Headshot Thursday, Redux

Now that the general craziness of the holidays is past, we are back to doing headshots for Betsy's Affiliate Referral Network on Thursdays. Today brought Renee and her lovely daughter to the studio, followed by Bill.

These are quick sessions, but they turn out nicely nonetheless.

Just got back from Steeler country!

This past weekend I spent some time in Steeler country. The place is crazed for their boys- with terrible towels being hung in windows and doors all over the place. I was in Pittsburgh to speak to the Triangle Association of Photographers at their Winter Meeting. I was presenting on Lightroom, and had a very receptive and attentive crowd. And very hospitable. They are a fun bunch, and I really enjoyed speaking for them.

Sadly, I have no pictures to post. But it was definitely an enjoyable time, and I would love to return to present a longer program.

Has it really been this long?

It's really been a busy time for us. First was Imaging USA in Phoenix, Arizona. My first time in the desert southwest, but definitely not my last. I only wish we had more time and could have explored a bit. Next time we are heading to Sedona for sure.

Imaging USA is the great convention and trade show for the Professional Photographers of America. There are classes to help us improve our craft and our businesses, lots of time for networking with other photographers, a chance to see our colleagues from other parts of the country, and a great trade show with all sorts of ways to spend your money. It is a blast!

There's also an awards ceremony, and I was privileged to receive acknowledgment of my Photographer of the Year award on stage in gorgeous Symphony Hall.

Yours truly in the print exhibit with my entries.


Yes, it was nice and warm!


A view of the tradeshow floor from atop the WHCC booth.


The architecture was awesome and the sky so blue! And no clouds.


The two of us, just after the awards ceremony.

No fuss, no muss

Getting a professional portrait done at Studio Mark Emile is easy, quick, and affordable. Two examples from yesterday: a group and an individual. We won't eat up your valuable time by not being ready for you. You come in, get yourself ready, and we position you and take the shots and you are on your merry way. This doesn't have to be like a trip to the dentist, and at Studio Mark Emile, we make the process as painless as possible. You will enjoy the experience and have a high quality result, one that will be a boon to your marketing. Leave the "point and shoot" portraits to the pretenders and dabblers. If you are serious about your business and your image, come to a professional.

Taking Advantage

With the holidays upon us, we often find ourselves seeing family from various parts of the country converging in one place. What a perfect opportunity for family portraiture. With a son on the west coast and a daughter in New York, it is not often that the LaRoses are all together in one place. But with the Christmas holiday, opportunity knocked, so we took advantage of the family gathering to photograph them today.

I haven't seen some of them since childhood, so it is fun to meet the adults they have become and see how much they have changed. Time marches on, so stopping the clock so to speak with a family portrait is a great way to remember how everyone was at a moment in time.

Here are a few shots from this morning's session.

One Happy Santa

Can you blame him? He even sent someone out after me with his email address!

Iron Brides before embarking on Sunday's adventure.

A visit to Madeleine's Daughter... and more!

Friday afternoon found us meeting the Iron Brides at the Portsmouth bridal shop Madeleine's Daughter for some shopping and makeup demonstrations with Joanne McDonough of Joyabeauty. It was a fun day for the girls, and even though I'm not a girl, I can see the attraction. So many dresses! Shoes! etc. Kinda like the Kittery Trading Post for girls, LOL.

After Madeleine's, we invaded a little pizza joint, and were happily consuming when an overly fit individual commanded the girls' attention. It was John Dye, a former Mr New Hampshire, who is to be their new personal trainer. After announcing to them that their pizza days were over, he marched them over to his fitness studio to whip them into shape. Mixing humor with his information, he kept the girls' attention and got them started on their new fitness program.

Here are a couple of shots from the day.

Mike and Michelle

Brother and sister Mike and Michelle dropped by the studio tonight for some portraits for Christmas presents. There is still time to do so, but the window of opportunity is closing fast. Here are just a couple from the session.

One great looking family

This great looking family took advantage of everyone being together for the Thanksgiving holiday to get some family portraits taken. What a fun bunch! We've known the family for years, and it is amazing to see how much the kids have changed. The boys are young men now, and little Mary is not so little, as you can see.

Onslaught of the Iron Brides

Wow. All I can say is wow. The Iron Brides Express rolled into town, and transformed the studio into a set. What is Iron Brides, you ask? A game show/reality show being filmed right here in New Hampshire, of course! Studio Mark Emile has decided to be a season sponsor of the program, which we expect to be a real kick.

Here is a small taste of what we got from today's session:

The contestants.


The girls trying to make an impression on Santa.


Our hosts, Jill and Brian.


Fourteen year old Amelia, who sings the Iron Brides theme song.


Her mom, Jodie, and Bill, who wrote the theme song and who plays it.


We have so much more than we can possibly blog. It's been quite a day.

Shoot the barber!

At least, I think that was Eric's thought. He was so upset with his haircut we couldn't wheedle, cajole, or even bribe him to take his hat off. So we left it on and the session went on regardless. Years down the road they will laugh their butts off (even Eric) when they see these pictures, I am sure.

This was a fun session, with people from all over. It was hard picking some for the blog as we had so many good ones. These have not yet been retouched, but to be honest there is not much to do to them.

3 month old sweetheart

Chloé met us in the studio the other day for her 3 month session. We are so looking forward to chronicling her first year (well, and the rest of her life, actually.) What a good baby! A real sweetheart.