Senior Graduation Announcements & Invitations

For those of you in the class of 2012, graduation is fast approaching. It's time to make decisions about parties and such, and especially announcements. The school has sent your parents information about regular old plain announcements. These impersonal announcements are what they had, and everyone in your class that buys them will get exactly the same announcements except for the name. B-O-R-I-N-G. And they're not cheap!

What do you suppose happens to them? Well, they end up being held until your graduation gift or card has been sent, and then they hit the recycle bin.

We're here to offer you an alternative. How about custom designed cards, specifically for and about you? And they are completely customizable. Whether you want them to be graduation announcements, or graduation party invitations, we can customize them to be exactly what you want. We can even make little business card size cards for you to give all your friends, at a VERY attractive price. It's up to you.

What do you suppose happens to these cards? They end up on the front of refrigerators, more often than not. Where they stay for years. People don't throw them away. We often go to parties, and find cards on the refrigerators from clients from years ago. It's great to see your work being enjoyed for so long.

Call or email the studio for pricing, and to order yours. We have special pricing for a limited time (until May 15th).

Announcing the Baby Contest Winners!

After a grueling judging session, our panel of judges arrived at the winners of the Beautiful Baby Contest held in conjunction with St Joseph Hospital. We had nearly 30 entrants in the contest, and we had our work cut out for us as they were all cute babies. In the end, we went through several rounds of judging to get to the finalists, and from the finalists, we selected the following winners!

First Place: Ellianna

Elliana is adorable, and very sweet, and captured two first place votes and a second place vote to be named our winner. Elliana has won a full session from Studio Mark Emile, and an 11x14 print. Her mother has already scheduled her appointment!

Second Place: Sierra

Sierra is another gorgeous baby, and was another hit with the judges. Sierra has won a full session from Studio Mark Emile and an 8x10 print.

Third Place: Landon

Landon was the easiest baby to photograph! Such a pleasant disposition. And such a handsome young man! Our cup runneth over with good looking boys, and Landon was tops! Landon has won a $50 gift certificate to Target.

Thanks to all who participated in the contest this year.

The galleries will remain live until May 1st, so if you would like to purchase any images from the event, you need to do so by then. The post below contains the link and information to access the images.

Beautiful Baby Contest!

St Joseph Hospital  in conjunction with Studio Mark Emile held the first annual Beautiful Baby Contest on Saturday at the Childbirth Center in the hospital. We had a great turnout! So many wonderful infants and toddlers. It is going to be hard to pick the winners.

Our expert baby wranglers, Betsy Levesque and Denise Davis, worked together with Sheila Caron from the hospital to keep everything running smoothly. All in all it was a very successful event.

Here's a sampling of the images we created during the mini-sessions:

Note: This is a SAMPLING only. These are NOT the winners. The winners have not been selected. The winners will be announced on April 16th. Good luck to all who entered.

When all of the images have been uploaded, this page will be updated and a link will be provided to the galleries, should the families wish to purchase prints.

UPDATE: The galleries are live! studiomarkemile.eventstorefront.com  The passcode is your child's full name, all in lower case, with no spaces or punctuation.

example: if your child's name is Michael Wolinski you will enter michaelwolinski

Introducing Cory

Class of 2013, guess what- it's just about time to start thinking about where you want to go for your senior portraits! Whether you have an open school (yearbook photos can come from any photographer) or a closed school (yearbook pictures MUST come from the contract photographer), you STILL get to decide who will be your senior portrait photographer. That's a good thing!

Cory will be a senior at Nashua High South next year, and is the first member of the Studio Mark Emile spokesmodel team! If you go to South, you definitely want to hit up Cory for one of his bookmarks. They are worth $50 towards your senior portrait package at Studio Mark Emile!

Why choose us? First off, there's the Studio Mark Emile EXPERIENCE. Whether you prefer a studio session or a location session, you will feel like a rock star! We capture your personality. We involve you in the creative process, because we love DIFFERENT. It's all about you. Who you are. Who you want to be. Creating memories for you and your family to enjoy for generations.

Cory was scheduled for a studio session, because, honestly, New Hampshire in March is not supposed to have this kind of weather. And we did indeed start in the studio. But who would be dumb enough to ignore this incredibly great weather? Not us!

Enjoy these photographs of Cory. And remember, it is not too late to become a member of the Spokesmodel Team.

Commercial Work

One of the things that keeps us busy at the studio after the holidays but before spring is commercial work. Our studio is transformed from portrait central to a product set, and often looks quite dark from the street as we quench every bit of stray light.

Product photography is time consuming and exacting, but if you want to show off your products to best advantage, it's necessary. Whether you are a multinational corporation or an artisan, your work needs to be photographed by a professional for it to look its best. This is how you get details that are clear, colors that are accurate, and lighting that is appropriate to the subject. If your products are not worth investing in professional photography, why should your clients invest in your products?

Master of Photography

Betsy and I recently returned from New Orleans, where we attended Imaging USA, the annual convention of the Professional Photographers of America. I am thrilled to announce that during the Degrees and Awards Ceremony, I was awarded the Master of Photography Degree, by PPA President Don Dickson.

The Master of Photography degree is one that is achieved by meritorious performance in International Print Competition. It is not a matter of simply taking enough classes or being a photographer for long enough. You have to create compelling images, as judged by affiliated jurors. It is about performance as a photographer, judged by people who know the difference between solid photography artistically enhanced and mediocre captures in which the flaws are covered over in Photoshop. It is a Big Deal.

It's hard for me to talk about me, but sometimes it's necessary. Thanks for reading.

NH Primary

We've been on the path to the NH primary since last March, when we first photographed Mitt Romney as part of a small gathering of business owners. Since that time we've photographed Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Ron Paul. We've been interviewed on camera back in the summer when Rick Perry first came to NH and became on overnight sensation (before he fizzled.) And again this past week, when the door to the studio opened and in walked a guy named Buddy Roemer (along with a camera crew.)

Today we come full circle. It's the day before election day, and Mitt Romney was here as the final installment of the Nashua Chamber's Backstage Pass series. Unlike our first meeting, which was an intimate affair, today's event was quite large indeed. The largest ballroom in Nashua was packed to capacity.

It's nice being the official Chamber photographer. While the media is (supposed to be) kept to the back of the room, I am given essentially free reign. This makes it possible to get some nice pictures and avoid the scrum that inevitably develops between competing news organizations.

We in NH are privileged to have our place in the presidential election process. It is something I have really come to appreciate as I've gotten older. While the general election may be almost exclusively the province of the large electoral college yielding states, we actually do have a voice in the early stages of the game. This is why it is so important that all NH residents go to the polls tomorrow. Respect the privilege and vote for your candidate.

Here are some of the shots from Mitt's breakfast visit:

Link to full Mitt Romney Gallery

As luck would have it, we were also invited to the Nashua Rotary's meeting, which featured Newt Gingrich as a guest speaker. After the former House Speaker's prepared remarks and Q&A session, we were interviewed by NECN. Fun stuff.

Images from the Rotary meeting:

Link to full Newt Gingrich Gallery

Don't forget to vote!

Thumbtack

Studio Mark Emile is happy to be using Thumbtack to help people who are looking for top-notch photography find us! You can check out our Outstanding  NH Photography on Thumbtack!

Size Matters

I got a call this morning from a client of ours who had senior portraits and a family portrait done this year. She and her husband had repainted their living room, and were in the process of rehanging pictures. Having been liberated from having "no free wall space" by virtue of having to take everything off the walls to paint, she discovered that the when she took advantage of the wide open surface and put her family portrait on that wide expanse of wall, it suddenly seemed not big enough.

One of the things we do here at Studio Mark Emile is provide expert advice in sizing the prints and canvases that we provide to our clients. In so doing, we try to guide you to the optimal size for your situation and budget. Now you might think that we always try to sell the largest sized prints that we carry, but we don't, and for a very good reason. It's not always the best size for our clients.

When you come to us for a family portrait, one of the things to keep in mind is what you are going to do with the prints you purchase. If you have a plan for what you are looking for, it makes it MUCH easier for us to provide you with precisely the right products for you, whether they are framed wall prints, canvas clusters, wall groupings or what have you.

This morning's client wished she had gone a size or two larger on her gallery wrap. Instead she will be adding another gallery wrap or two to fill the space. We are happy to help her either way, of course. But if you wish to avoid repeating her experience, consider where you are going to be putting your finished portraits when you come in for your premiere. You will find it's time well spent.

Presidential Candidate Rick Perry

The governor of Texas visited New Hampshire last week and we were happy to be chosen to photograph the event for the Nashua Chamber, who was hosting the event as part of the Backstage Pass Breakfast series. The focus of the series this fall has been on republican presidential contenders, as President Obama is running unopposed for his party's nomination.

 Perry proved to be an engaging speaker, and avoided the overt miscues that have plagued other appearances. He did a good job of remaining on his talking points, whether during this prepared remarks or during the Q&A session that followed. It will be interesting to see where things are in 30 days.

Latest Business Portraits

This was certainly an interesting session. Two people who are seeing each other but not married, yet they have the same last name. One person from my high school graduating class, of whom I have no recollection whatsoever (and there were only 120 people in my class.) I'm still baffled by that.

At Studio Mark Emile, we do a pretty fair number of business portraits. Whether they are environmental portraits (like the Faces of Nashua images) or simple headshots, we approach them with the idea of making you look your best. We use flattering lighting and expert retouching to provide you with a look that is simply not going to be replicated with a point and shoot or cell phone camera. It's a look that says "I am professional, and I care enough about my business to look like it."

Why New Moms Should Consider a Professional

Jenny came into the studio the other day, pushing her baby carriage, with her 15 month old daughter inside. She wanted to know if I could "fix" pictures of her daughter's first year. We pulled up the pictures on Facebook. For the 100th time, I saw poorly composed, marginally exposed, and fuzzy images that had been subjected to all sorts of "artistic" filters in photoshop. What do you say? "I told you so" is not my style, but for the love of God, you can avoid this plight!

 Jenny fell into the trap that many young mothers fall into. Jenny had a friend with a camera who's "starting a business" and "gave me a gift certificate for free pictures" for her baby shower. Naturally Jenny felt obligated to use her friend, plus she'd seen some of her friend's good pictures, and after all, professional photography is expensive so she'd be saving money. Right?

It's sad. We see this again and again. There's something that happens with a new mom, in which EVERY picture of her bundle of joy is a "great picture", until she gets her eyes back. It may be that she sees pictures of a friend's baby, and sees a huge difference in the quality of the pictures between what her friend with a camera has taken of her child, and what this other woman got from a professional. Then comes "why can't my baby's pictures look like that?" And perhaps an attempt to salvage the pictures.

The real problem is that babies change a TON in their first year. By the time you realize that your gift was not such a bargain after all, it's too late. The baby has grown. The baby has changed. And no amount of money can bring you back and get you professional level images at that point. There's no going back. The opportunity has been lost. Very costly "savings," indeed.

We see the pictures on Facebook. You love them because you love your baby. But they are not good. And when you finally realize that they are not good pictures, it will be too late. I would not be so presumptuous or egotistical to say that you have to come to us to get good pictures. There are MANY solid professionals out there. But there are many more who have no concept of lighting or composition, and deliver out of focus or motion-blurred images covered up with lots of photoshop work. Ladies, PLEASE don't use such fauxtographers. Find a real pro and make the investment. You will get joy from those pictures for your whole life, and so will your children and your children's children.

The difference between a professional (and yes, there are many who take the name without deserving it) and a fauxtographer is that a fauxtographer takes a gazillion pictures to get a few good ones by luck and circumstance, whereas a pro produces professional level images on demand, regardless of circumstances. One thing to look for: see if your photographer is certified, by the Professional Photographers Certification Committee. This is the standards body that provides real credentials to photographers. This isn't pay for a designation. It is a rigorous test of technical knowledge (2 hours, closed book, 100 questions, 70 to pass) coupled with a 20 image submission from actual client work. As one of the judges for such image submissions, I can tell you there are a LOT of people who call themselves professionals but whose work does not merit the name. Find a certified professional near you, and you can be assured the photographer knows what he or she is doing. You will be happy you did.