Bonus Bucks are Back!

As we all scurry around trying to find the perfect gifts, we run into the same old issues. Is it going to fit? Is it going to be the right color? Does she prefer this style or that one?



What about a gift that fits everyone, in a color and style of the recipient's choosing? The gift of portraiture. A gift certificate to Studio Mark Emile is a gift sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. And until Christmas Eve, we have a bonus that will reward your generosity: Bonus Bucks. For every $100 you spend on gift certificates for your loved ones, you will receive $50 in bonus bucks. Bonus bucks can be used to make your gift larger, or you can keep them and use them yourself. It's a sweet deal!



So stop stressing about what to buy and come to the studio for a gift certificate. With 100% satisfaction guaranteed, you simply can't go wrong.

Winter Stroll

This year's Winter Holiday Stroll was fun to photograph. From my vantage point at the top of a downtown building, I had great views of the throng as it passed from City Hall down Main St and up to the Hunt Building. It was windy again this year, but thankfully not nearly as bad as last year.

After the tree was lit I joined in the festivities at street level, enjoying the various live acts that were around the downtown as well as stopping in to a few of my favorite downtown retailers. Just a quick note to mention that shopping downtown is good for your quality of life. Local merchants are not beholden to remote corporate offices, as are the mall stores. So we can offer unique items, not just the same old stuff. It is perhaps a bit ironic that I have only come to realize the bounty of what is available downtown since becoming a downtown merchant myself. Do yourself a favor and come downtown and browse the shops. You'll be glad you did.

Santa is coming!

We've set the dates for our annual portraits with Santa! There's no need to wait in an endless line at the mall when you can have a boutique experience at a mall price.

Call and book your session now to reserve a time that is convenient for you to minimize waiting, or you can always just walk in. You will have a first class experience at very affordable prices.




Our first session with Santa is on Ladies Night, November 18th, from 6-9pm. Come down with your girlfriends for a night out shopping before the holiday crush is on, and treat yourself to a photo with your girlies. We will have snacks and beverages to make it a particularly fun time, and bonus bucks for all gift certificates purchased that night! That's right- you can buy a gift certificate for someone else and get something for yourself at no extra charge! Last year Ladies Night was a blast, and this year we hope to make it even more fun.



Note that on Thanksgiving weekend, our Santa sessions will be held across the street from the Studio, at 94-96 Main St, at Nashua's first Festival of Trees. This will be during "Breakfast with Santa", from 9-11am.

Bird's Eye View

"I shot the Mayor, but I did not shoot the aldermen..." (Apologies to Bob Marley)

Being a photographer sometimes affords one "once in a lifetime" opportunities. And so it was this week, when we got to climb the scaffolding surrounding City Hall and "shoot the Mayor" against the eagle. The eagle is 8 feet tall and 7 feet wide, and the top of his head is about 120 feet above pavement.

Thanks, Mayor Lozeau, for getting us up there!





You get a great view of the city from up there. While up there, I created this panorama of Nashua, looking north.

Nashua Chamber Annual Dinner

We recently participated in the Nashua Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner. This year's theme was "Mad Men", a TV show on AMC about advertising executives in a high powered Madison Avenue ad firm set in the 1960s. Theme attire was encouraged, and the Chamber staff, Liz Baker in particular, did a great job in arranging for props for the photo room.

We had a blast!

Lots of people were very interested in seeing the pictures, so we created a gallery of images. Please note that all the images are copyright protected. Prints are available- at very reasonable prices- call the studio at 603.886.0957 for details.

Click here for the full gallery

Here are a few of the images:

Adrianna's session

We've had a recent spate of babies coming into the studio, starting with the lovely Adrianna. Adrianna came in with her mom Emily last week, and she was such a love! So cute, and so well behaved. It was a treat to photograph her and her mom.

Support for Jensine

We at Studio Mark Emile feel very strongly that our troops need and deserve our support. For that reason, we offer a free session and 11x14 print to any active duty military personnel.

Jensine first came to us several years ago, as a high school senior. And now she is off to Kuwait, serving her country. We are very proud to have shot her senior portraits, and we are prouder still to have created these portraits with her family.

Godspeed, Jensine. Thank you for all you do for our country.

What is the Session Fee For?

When you have a session with us, you pay a session fee. You may be wondering exactly what you are paying for.

We are not a walk-in studio. You need to schedule an appointment. This helps our studio run smoothly, ensures that we will have the personnel necessary to provide you with the exemplary service you have come to expect, and prevents other people from infringing on your session. Part of the session fee pays for the scheduling and consultation prior to your session.

During your session, we have a photographer and at least one assistant present for your session. We create the images at this time, generally an hour or more. So you are paying for two people to take care of you and create images for you. If we did nothing else, the session fee would be a good deal. But we do a lot more.

After you leave, we download all the images and go through them one at a time to select the best images to show you. We tweak white balance, adjust color and density, and crop all of the images. Some of the images we choose to show you in black and white, sepia, or one of our custom color styles. We pick a few images and fully rework them so you can see just how profound a difference there is between images straight from the camera and final images. All of this takes time and skill. The session fee is paying for part of that.

Once the images are prepared for your premier (the viewing and ordering session), they are brought to the premier room and set up for you. Your premier lasts about an hour, during which time you are given expert guidance to determine the best prints and products to purchase. The person who is conducting your premier is not a volunteer. Part of your session fee is going to pay them for their time.

If you think about the amount of care, skill, and time you are getting for your session fee, you are really getting a good deal even though the session fee has not purchased a single image. The session fee has put you in a position to purchase images; it has brought about the images that you may purchase. We at Studio Mark Emile take a lot of pride in providing a top notch experience from the first phone call to the final delivery, not to mention the care and skill that we bring to the creation of the images that you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

What the session fee does not do is purchase any rights to use any of the images created in any way. That is what the print prices are for. And in this digital age, the file prices and licensing terms for those files. This is what copyright is all about. When you create an original work, you get to decide under what conditions it may be replicated, if at all. When you purchase a file, you are essentially purchasing a copy of the file and a limited license to make use of that file. We do this on purpose to keep the cost as reasonable as possible. By strictly limiting the uses of the images, we are preventing people with lesser needs from subsidizing those with larger needs. Do you think you should pay the same to use your headshot on business cards as someone who plans on putting a headshot on hundreds of thousands of boxes of hair color? Neither do we, so we license usage and you pay according to how many rights and how much usage you need.

We hope we have given a little insight into what you are getting for your session fee, and why we need to charge it in the first place.

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Photography Spending Pays Off

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Photography Spending Pays Off

Hey, no kidding. Getting better photographs of your place helps it sell faster, for more money. Who could have predicted that?

A Wonderful Family

Recently the Ally family came in for a portrait. We were thrilled to have three generations to work with, including newlyweds. We were happy to be able to provide them with these fine portraits.

Denim to Diamonds 2010!

The 2nd annual Denim to Diamonds fashion show and ovarian cancer research fundraiser was held this past Sunday at Saffron Bistro in downtown Nashua. Studio Mark Emile is proud to have been selected to cover this worthy and fun event, and were happy to donate not only our services for the evening but also a family session with a framed 16x20 print to the silent auction.



This annual event feature fashions from Fresh of Nashua and jewelry from Scontsas jewelers. It is both a fun evening out for women who enjoy the fashion show, but also a sobering experience when the ovarian cancer survivors share their personal journeys. It underscores the worthiness of the cause to hear the speakers, and there are few dry eyes in the house when they share such a personal and often painful story.



The fashions and jewelry for the fashion show were just terrific, and as the pictures show, the ladies sure had a good time, whether they were modeling or in the audience.

Click here to go to the Denim to Diamonds gallery

Note that you CAN purchase prints at our special event pricing, AND make a donation to Ovations for the Cure at the same time. Studio Mark Emile will be donating 50% of the profits on all sales from this event, so pick up a 5x7 or 8x10. Call the studio at 886-0957 to place your order.

Please note that all these images are copyrighted. Please do not steal them by printing them.

Fun With Tavia!

Senior season has been very good to us, and we are loving how busy we are. It's really hard to keep with things like posting to the blog, because we are so backed up with the rest of running a busy studio. Plus the yearbook deadlines are approaching like a speeding train, and we are simply not going to let any of our seniors miss their deadlines on our account.

So I am going back a couple of weeks to show you Tavia's images. Tavia attends Nashua South, and was a great subject. She has multiple interests including basketball, lacrosse, and her car is her pride and joy. She is also very close to her family. We were able to incorporate all of these elements into her sessions, and she has some great images.

Colton's Sessions

We recently photographed Colton for his senior portraits. A senior at Alvirne, he has a strong interest in agriculture and is a standout baseball player. We photographed him both on-location as well as in the studio, and got a ton of great stuff. Here are a few favorites, as well as a video with even more of his images.

Recent Business Portraits

Even though we are in the middle of summer, aka vacation season, business goes on. Many people find it an ideal time to get a nice business headshot. People are tanned and fit and relaxed and it lends itself to nice images. Exhibits A, B and C:

Angela's Senior Portrait Video

Enjoy!

The story of Amelia

As difficult as it is for us to admit, we do not always get first dibs at our seniors. Sometimes they come to us after someone else has failed to deliver. And so it is with Amelia. Amelia came to us having already been to another studio and having been very disappointed with the resulting images. "Only 2 or 3 were even acceptable", and having remembered my presentation at Bishop Guertin's career day, she asked her mom to give us a shot. We're so glad they did.

The other photographer came highly recommended by her cousin, but the truth is that not every photographer meshes with every client. It's a very individual thing. That's why it pays to research photographers well to determine if they do the style of photography that appeals to you. Fortunately, Amelia was a great subject, we worked together wonderfully, and she got images she is happy to show off. Which is exactly as it should be. Here's a quick sampling of her stuff (and yes, Amelia, your beloved Pandora bracelet, too!) :)