Arlene Anderson Arnold has been making people smile for 20 years, and they pay her to do it! She's been working as a professional photographer in the Ozarks region since 1984. Previously she partnered with a studio in West Plains, but in July 2002 she opened Arlene's Portraits in downtown Willow Springs at 206 E. Main Street.

Arlene graduated from SMSU/Springfield in 1979 with a B.S. in English. She taught middle school briefly, and came to the certain conclusion dedicated teachers are a rare breed-and she wasn't one of them. As her family became more independent, she progressed from photographic production, to assistant, to photographer.

As a member of the national and state professional photographer associations, Arlene keeps current with trends, technology, and business education. She is currently working for her Professional Photographers of America certification.

Arlene enjoys capturing her subjects' personality, whether they are 6 months old, 6 years old, 16, or 60 and still celebrating. Showing that personality means photographing them at her business or outside, color or black and white, or a location of her subject's choosing-or some of each. She likes capturing the celebrations too-weddings, family reunions, anniversaries, or any other reason her clients choose.

Community work and involvement have always been important to Arlene. She is a member of the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce, Rotary of Willow Springs, The Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown West Plains, Inc., and Business and Professional Women's Organization.

In 2002, Arlene married Tim Arnold (one of those rare teachers) and moved to a place in the woods north of Mountain View, where she continues to be awed with the beauty of the Ozarks.