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?

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!