Where does the time go?

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

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?

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++

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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)