New Website and Specials!!!!!!

Well,  I finally got around to updating the website.  I like to change the design at least once a year.  I have the main page done and am slowly working on all the other pages.  Have patience with me.  You may notice a few changes to our page.

First, there are some new specials listed!!!  Check them out and take advantage of our January offers!

Second, Notice that we are again photographing WEDDINGS!!!!  After taking a few years off to enjoy time with my wife and family, I am finally ready to return to the wedding business.  For years we were one of the leading wedding photographers in the Lafayette area with creative, quality photographs to help you remember your special day.
We have revamped our pricing structure to reflect the needs of the modern bride and look forward to helping you capture your special day.  Visit our website to check our some photos and review our packages (Still working on this part of the website, but it should be up and running soon!). 

 Give us a call today to discuss all your photography needs.  We have the best value around.

A really fun post-Thanksgiving photoshoot

Today is the infamous "Black Friday" and downtown Lafayette is really dead.  It is like a ghost town.  Luckily for me,  I had a few families that saw today as an opportunity to get some photos taken.  My first shoot of the day was a blast and a great way to start the day.  It was a little cold, but we ventured outside anyway for a few and then back in the studio to warm up and shoot a few more.  Cute Results!

Fall's coming to an end

I love the fall.   There just isn't any other time of year that photographs quite so beautifully.  The colors of the leaves, the quality of the light and just that relief that comes with a little cooler weather all make it the perfect time of year for outdoor portraits.  This year the fall color has lasted quite a while...which is nice.  Here a a couple of outdoor shots from Happy Hollow Park that I took in the last week.

Sometimes I take a camera Home.

    Like most photographers, I'm sure, I occasionally take a camera home to shoot some images of the family.  Since we have had such incredible fall weather around here and the colors outside are just reaching their peak, I decided to do just that.  My little guy was in need of some new portraits since he just turned 3 and we have a few great spots around our house where the color looks great as the sun is setting.   He is not the easiest to get a real smile out of, but I managed a good one here. 

My favorite photo was actually taken AFTER we were done.  Simon was riding one of his toys in the driveway as the sun was going down.  I saw the light and grabbed the camera back up for a shot.  Glad I did.  this one makes him look so innocent. 

Finally a Chance to post

Okay.....I haven't posted in a while.  First of all let me say that I miss my assistant, Dana.  She moved away to Minnesota and left me here to do all the work by myself.  She had worked for me for about 5 years and I guess I forgot how much she did.  I am having fun though being the one in total control of the process.  It is a lot more work for me, but being a control freak, I kinda like it. 

   Anyway, here are a couple of photos I took recently.  One of a little guy and one senior.  I have a lot more photos to post soon (if I have time) so keep checking back.

A little cutie in the park.

     Yesterday was a beautiful day.   It was much cooler then it has been with low humidity and I nice partly cloudy sky.  Perfect for outdoor photos.  I had a little girl on the schedule for an outdoor sitting, and I was a bit worried.  You see...she is a TINY little infant.  At that age, they just don't "pose" for photos.  I took a couple of baskets and blankets with me to the sitting and her parents brought a basket also.  In this photo, I used my sheepskin as a blanket for her, but I turned it upside down so the "fuzz" of it wouldn't be in her face.  I put it in the basket her mom brought.  Through most of the sitting she was wide-eyed, alert and looking around, but I caught this one where it looks just like she is sleeping.   I love it.

The "never ending" fashion project continues

    I knew when I took these photos that they could possibly occupy me forever.  I have so many good shots that are just wating to be dropped into scenes and there is an infinite number of scenes to choose from.  This image was created by taking individual shots of the models and combining them into one scene.  The idea is to keep a specific "theme" or "Style" throughout these images.  I think I have managed to do that very well.  What do you think???

Our Studio hours have changed!!!!

    As many of you know, I am also a part-time student as well as a professional photographer.  I am currently back in school pursuing a nursing degree.  I hope to combine my photography degree and nursing degree to do some volunteer work and photography to accompany it. 
     Due to my class schedule, that changes every semester, I will be re-configuring our hours accordingly.  From now until January, our studio hours well be:

Monday....................closed

Tuesday.............2pm - 5pm

Wednesday......10am - 5pm

Thursday..........10am - 5pm

Friday..............10am - 5pm

Saturday .......9:30am - 2pm

As always, we will be doing a lot of outdoor and location photography so please CALL AHEAD any time you need to stop by to pick up orders, and proofs or to place an order.  We hope that this will not be of any inconvenience to you.  Thanks for understanding!   ~mark

And yet another.......

And another from Recent Fashion Shoot

   I haven't had a lot of time lately to work on these, but today I finally got around to messing with a few more of them.  Here is one that I really like.

I knew it would come out great as soon as I pushed the button.  The model started laughing at herself and the poses she was doing and I caught something "real".  I love it.

Shooting with Intention.

     We all know how great digital photography can be.  We all realize the advantages it can give us.  We can SEE the images right away and know if our subject blinked, we can see right away if our exposure is off, or if our lighting is not quite what we had hoped for.  We can even go back later and "Photoshop" out elements in the photo (ie. power lines, background people etc).  However, it has also been a major downfall in the quality of professional photography.  Studies show that the quality of professional photography has dropped significantly since the onset of the digital age.  Why?  Simple....the cameras and Photoshop can do so much that it makes everyone who owns a camera think they are a professional.  They shoot "okay (at best)" photos and "FIX" them later with Photoshop by changing exposures or running "cool" filters on the images to make it look like they meant to do it that way.
    Lately, I have been reading a lot from other REAL pros who are getting back into "Shooting with Intention".  What does that mean?  It means really taking your time to think through your lighting, your pose, your exposures, how you are relating to your subject and then taking a great photo in one or two shots.  This shows the real skill of the photographer.  The image doesn't need any weird "antique" or "high contrast" filters to make it look great.  It simply is a great photograph. I LOVE this concept.  I like to think that I have been doing this for years.  Every photo I take should be able to stand on its own.  If I do any digital work to it, it should not be to "fix" the image, but bring something to the image that only digital can.
     When I photograph someone, I may not shoot as many photos as some other "photographers", but that is because I know how to get it right the first time.  Lately I have been having some of my best sittings ever and it is because I am truly shooting with intention.  I KNOW what the final image will look like before I ever push the button on my camera.
     Here are a few photos from my last two sittings.  The only digital work on these has been to retouch blemishes, vignetting (which could be done "in-camera" but not nearly as well) and make a couple of images black and white.  Pure.

Well, tha tis my two cents on professional photography.  Keep it simple....keep it elegant.  Make sure your portraits are really about the person in them and not about your Photoshop filter collection.

Some more recent Seniors!

With the school year starting for some in less than a week, we have been very busy taking senior photos.  With summer break ending, everyone is trying to get into the studio.  We will be continuing to shoot senior photos even after the school year starts so don't panic if you can't get in this week or next.  We have a lot of after-school and weekend appointments still available. 
   Here are a couple of shots from yesterday and this morning that I am particularly fond of.  They came out great. 

   I love outdoor shots!  I am really excited about the upcoming fall and all the opportunities we will have for fantastic outdoor images.  At the very least, it should be a lot cooler than it has been this summer. 

Even More from Weekends Fashion Shoot

     This is a good example of how "Greenscreen" photography can work to your advantage.  This was taken in the studio and I dropped in the scene later.  The trick is to get the lighting and shadows just right to give the photo the correct realism.  I think I got it pretty good on this one. 

I have about 450 images from this shoot so keep looking for more of these to show up when I have time to edit.

Fashion shoot with Devoid and Deveil

   Once again I got the chance to work with Fashion Designer Chris Corillo on some photos of some designs.  This shoot was to feature his designs with a contemporary masquerade mask by Effigy Masks.  We had originally planned to work out on location, but decided that the heat would not work well with the make-up, hair and designs.  So we worked exclusively in the studio on a "Green Screen".  This really gives me the freedom to do what I want. I can create backgrounds, drop in real life backgrounds or whatever is necessary to get the look I want.  Chris gave me complete creative freedom and I thank him for his trust. 
     We got a lot of great shots, this is just one of the first ones I grabbed today to work with. 

We hadn't planned on photographing them together, but I talked them into it and I'm glad I did.  This one is going to be a favorite. 

Some creative uses of Photoshop!

Okay...I usually do not do a LOT of photoshoping on my images. I prefer to take a strong image to begin with that doesn't need to be worked on.  I hate when photographers pass off bad quality images as "cool" when all they have done is photoshop them to death.  HOWEVER!  I have been playing lately with CS5's HDR adjustments.  Very cool.  We have also been using photoshop for a while to do a "fake" version of Infra red photography.  I think both of these from yesterday's shoot, came out really cool!

Senior Season in Full Swing!

Now we are really in the thick of senior season.  I am loving it!  Trying out new locations, filters, styles...that is what I love about senior portrait photography.  I get to be really creative.  Here are a couple of photos from this past week. 

If you have a location, or a prop or anything that you want to use in your photo sitting...let us know!  We love trying to capture your personal style. 

More recent work!

Now that senior season is really getting started....

     Here are a few photos from this week that I like.  We even managed to get some really good outdoor photos in this heat. 

This senior season is getting off to a great start.  We are making some really beautiful images and meeting some really great seniors.  School will be starting again soon so make your appointment now.  Get in before the school rush.

END OF SUMMER SPECIAL!!!!

Before you know it school will be back in session and your free time will be at a premium.  Call Ailor Photography to book your Senior Portrait appointment before the end of July (to have your photos taken in August) and receive $15 off a "Combo Sitting" (Studio and Outdoor) or $10 off of a "Studio Only" sitting.  Call today as slots will fill up FAST!  Please mention this AD when you make your appointment.  765-429-7145

Isn't she ADORABLE!!!!

    First of all let me say that "we love new customers'.  We like to think that once someone comes to us for photos they will never look for another photographer again.  Once they see the quality of our photographs and our prices...they will be back. 

    That being said, I had a really nice family in last week to have their little girl photographed by us for the first time.  Mom had some really fantastic ideas for outfits.  My favorite one was a little "tutu" with no shirt and a giant bow in her hair.  It was an outfit that was so "over the top" that I knew it would photograph great.  The little girl had such amazing eyes that I wanted to really make those stand out also.  I chose to use my softbox very close in and at a very low power in order to get her eyes to really stand out and to make the background go out of focus.  It worked perfectly in this pose because the little tutu flared up behind her and gave just a touch of color in the background.  Isn't she adorable! 

Finally Back to Posting!

    Okay...I admit...it has been a while since I made a post on here.  But finally I am back and ready to update everyone on some of the great work we have been doing lately.  Seniors, Children, Families, you name it and we have been photographing it. 

     Just yesterday I had a chance to do some senior photos in the studio and outdoor.  IT WAS ALMOST 100 DEGREES OUT!  I thought the senior was nuts for wanting to go ahead with the sitting, but in the end, he did great and we got some cool photos.  He wanted to do some shots on the railroad tracks, and as many people know...this is not one of my favorite places.  It has been done A LOT and I am a bit bored with it.  So I decided that I needed to "up my game" a bit and get something cool.  This is one of my favorite shots from his sitting (it is really more about him and the clouds than it is the tracks..).

     We also took some in the studio with his baseball uniform and came up with some nice images.  Good lighting  and lens choice really make this picture work.  I ran a filter on it in photoshop that gave it that vintage look.  I really like it.

Graduation announcements!!!

Ailor Photography is offering a special deal on all graduation announcement orders.  See the coupon and Ad below!

A really great photo. And yes...I am biased

During a day when daycare was closed and Simon was working as my little assistant, I decided to try and take his picture.  He is usually most cooperative right after his nap (a tip to all parents thinking of having a sitting done) so I set things up while he was sleeping and did the photos right after he woke up.  Here is the result.  One of my favorite portraits ever.

 

Sometimes the simplest of backgrounds and the simplest lighting will make the best image.  This was definitely one of those cases!

Lafayette Jefferson Senior Yearbook Portraits......LAST CHANCE!!!!!

If you are a senior at Lafayette Jefferson High School and you have NOT had your senior, yearbook portrait taken.  Wednesday and Thursday (Feb 9th and 10th) are your last chances.  We will be set up in the Nautilus room to photograph all remaining seniors.  We will still be shooting 4-6 poses for you to choose from and the cost is still $12.  THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO BE IN YOUR SENIOR YEARBOOK!!!!!

Lafayette Jefferson Sweetheart Dance

Well,  We will once again be photographing the Lafayette Jefferson High School Sweetheart dance.  We are not 100% sure what the theme or colors will be, but we understand that they are leaning toward a "Medieval" theme.  I love that idea!!!  Not exactly sure what we are going to do for a background set yet, but I am sure we can come up with something good.  I am really looking forward to it. 

On another subject we photographed  Baby Maggie the other day and boy is she cute.  Not too cooperative since most good baby poses have them on their stomach and she HATED that.  There is something about this photo that I think is cute. 

I think she looks bored.   You can almost hear her thoughts: "okay guys...I'm done with this modeling thing already."

New Pricing.

Admitted....no one likes price increases.  At Ailor Photography, we have held off increasing our prices for as long as possible.  As of January 1st, we have new prices.  HOWEVER!!!!  The increase is very small and we are still WAY below our competitors.  Compare our quality and prices to anyone and we feel that we still come out on top.  Also we will be adding a few new products to our pricing brochure.  We are now offering Custom Photo books, Canvas Gallery Wraps along with several other new Custom products. 
Whenever we have to go through a price change it is always very difficult.  We may have take your photos and given you a price sheet 9 months ago, but you haven't ordered yet.   We will still honor our old prices on sittings prior to January 1, 2011 until the end of February.  At that time, everyone will be subject to our new pricing.  That should give everyone who has had photos taken plenty of time to get an order placed.  If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call:  765-429-7145.