markspixels

Changes a brewin'!

2008-04-20T13:52:00.002-04:00

We are taking the big step of rebranding the business. MarksPixels is becoming Studio Mark Emile. We have a new name, a new logo, a new website, a new blog, but one thing we have not changed is our commitment to excellence and insistence on providing the highest quality service possible.

I invite you to view our new blog studiomarkemile.blogspot.com That is going to be the active blog moving forward. See you there! We have many exciting new developments (no pun intended!) to share with you.

Lightroom Super Monday

2008-04-07T19:48:00.002-04:00

Today I conducted a Super Monday PPA Continuing Education class on Adobe Lightroom at Jeff Dachowski's studio in Manchester, NH. This full day program introduced Lightroom as a workflow tool, and thoroughly dissected the operation of each module. Effort and time-saving tips such as the use of presets, templates, and customization were presented, and all of the attendees left with a solid foundation in the use of Lightroom. I invite any of today's attendees to email with any questions.

This was my first full day program, and I'm pretty pleased with how it went off. I'm glad I had this opportunity prior to the larger group to which I will be presenting in two weeks in Pennsylvania.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-04-04T15:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday, and a fine day it was. Nice weather for a change, and I came home to this bad boy. 6.3 lbs of feisty crustacean, and he barely fit in the pot (and it's a BIG pot!) A lot of people will tell you the big ones aren't any good, well they are wrong! This was delicious. Cooked him for about 25 minutes and it was perfect! Nik and I made short work of him. Betsy decided to pass. Too bad, honey! He was delish! Thanks for a great birthday.

Phalaenopsis

2008-03-22T17:25:00.002-04:00

It's a pretty little orchid, isn't it? Watch out not to get too close, it just might bite!

As Easter approaches

2008-03-18T21:14:00.002-04:00

Little ones get pictures taken. Ruby makes another visit to grampa's studio, and in 3 minutes we took 24 photographs, most of which turned out (the ribs were ready, and everyone was hungry!) Here are a couple. Loving the new background. What do you think?

Fun and Learning Wtih Don Chick

2008-03-17T23:13:00.002-04:00

During last year's NHPPA convention, the annual scholarship auction was held, and among the items I walked away with was an afternoon of personal lighting instruction in my (residential) studio with Don Chick. Don is the current NHPPA President, and has won NH Photographer of the Year 2 of the last 3 years. He goes 4/4 in national with alarming regularity. He's the real deal. So I was delighted to score an afternoon of personal instruction for the paltry sum of $100. (The prior year he got $350 each from two photographers, neither of whom took advantage of their purchase.)

To those of you who have people as generous (and talented!) as Don donating their time in this way, take advantage of it.. Here's a selection from the images we created:

The End of MarksPixels

2008-03-11T21:51:00.001-04:00

The MarksPixels era is coming to a close. Don't cry for me, Argentina. All is far from lost. Stay tuned for an exciting new announcement, coming soon!

A Little Photoshop Fun

2008-03-09T23:13:00.002-04:00

Spent some time playing with some images of Jensine and Elise tonight. Lots of fun. Thanks to Kirk Voclain for the templates.

Late class of 2008 senior

2008-03-02T23:33:00.003-05:00

Why call a senior who has yet to graduate late? Because most seniors get their "senior portraits" get them done between the spring of their junior year and the early fall of their senior year, mostly due to yearbook deadlines. This is Elise, a lovely young lady who came by the studio today.

If you've procrastinated through your senior year and have failed to get your senior portraits done or are simply unhappy with the images you got from the contract photographer, contact us. We'll set you right up. You'll be photographed by Mark himself, not an employee with little experience and training like you might find elsewhere. Give us a call and we'll schedule a consultation, during which we will discuss what your goals are, what your ideas are, and how we will get you some great images.

The Rubester

2008-03-01T23:41:00.002-05:00

Ruby, my granddaughter, came by the studio today. What fun! We buried her in beanie babies. And put her pretty pink dress on her. And bunny ears. These are SOOC, as you can see. We all adore her.

Introducing Jensine!

2008-02-24T22:46:00.003-05:00

The lovely Jensine is the first of the MarksPixels studio spokesmodels for the 2009 senior class. Isn't the awesome? We had a super fun session this afternoon, and a lot of the reason for this is she came prepared. She had plenty of different clothes, but also relevant props! She is studying culinary arts, and brought her chef uniform. She plays lacrosse and field hockey, and brought her sticks. Here is a small sampling, check out my myspace page or facebook page to see more.

Like what you see? We can do this for you, too! Contact me and we'll set something up. MarksPixels specializes in senior portraits, and is currently seeking additional senior spokemodels. Interested? Apply by contacting me!

Listen to the Music!

2008-02-17T19:55:00.004-05:00

So how did we amuse ourselves last night? We went to the 1st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of Greater Nashua concert. What a great time! There were 5 different acts, all of whom had ties to the Nashua area (many with LOOOOOOOOONG time ties.) And her honor, Mayor Donnaleee Lozeau even showed up, with commemorative proclamations for 3 of the bands. It was a fun night of rock and roll.

Many of the bands were pretty incestuous, borrowing and trading member from other bands, so it was interesting to see who played with whom over the course of the night. Leading off was Jimmy D, who did a solo acoustic set including some pretty great songs, including Ants Marching by DMB among others. The crowd hadn't totally gathered by then but he started things off well. Next up was the 3 piece band AMP, who were pretty damn good themselves, and included a couple of other guys for some of the last numbers. Then came crowd favorite Fantasia, who pretty much brought the house down, provoking the issuance of ladies' undergarments from the crowd. Now that was hilarious!

Fantasia bassist Ron Trudeau was the organizing force for this concert, which was a fundraiser for a scholarship in the memory of a teen killed last year in a car crash that also took the life of another teenage girl. The Nicole Scontsas fund was set up in memory of one of the young girls.

One of the things we did was to create slideshows of images from the concert during the course of the night and Sky Lounge owner Alex Newell got them up on the big screen (and a bunch of the other TVs) for us. In the next few days I am going to create a larger slideshow from the entire event and post it here (and on YouTube, probably). Check back. It will be fun!

After Fantasia the legendary Nashua band Aces and Eights played. I saw them close to 30 years ago up at the Derryfield School in Manchester. I didn't recognize a single person, LOL! Finishing up was Project Mess, dedicated to the memory of Chris Messier.

Many additional images will be posted in a gallery on www.markspixels.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T09:19:00.002-05:00

Today is the most Hallmark of holidays, Valentine's Day. Your gift today is an image which I posted several years ago and which has showed up on a lot of italian blogs since. I think it is appropriate for today. Enjoy the day with your sweetie, and be sure to let your sweetie know how important s/he is to you. Hallmark holiday or not, every day is a good day to pursue love.

Saturday Night Fun

2008-02-10T23:33:00.000-05:00

What to do on a snowy Saturday night? How about have a friend over and create some new images? Um, ok, I'm in. The lovely ladies here are my wife's friend Jen and my wife. We had a nice relaxed shoot last night. Maybe you and a friend would like to have a similar session? Contact me and we'll set something up!

Wanna learn some Lightroom?

2008-01-31T21:25:00.000-05:00

Now that the contract has been signed, I am pleased to announce that I will be conducting a couple of seminars on Adobe Lightroom. This new application is designed for photographers and provides a new and streamlined workflow for most of the tasks that photographers face.

The first seminar is a Super Monday event which will be held in Manchester, NH in early April. This event is open to other photographers and is $99. It is an 8 hour program entitled Workflow at the Speed of Lightroom and is a complete overview of the software. Bring a laptop with Lightroom installed for some hands-on experience.

The second will take place in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (right outside of Harrisburg) on April 22, when I will be presenting Workflow at the Speed of Lightroom to the Certified Profession Photographers of Pennsylvania. They will be opening this program up to others, and when I find out the fee for participation I will update this entry.

Come join me and learn Lightroom. If you are a photographer, this will revolutionize your workflow.

Website Reconstruction

2008-01-28T14:17:00.000-05:00

I am currently working on revamping the website, www.markspixels.com

It has been a long time without a facelift, and it's badly in need to improvement. So far not too much has changed beyond the home and contact pages, but I'm motivated to move forward here. Returning visitors to the site will see some fairly obvious changes, with more to come. The slideshow on the homepage is somewhat large if you have a slow internet connection. I am a bit spoiled with my FIOS connection right now and so I'm not a good judge of whether it is too big or not. If you check it out, please leave a comment here (or send an email) and please include your connection type and/or speed.

I am also soliciting general comments on the site, whether they are directed towards the graphical design, user interface, navigation, images or whatever. This is your chance to influence things! Speak up!

The Doctors

2008-01-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

A fellow member of my Business Networking International group, affectionately referred to as Dr Phil, came by the studio with his wife over the weekend. She is Dr Jessica. They are both chiropractors and make a cute couple. We had a nice, relaxed session from which I include a few shots here. Nice people. If you have back trouble, go see them and they'll straighten you right out.

Imaging USA

2008-01-12T08:22:00.000-05:00

We recently returned from a terrific photographic conference in Tampa, Florida called ImagingUSA. It is the largest and best photographic conference in the world, and Betsy and I are pumped. We each attended over 10 seminars, frequently splitting up to maximize our learning. It has proved to be an effective strategy as we managed to learn more together than any one person could have learned. In addition to all the great speakers that the conference offered, the show floor was packed with vendors of all stripes. It was amazing, and it's a good thing the show floor was open for three days because there was so much to look at.

If that was all there was to Imaging, we'd have been more than satisfied, but the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones cannot be overlooked. It was great to see everyone, and the networking opportunities were staggering. It looks as if there will be additional speaking opportunities in the future as a direct result of meeting movers and shakers in Tampa. It's all very exciting.

The next few weeks will be spent strategizing how to move the business forward in a major way. We are ready to make the push, ready to bring both our photography and our photography business to the next level.

Welcome 2008!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

Christmas, at least the magical part, is about the little ones. In our case, we have a 1 year old granddaughter to dote upon. She has now been initiated into the madness that is Christmas at our house. Gifts and paper everywhere, not to mention plenty of good food and drink.

The Princess Turns 1

2007-12-27T22:15:00.000-05:00

My granddaughter Ruby turned one last weekend. A great excuse for cake and ice cream, not to mention breaking her in to the tradition of opening gifts. It was a lot of fun.

Baby Parts

2007-12-08T22:20:00.000-05:00

Back a bit we had a nice baby session with Kevin. Mom was interested in a "baby parts" composite. Here's what we came up with.

Let's go for a drive

2007-11-11T19:29:00.000-05:00

My wife Besty and I hit the road this afternoon to bring my UNH-attending daughter her bicycle (and half of the rest of the house.) We decided to make an afternoon of it, and went to Portsmouth for a little while. It was a picturesque New Hampshire autumn afternoon.

After Portsmouth we aimed the car towards Durham. As we were driving along, Betsy looked to her left and saw this scene. I ran across the highway to grab a couple of shots.

Once we got to Durham, my daughter wanted to show us where she and her new boyfriend had picnicked on their first date. We missed the turn, but it was fortuitous. We spied these mute swans and took a few minutes to check them out.

Alvirne Homecoming

2007-11-09T19:51:00.001-05:00

Nik and Sara, finally dressed for homecoming (according to the moms). Tonight is the Alvirne High School homecoming dance, where Nik and Sara are even now just beginning to have fun. A couple of quick shots before they left to document the occasion. Cuties, huh?

Patriots Pre-Game

2007-11-04T23:20:00.000-05:00

Matt returned today for his location session, just prior to the Patriots game. We had brilliant sunshine all morning, and most of the afternoon, until it came time for the session. Then the sun played peek-a-boo, and disappeared. We managed a fun and useful session nonetheless. Finished just in time for the Patriots game, which was a bit of a nailbiter. Thank God the good guys won!

Fun session this afternoon. Got some good ones, I think.

Meet Matt

2007-11-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

Matt came over for a studio session yesterday after being unimpressed with the images from the contract photographer. I have to say, lackluster photos from the contract photographer are good for my business. LOL. Matt was supposed to have his outdoor session yesterday, but inclement weather pushed it to today. We'll still get it done in time to watch the Patriot's game! Go Pats!

Here are a few from yesterday's session.

Another baby session!

2007-10-28T23:16:00.001-04:00

This little sweetie is my granddaughter, Ruby. Today was the day for her 9 month session, and she was such a good girl. We had a lot of fun in the studio and out in front of grandma's fall display.

Baby Session

2007-10-22T23:39:00.001-04:00

This little fella came over to the studio today for a 6 month session. He was so cute! And so well behaved. This couple is truly blessed, and we sure had a nice session.

Fall Family Session

2007-10-22T23:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday brought sparkling weather to New Hampshire, and in addition to the Patriots hammering the Dolphins and the Red Sox advancing to the World Series, there was photography in the air. We had a fun family session in the bright sunshine. Here are a few examples:

Fall in NH

2007-10-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

Fall colors are late this year, owing to some unseasonably warm autumn weather. We're finally in a peak weekend color wise. Spent some time yesterday scouting a spot for today's family session, and brought the camera along, fortunately. Got a few decent shots at the place, but then on the way home, it started to rain. And there was a gorgeous rainbow. Sadly, I didn't have my wide angle lens on, so I couldn't get the entire thing in one shot, but did manage a few of the rainbow nevertheless.

Songs at Alvirne

2007-10-17T15:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visitng my daughter's school and photographing two singing groups: the B-Naturals and Treble Choir, of which my daughter is a member. These are groups that you need to audition into, consequently the talent level is quite impressive. These groups also have the good fortune to have Liz Beaton, a talented musician in her own right, teaching them. And they certainly seem to be responding.

After photographing the students, while we packed up, we heard them warming up and practicing. They are good. And not just a little bit. Treat yourself to a performance; you will not be disappointed.

One of the fun things was showing the girls some of my work, and listening to their responses to some of the senior guys that I've photographed this season. Some of the boys have fan clubs, let me tell you. :)

Mini-Monday: Intro to Lightroom

2007-10-17T15:31:00.001-04:00

Monday night I spoke at Dachowski Photography Studio in Manchester for an NHPPA mini-monday program entitled "Intro to Lightroom". Lightroom is a new program for photographers which is designed to streamline the photographer's workflow. It combines an image database, a superb RAW converter, along with output tools such as a slideshow generator, print module and web gallery software. All rolled into one. Yes, it rocks!

I introduced the software to an audience that varied in experience from those just thinking about using it to those who are reasonably well accomplished. While I had been concerned about having enough material to speak for 2 hours, in truth my issue was quite the opposite. I easily had sufficient material to fill a 4 hour program, consequently the slideshow, print and web modules were merely skimmed over. It's a very powerful program, and has completely transformed my workflow. I'm loving it.

You can download my program presentation here: IntroToLightroom.pdf

Training. And more training.

2007-10-04T00:49:00.001-04:00

Finally catching up here. It's been a jam packed week! Monday night was Jackie Haggerty's Hollywood Glamour workshop. From posing to lighting to post-processing, she covered it all. Terrific program, providing many details that are sure to add to any photographer's arsenal. Great Stuff.

Tuesday began bright and early. Well, maybe not so bright, but plenty early. Our photo safari, conducted by Keith Howe of North Platte, NE was nothing short of amazing. How to find the light, how to make the light, how to harness the light. Posing. And a gaggle of fun and beautiful models. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

Special Guest Appearance

2007-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:00

It's great to know talented photographers from all over the country. This is going to be a very special week indeed. Photographers from various parts of the country are converging on NH for a special week of education, exchange, and conviviality. As a special treat, Jackie Haggerty from Studio J Photography in Normal, Illinois visited MarksPixels for a special hands on tutorial with your humble scribe along with the lovely young ladies Nik and Kaitlyn. Jackie does a great job with natural light whereas I tend to rely on off-camera flash to provide on location lighting.

It was great working with Jackie, as I could see how she'd find light and locations where I would have been inclined to walk on by. Additionally, watching her pose the subjects was really helpful. She also demonstrated that when you don't have the right light where the furniture is, you can actually move the furniture into the light! Who'd have thought? I look forward to employing the new techniques in my own work. Here are some of my favorites from the session, straight out of the camera.

Tomorrow night we travel to see Jackie's '40s glamour mini-monday, which will be conducted at Dachowski Photography's studio in Manchester, NH. It promises to be a terrific program, and she is presenting it to the Maine PPA affiliate today.

Artsy Girl, take 2

2007-09-24T00:39:00.000-04:00

I'd looked forward to Sam's location session since the consult. The idea was to create some images that were original, if not idiosyncratic. Sam has a great look, one that's all her own, and it was a blast photographing her this afternoon/evening. We started at the Barrett House grounds, until we were chased from there, and ended at an old cemetary on Main St in New Ipswich. Here's a sampling of what we came up with. Enjoy! We sure did.

A fun session

2007-09-17T23:16:00.000-04:00

I believe in recruiting models when they're young. Get 'em before they become big stars and have pushy agents insisting on a name photographer. The girls wanted a fun model session, so that's what we did. Here's a sampling:

As summer winds down

2007-09-09T11:30:00.000-04:00

it's a little easier to have a successful beach session. The key to a successful beach session is getting good light, and that pretty much means sunrise. Sunsets have great light, too, but there are usually many more people to clutter backgrounds. So sunrise it is, and with the sun rising later, it's a little easier to get everyone together and out to the coast. This is what I saw yesterday morning before the shoot got underway. At this time of year, you can do a beach session at 6:30am- a whole lot better than in June!

Artsy Girl

2007-09-07T01:26:00.000-04:00

The phone conversation was intriguing; an "artsy and individualistic" senior, according to her mother, needed senior portraits. The consultation showed mom wasn't kidding. Hey, works for me. I was anticipating the opportunity to unleash some creativity. The studio session came tonight. After a slow start, we really picked up steam and by the end we were collaborating beautifully. I am so looking forward to our location session.

Continuing Education

2007-09-06T01:17:00.000-04:00

Being a photographer, at least being a good one, is an active process, not a state of being. This means you are constantly needing to learn new things, get out of your comfort zone, stretch yourself as an artist, or otherwise seek to improve. Else you stagnate.

Sometimes learning comes easier than others. It helps to have a great teacher. Today's seminar was conducted on the grounds of the statehouse here in New Hampshire. Jeff Dachowski demonstrated his particular style of wedding/bridal photography with the lovely model Erica. It was a blast, and informative. It ended up being a tutorial on harnessing natural light.

Where does the time go?

2007-08-29T12:45:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know it's not the next day, but by the time I finished processing Maryellen's images and ordering them it was very late and I was very tired. Then I spent a few days at the Cape. And I'm just starting to think about catching up now. Whew!

Anyway, here are a few of Maryellen's images, taken from the set that made it into her folio. Don't be afraid to comment!

More Taylor

2007-08-22T02:30:00.001-04:00

Finally got around to processing more of Taylor's images tonight. Well, truthfully, this morning. Having a blast. But the hours are getting short and I ought to hit the hay. Tomorrow night, more of the same, and more MaryEllen images.

Abercrombie Model?

2007-08-16T09:06:00.000-04:00

Last night's session was with Jake, another Nashua North senior. Looks to me like he could be an Abercrombie model with that tall, athletic body and angular good looks. Here are a few from our session.

Session++

2007-08-15T01:26:00.000-04:00

Tonight's session was with Mollie, a fun senior from Nashua North. It was the sort of session that could have gone either way, with Mollie arriving complete with the exact sort of tude you'd expect from a teen fresh from arguing with mom. LOL

Luckily we were able to get her to relax, and I'm pleased with the images we managed to create tonight. Examples follow.

The rains came... and went

2007-08-14T10:49:00.000-04:00

Almost a second straight rainout for Justin. Fortunately, the rains came early and we managed to fit in a session afterwards. Started a little late and ran out of light, but managed some variety nonetheless.

Hillary 2008

2007-08-12T23:23:00.001-04:00

Yes, Hillary. No, not that Hillary. How about we refer to this Hillary as the cute one?

Hillary managed to get herself out of bed this morning for her location session at the Castleton in Windham. I think it was a struggle for her, but you couldn't tell. She was as lively and engaging as our studio session, which took place at a much more civilized time in the early evening a couple of weeks ago. She (and mom!) were troopers. Here are a few shots from her sessions.

Whirlwind!

2007-08-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

I've been away for a few days, but busy busy busy!

Here's the first of several tardy posts.

Let's start with the lovely Mary-Ellen. Mary-Ellen is a MarksPixels spokesmodel for Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro. She's a great gal!

rain out

2007-08-07T00:33:00.000-04:00

Tonight's location session was called on account of inclement weather, so we took the party inside. Justin made the trip from Brookline, and we had a good session.

Certifiable!

2007-08-07T00:30:00.000-04:00

Well, thank you PPA for putting me out of my misery early! I am now a certified professional photographer, having passed my image submission over the weekend. Coupled with the written examination I passed back in April, I am now duly certified. Hooray!

family casting call

2007-08-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

I am looking for families to model for me for family portraits to be used in my marketing for Family Portrait Month. October is Family Portrait Month, during which time participating photographers, such as yours truly, pledge to donate a portion of their session fee to Operating Smile. This is part of a nationwide PPA program, which nets a tidy sum for children who have congenital facial abnormalities. You can read more about it here.

In order to promote my participation in this worthwhile program, I need some marketing materials. For this, I need some images of families, more than I have already. And I am talking about all types of families, traditional and not so much. What's in it for my family models? We will do the session of their choice and I will waive my session fee, plus they will receive two 8x10s of their choice from the session. In return, they will sign a model release, allowing me to use images from their session in marketing materials, including but not limited to use on my web site and use in printed materials. Interested? E-mail me or post a comment with contact information. The thing is, we need to get the sessions done in the next several weeks, as I'd like to make a mailing at the beginning of September.

Here's an image from my first model family, taken this morning at Greenfield State Park.

the wait begins

2007-08-04T17:25:00.000-04:00

The quest to become a professional photographer can take many paths. One can go through a dedicated photographic school such as the Brooks Institute, one can study on one's own, one can study under the tutelage of a master as an apprentice, etc. At some point, you will be ready to be on your own, but how do you know you're really ready? Well, one way is to get a degree at an accredited institution. Another is to pass a rigorous examination and subject your work to the scrutiny of an independent body, and achieve their seal of approval. It is the latter path that I have chosen. I am going to become a certified professional photographer.

Achieving certification is a two part effort. One part is a 100 question examination, with 70% as a passing grade, for which the applicant is given two hours. This was a relatively straightforward affair, which I had completed to the best of my ability within an hour. I was pleased to have passed that portion. The other part is a 20 image submission, all of which have to be actual customer work, none of which can feature the same subject, and which needs to be in proportion to your stated business mix. (I.e. if you claim 30% weddings and 70% portraits, that's the proportion of the images you must submit.) The submitted images must score in the "above average" category of the PPA print competition standards in order to be accepted. The images are considered as a body of work, meaning that not every image individually needs to score that well, but that the bulk of them do. I submitted my images for review yesterday, and eagerly await my results. As do several of my colleagues. Good luck everyone! (crossing fingers)

Where everybody knows your name

2007-07-30T01:44:00.000-04:00

In a major change of pace, I shot a corporate event tonight. Boston Whaler, a manufacturer of fine fishing boats (that are unsinkable) has turned 50. And they had a major shindig tonight, well, technically, last night at the time of this writing. The theme of the party was Cheers, and they went all out and got some character actors to play Norm, Cliff and Carla. This was one expensive party. :)

Friday Night Session

2007-07-28T01:20:00.000-04:00

Had a fun session tonight with Taylor. He and his girlfriend came to my residential studio tonight for a studio session. This was the easiest one yet. Taylor is a natural. Add to that the fact that he actually has interests beyond "playing video games" and "chillin'", and you have the ingredients for a successful session. I hope you agree.

A plan to make a plan

2007-07-27T14:42:00.000-04:00

Making this career change and opening a studio is risky business. I'd like to stack the deck and maximize my chances for success, and minimize the possibility of adverse consequences for my family. Hence, the need for a plan.

Here's my rough draft outline of the things that need to happen to get the studio up and running so I can eventually make the transition.

the plan
--------

technical proficiency
* mastering Lightroom
* mastering You Select It (album/composite design SW)
* mastering ProShowGold
* improving lighting

artistic proficiency
* improving use of natural light
* graphic design
* improve imagination & creativity
* posing!
* post-processing

marketing
* website
* pricing
* mailers
* studio slideshow
* seniors
rep program
myspace
* families
family portrait month
casting call
* weddings
expos
partnering with caterer, videographer
* commercial
* packaging

the studio
* size
* monthly rent & utilities
* design & build out
* furniture & props
* areas/backgrounds
* insurance

equipment acquisition
* pocket wizards
* small flashes
* stands
* background system
* new body
* projector
* framing assembly tools

business plan
* projected income
* projected outflows
* SBA loan

Finding your bliss

2007-07-27T14:19:00.000-04:00

During the day, I am an engineer. I work on various telecommunications products and lasercom experiments and such, and all in all it's a fine line of work to be in, and has supported my family for more than 20 years. But as I've gotten older, it has become less and less fulfilling, and I've found myself wanting to do something completely different. Hence the creation of MarksPixels. A new, exciting, and completely different challenge for me, and a venue through which to manifest creative expression. I've been actively pursuing this metier for more than a year. Joining NHPPA, PPANE, and PPA. Attending seminars. Actively seeking out every possible bit of education that I can. Working on my certification.

It's all starting to coalesce. Seniors season is going well so far, and I have a bunch of sessions coming up. I'm working on getting some families lined up for my Family Portrait Month marketing materials. Things are looking up.

With the encouragement of friends "in the biz" and the steadfast support of my wife, Betsy, I am preparing to embark on a career change. I am going to become a photographer. Yes, I'm already a photographer. I mean a full time photographer. As in no more engineering. This is going to be a trick. I'm currently working two jobs in engineering. So the plan is to move to a single engineering job first. Then part time. Then only photography. But to get from here to there, I need a plan.