Introduction to Digital Photography Course

We are pleased with the level of interest we've seen in our recently announced digital photography course. We've been spending some time fleshing out the details, and we want to get that information out to you.

This class is designed for the the neophyte camera owner that wants to learn how to take good photos. If you have a DSLR that seems to be harder to get good pictures out of than your old point and shoot, this class is for you. If you know someone who struggles to use their camera, this class is for them. If you don't know why your pictures are blurry, this class is for you. If you just want to learn how to make photographs that you can proudly print and display on your wall, this class is for you.

Each class will be 90 minutes of instruction on a given set of topics. You will learn new skills and have assignments to practice what you have learned to help you develop and retain these skills. There will be Q&A time during class to ensure that everyone is keeping up. Class size will be limited to 10 students to ensure there is sufficient personal attention for all.

Here's the syllabus:

Class 1: The Camera
Class 2: Understanding Exposure
Class 3: Elements of Good Photographs
Class 4: Post-Processing 1
Class 5: Post-Processing 2
Class 6: Photo Critique and Miscellaneous Topics

The class instructor will be international award winning photographer, Mark Levesque. Mark holds both the Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsman degrees from the Professional Photographers of America, is a Certified Professional Photographer, and has written many articles for Professional Photographer Magazine.

Tentative start date for the class is Tuesday, January 15th at 6pm.

You Asked, We Listened

With DLSRs being nearly ubiquitous, the digital age has brought photography into more hands than ever before. As new camera owners are quick to discover, having a shiny new camera does not mean producing better photographs is automatic. This is where a little training comes in. Studio Mark Emile is here to help. In response to a steady stream of requests, we are happy to announce our "Digital Photography for Beginners" class.

We will be offering classes for new photographers in the New Year. Our course of study will be 6 weeks of training for the modest price of $250. Classes will be held from mid-January to the end of February on either a Monday or Tuesday evening. This is a perfect Christmas gift for that special person on your shopping list that has (or will be getting) a DSLR and wants to learn how to use it.

We will be covering a wide range of topics from image capture to final output. This hands on course will teach you about how to operate your camera for the best results, how to make the best image captures for various conditions, what to do with the images once you've captured them, and how to prepare them for final output.

To take this course, you should have your own DSLR and at least one lens. A laptop with a version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements is a plus as we will be going over image manipulations in class.

We are taking reservations now at the studio for this class NOW. Gift certificates are also available. Class size will be limited, so sufficient attention can be given to each student's needs.

The syllabus is being developed, and will be available soon. Call or email for details.

As Fall Approaches

Summer is over, for all intents and purposes, with Labor Day behind us and school a daily thing for many of us. Fall is nearly here, and that means it's time to start planning for family portraits. Why is fall such a popular time for family portraits? The weather is generally still pretty good, there is an opportunity to get some autumn colors in the outdoor sessions, and people are starting to think about the holidays and the possibilities of giving portraits as gifts and using family portraits on Christmas cards and such.

With all of the busy times associated with back to school, it is easy for September and even October to get away from you. Before you know it, November is on your doorstep and you haven't even thought about your holiday cards and gifts. We can help.

Studio Mark Emile is putting together our first annual Fall Portrait Event. It is tailor made for people who don't need a lengthy session, want outdoor portraits, and don't mind saving a little money in the process. We will be on location in Hollis for a full day of sessions. Half hour mini-sessions will be only $75, and will be held on Saturday, October 13th (rain/wind date, Oct 14th). These sessions will book quickly, so don't delay. Don't worry. If you don't manage to secure your mini-session during our event, you can still get a full, private family session at the regular price. But this is such a great deal, if you can get on the schedule it really makes sense to do so.

Visit us at Hollis Old Home Days this weekend, September 14th and 15th. We will have a drawing for a family session and 24x30 canvas, as well as a number of other prizes. Be sure to visit our booth. We expect to fill up our available Fall Portrait Event sessions this weekend, so if you can't make it, feel free to call the studio during the week (603 886-0957) to secure your session.

A Call to Seniors

Every summer we see the same thing. June comes and the new seniors are so glad to be out of school, the thought of senior portraits is the last thing on their minds. We try and try to get the seniors into the studio in June and July, but they are for the most part uninterested until August, and then comes the grand rush. Well, seniors, the time to procrastinate is well past. School is less than a month away, and if you don't have your sessions secured already, you are apt to find that your times of choice are no longer available. The rush is on, and the scramble to find appointments is in full swing.

Fret not. There is still time to secure your own appointment. You might have to get up early to get a location session, or you might have to push your appointment into September, but you can still "git 'er done." But not to put too fine a point on things, you really need to call NOW. Seriously. We booked 3 sessions today in the space of an hour and half. Don't get left out.

When the blog gets quiet

There are a number of reasons why a blog might go quiet. Perhaps there is nothing new to say. Perhaps something bad has happened to the blogger. Or maybe the blogger is so busy that the blog has just taken a back seat to doing client work. I am pleased to say that our apparent hiatus has been caused by just such circumstances, and not anything bad.

Since our last blog post, we have been positively slammed. We've done weddings, 50th anniversaries, family portraits, senior portraits, baby portraits, business portraits and commercial work. It's been great. We are, however, eager to share what we've been up to. We are really going to try to stay current, so look forward to a flurry of posts, because we have no shortage of things to share.

For those of you who missed our week at the beach, we will be sharing some of those images in the next couple of weeks, and since it was so successful we are looking forward to doing it all again next year. A word to the wise: secure you spot early. We only have so many slots and they will fill quickly! Given the vagaries of the weather, we need to leave ourselves a little wiggle room, so when we announce the dates you will want to jump.

We are now in the thick of seniors season. If you have been procrastinating, now is the time to secure your sessions. Here are some of the images we've created of seniors in the last few weeks.

Ride to Read and Walk

Studio Mark Emile is happy to support the Adult Learning Center's 6th Annual Ride to Read and Walk. A worthy cause and a great organization. Photographs of the event are available for purchase, and support the Ride to Read and Walk. Ride to Read and Walk Gallery

Mogi'z Masquerade Hair Fashion Show

Mogi'z Salon put on a hair fashion show and masquerade ball at the Radisson recently, and Studio Mark Emile was happy to provide photography services for the event. Mogi'z outrageous hair styles were sported by an animated crew of models from Cinderella Modeling Agency. The concept was a real big city style event, and Mogi'z partner Julio certainly delivered that, augmenting the models with an opera singer, flamenco dancers, and a country/rock singer to provide an entertaining event.

Here are some of the models and their costumes.

Additional images of the models and their costumes are available on our Facebook page. Mogi'z Masquerade on the SME FB page

When we get our gallery set up for people who wish to purchase prints or files, we will post the information here.

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?