggest thing to stick with me. I was a lot better about it this year. I was also stoked to see some of my photo idols in person and sit in on there classes, such as Sue Bryce, and Rob & Vanessa Adams! Rob and Vanessa are incredible talents, and I had the privilege of learning from them both in depth during my trip to Seattle for Creative Live! (But that’s for a later post.)

I focused on stretching the legs of my Canon 5D Mark III, 45mm tilt-shift lens, and my fun new toy- the Fujifilm Instax 210. From here, I’ll tell the story in pictures. (Any photos of me were taken by Catie or Robby.) Many of these images are available to purchase as a print. Please email me if you’re interested!

Triple exposure somewhere in Arizona:

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

Double exposures on Las Vegas Blvd:

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

This year we got wind of one of the raddest parties happening during WPPI- LAZERS & BLAZERS! More double exposure experiments, dressed up all fancy before heading out.

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

Also, if you can’t fully appreciate how jealous you should be about this party… here you go:

http://vimeo.com/61754257

Toward the end of our trip, I had to show Robby & Savannah around my all-time favorite spot in Vegas- The Neon Museum.

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

Fulfilling our tourist duty:

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

On the way home, we hit the Hoover Dam (I’d never seen it before)…

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

…and the Grand Canyon (second visit for me- the first time being also on the way home from my first trip to Vegas):

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

Grand Canyon Pano:

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

Somewhere in New Mexico:

© Anna Lee Media | WPPI 2013 | Oklahoma Portrait Photographer

As always, can’t wait for next year! Finally posting these photos has made me so anxious. Who’s in??

A final blog post about my zombies-meet-high-fashion photo series “Zombies Are People Too”. Even though there was only one photo from each shoot, model, and location, I had many favorites. It made it difficult to narrow my selections down for the final series. Introducing… the Zombie B-Sides! In other words, a few extra photos that I couldn’t just tuck away without ever showing. Along with these extra releases, this post features some behind the scenes photos with my makeup artist, Jessica, making the magic happen!

See the full, final series in this blog post, and some photos from the show opening at Brass Bell Studios in OKC in this one.

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Behind the Scenes

My self-portrait zombie shoot was assisted by Catie Bartlett.

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too

This project was my baby for over an entire year. It’s no secret I’m completely drawn to the edgy and unusual. I had the inspiration back in a college photo class- many years before the project culminated in a successful show to debut the finalized series at Brass Bell Studios in Oklahoma City back in October. (No mistake that it shared the month with the best holiday- Halloween!) A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support me in one of the artistic accomplishments that I’m most proud of so far. But if you weren’t at the opening, I’m finally releasing the images online here on my blog, so I hope you enjoy!

“ZOMBIES ARE PEOPLE TOO” is a conceptual and artist portrait photography series. The photos force together the opposing aesthetic themes of high-end fashion and the dark style of a modified zombie. It has solidified into a group of styled photo shoots, employing traditional fashion models who are eerily made up to resemble the living dead. The scenes are set in locations across Oklahoma (and one in New York). Click the link below to view the trailer for the series, made by the very talented Andrew Sloat. It was filmed during Caitlin’s shoot in New York.

ZOMBIES ARE PEOPLE TOO – Art Show Trailer

You can also check out the Series mini site, created by Catie Bartlett, here.

I couldn’t have done any of this without the extremely talented Jessica Fulton, my HMUA for the entire project. She was able to execute my vision perfectly and stuck it out with me through the year and a half it took to complete the series. I’d also like to the thank the models who appeared in the photos- for humoring my crazy idea and being willing to go out in public with a pound of black makeup on their faces (especially the guys) and quite possibly scaring some children. Their names are listed with each photo.

Caitlin Sloat:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Evan Crowley:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Lindsey Robinson:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Chelsey Cope:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Brock Lay:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

I even included a self-portrait, assisted by Catie Bartlett:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Caitlin Sloat:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Christa May:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

Alberto Roubert:

© Anna Lee Media | Zombies Are People Too | Conceptual Photo Series

I’ll be following up with some behind the scenes photos and a post about the show opening at Brass Bell. I may also share some B-sides (photos that were not part of the final series, but great none the less). So stay tuned for those!

I realize that these images barely scratch the surface of the “steampunk” look, but I’ve always been drawn by this style and really wanted to do a steampunk-inspired shoot. I have to give props to Catie Bartlett for shooting these with me! We had so much fun with the dark and whimsical theme, in a perfect, woodsy location, on a nice day in December.

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Oklahoma is full of talented retail artists! Photo shoot in downtown Norman representing local craft and stylists, along with a few good-lookin’ Okies to show them off. 🙂 Credits coming soon.
























This year on Thanksgiving, I decided to capture the day with a retro, documentary style. Very candid and unposed. An exact representation of the way this day passes every year at the Lee house, with all of our family who still live in driving distance. Homemade food, football on TV, and three little nephews with more energy than everyone else combined (after Thanksgiving lunch) playing in the leaves.




















Kathryn in her natural habitat:














I am so excited to finally announce the series that I’ve been working on for a looooong time, and the show where I will be debuting it! The theme is… wait for it…. ok, you already know- it’s zombies. Zombies meets high fashion, that is.

Brass Bell Studios will host a show opening for my conceptual editorial series, Zombies Are People Too, on Sunday, October 7th from 4:00pm- 7:00pm. Brass Bell Studio is located on the corner of NW 33rd & Villa in Oklahoma City. There is no admission cost, and the show will include a cash bar. After the opening, showings will be available by appointment during the month of October.

Check out the show website to watch the show trailer/sneak peek of one of the zombie shoots created by Andrew Sloat:

www.zombies-are-people-too.com

The idea was conceived years ago while doing a photo assignment for my fashion class. I made up my models to look like zombies to add some sort of creative interest in an otherwise very strait forward technical learning exercise. Since then, I’ve wanted to do an entire series, but take the time to do it right. It’s always been in the back of my mind. Last year, with the help of some awesome people, I decided to make it happen.

I’ve always been drawn to this dark aesthetic- kinda eery and creepy. I’m well-versed in B-horror movies, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Obviously shooting weddings doesn’t really call for this style much (except of course in the case of the zombie engagement shoot), so when I have the opportunity to shoot photos with an edge, I’m very creatively motivated. I do however have an outlet in this realm when I’m working on some band promos or fashion shoots. (Now, I do want to clarify that the zombie aspect is truly meshed with fashion, so if scary movies aren’t your thing, rest assured that this will be fairly tame. Bloody/gory isn’t part of the vision in this case.)

For this series, I’ve worked with a handful of male and female models and the shoots take place in locations across Oklahoma. I couldn’t have done it without the help of Jessica Fulton, owner of Siren Beauty Lounge. She has been the makeup artist on the series, executing my vision perfectly! I’ve also worked with some fun and eager models who I’m excited to reveal at the show.

It has been a huge undertaking, but I’m extremely excited, and I think it will be the most personally important show I’ve done to date. Hope you can make it! Don’t forget to RSVP to the Facebook event!

My beautiful sister Kathryn often ends up being my go-to model when I feel like shooting, whether I’m trying a new technique, idea, or just for fun. In this session, she shot a few of me as well!







And… one of me:

RAW is an organization that hosts art shows in major cities across the country every month. I participated in OKC’s the second RAW show called Mixology. Thanks so much to every that bought tickets and came to support! I had a great time!

If you’re an artist looking for a venue to display your work, look at becoming a RAW artist! Even if you’re not in Oklahoma City, there may be one near you. Check out their website: http://www.rawartists.org/oklahomacity.

What makes them unique is the multi-sensory aspect they bring to the art show- featuring artists, musicians, fashion designers, models, hair and makeup artists, videographers, and more.

Click on the link below and find my name (#15) to see my video interview at the show!
Anna Lee RAW Video Interview






Blake Fischer:




My beautiful friend Caitlin participating as a model in the Nicole Moan ceramic corset fashion show:

On our way back from a wedding, Catie and I stumbled across a really neat abandoned property. We couldn’t resist checking it out! There were still all kinds of furnishings just left inside a few dilapidated buildings, now covered in vines and tall grass. Nature had completely taken over. It was really interesting! The photo of me was taken by Catie.