Ailor Photography

Online Specials!

2012-01-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Have you had photos taken at Ailor Photography in the past year AND chosen ONLINE PROOFING????? If so, your photos are back up online and available for 25% off your next order!!! Did you need additional photos? Did you forget to get an enlargement for yourself or grandma? NOW IS THE TIME TO ORDER ADDITIONAL PHOTOS!!!! Simply go to www.ailorphotography.com and click on online proofing. Enter your email and password (give us a call if you have forgotten your password and we can give it to you 765-429-7145), place your order as normal and enter the discount code "january" at checkout. You will receive 25% off your order!!!! Hurry and place your order today as this discount ends at the end of the month!!!!!

New Website and Specials!!!!!!

2011-12-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-10-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-08-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2011-08-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

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.......

2011-08-18T09:11:00.001-07:00

And another from Recent Fashion Shoot

2011-08-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-08-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

     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!

2011-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2011-07-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2011-07-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

    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!!!

2011-04-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

2011-02-08T10:51:00.001-08:00

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

2011-01-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

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.

Did we photograph your Wedding?

2010-11-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ailor Photography has been out of the wedding photo business for several years now. During the 10 years or so that we were photographing weddings we amassed a HUGE collection of negatives and digital files. DID WE PHOTOGRAPH YOUR WEDDING? If so....we would like to clear out some of our old files and negatives. I DO NOT believe in throwing away or destroying negatives, but storage of these old events can be very difficult. If you would like to have the ORIGINAL negatives or digital files (plus a copyright release) from your wedding, give us a call. We are hoping to clear out as many as possible. You can purchase the originals for $150 per wedding. These originals are invaluable to you....give us a call today 765-429-7145.

The outdoor season will be ending soon! But until then...

2010-10-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday. It was a very good day for photos both indoor and out. I had great clients who made taking their photos very easy. I am still trying to push myself into a more "stylish", "Fashion Photography" kinda direction while still keeping a clean, nice portrait. These are a few that I thought worked really well.

This hasn't been the most colorful fall season, but we are still getting some great photos. I am guessing that by the end of next week, most of the color will be gone. I know I have several more outdoor sessions this week and next, so I hope to holds on.

A very cool photograph.

2010-10-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make a quick post to show off this photo from yesterday. It came out great. Michael has really amazing bluegreen eyes that made every photo of him awesome, but this was my favorite. I hope he likes it.

Michael's choice of clothes showed a distinct "Style" and that is what made his photographs great. Everyone should use that information and choose clothes that emphasize your particular style. As a photographer, I can then see that style and create images that help convey that.
Anyway....great photo!

Holly

2010-10-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, another great shoot with Holly. A little while back we did some modeling shots for Holly and they came out great, so I was really excited that she is now in need of Senior Portraits. Luckily...Holly is really open to experimentation and she really trusts me to create great images. Here are just a few. (not too sure about the quality of this video?)

My advice to everyone in need of senior photos is always the same. Choose really great outfits that really 'Ramp up" your personal style. Don't be afraid to take it to the extreme. If you have ideas....let us know so we can work with you to create great images. And last of all.....trust us to give you really cool images. Remember....we gain nothing if you look bad. So we are ALWAYS out to give you fantastic images.

A new direction???

2010-09-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

Lately, I am feeling like my photography is going a new direction. I want to do more "fashion" type images. Images with a certain mood or style that fits the personality of the subject. I want to do location photography with full studio light set-ups that really looks like the fashion shots you see in magazines. I know how to do the photos, I have the right equipment, now what I need are some Seniors or individuals who have a defined style that they want to show. Someone who isn't looking for "more" photos, but it looking for "better" photos.

I have been experimenting with more "stylized" photos here in the studio and on location lately. I did this photo yesterday and think it is "more" than your typical senior portrait. It says more...it has style...it reflects the personality of the subject. What do you think?

Keep your eyes posted here, or our website (www.ailorphotography.com) toward the end of this year or the beginning of next as we start to offer more diverse exciting options for your portrait sittings.

Another cool one from this week!!!

2010-09-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this photos because we thought it was really cool. I hope Chrissa likes it as much as we do.

Some Photos from this week

2010-09-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from this past week. We have been VERY busy with Senior Portraits and Family Portraits. Remember...if you would like portraits with the fall color, do NOT wait until the color is here to book your appointment....we will be full by then. The fall is a beautiful time to do portraits outdoors, but the spots fill up quickly, call now to make your appointment. Also it is a good time to start thinking about family portraits for Christmas! The holiday season is coming fast!

Looking Through old photos...

2010-09-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

I had a little free time this morning and I was looking through the photos from my trip to Ethiopia. I found this photo and fell in love with it.

I remember seeing this group of children leaning up against the wall and this little girls face just jumped out at me. She was one of the few kids who was NOT clamoring for me to take her picture and that, in itself, made her stand out. She has the most amazing eyes! Anyway, just thought this photo was worth sharing. maybe one of my favorite portraits of all time. Simple, but it says it all.

Okay.....I'm biased

2010-08-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Admitted...I am biased, but these guys sure are cute. My wife's parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews were in town last week and it seemed a good opportunity to take some photos. The first photo is of my son with his three cousins. These boys are notoriously hard to photography, but this year they were super easy. I think Simon was the most difficult (you can see his is the only one not smiling!)

This photo I just has to post because it is so cute. Mason always looks good in a photo, but I usually have to chase him around to get it. This time he did great and what a great photo.

Fashion Shoot for "Devoid and Deveil" designs

2010-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

I have worked with the fashion designer, Chris, on an art project before. He loved the work we did together so when it came time to start shooting his clothing line...he thought of me. I am grateful to him for that as I have a lot of fun doing this type of imaging. We have 3 pieces to photograph and we did the first two on Thursday and here are a couple of the early images.

Hopefully we will be shooting the last look soon. It is a purple and black outfit. Chris would like it to be set in a moonlight forest and I think I can make that happen. Look for that image here soon.

Some Photos from the past couple of weeks!

2010-08-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

It has been HOT! If you haven't noticed I would be surprised. Therefore we have not photographed as many outdoor sittings this summer as we usually do. We did manage to squeeze in a few here and there. Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks that I really liked.

I have a fashion shoot with a designer from Chicago today so keep your eyes open for some cool stuff to come.

New Website

2010-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it was out of date for a while, but I finally got around to redesigning the website and adding new photos. Check it out at: www.ailorphotography.com. We have added new photos, and updated price lists (don't worry...the prices haven't changed!). If you have any questions, or find any typos...let me know. I hope you like the new site!

Even More new stuff

2010-07-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got in a couple of new backgrounds that I wanted to try out. Luckily I had two sittings in a row that fit them perfectly. As always, we are constantly looking for new scenes and ideas for all of your photography needs. Thanks to Spencer and Tyler for being good sports in letting me try out my new backgrounds.

Lighting by IPad

2010-07-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Okay....very cool. I had a senior sitting today and unfortunately it rained out his outdoor sitting. HOWEVER!...we got a very cool shot because we had a bit more time to work on his studio sitting. As it turns out, JT is a big fan of his IPad and wanted it in one of his photos. I had the thought to try to use it as the main light in the photo. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that it worked as well as it did. I used only it and the modeling lights on my studio strobes to light the photo.....pretty cool.

Senior Portraits for my Neice.

2010-07-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, my niece Caitlyn came down for a visit this weekend. We thought she could hang out with us, play with Simon and get her senior pictures taken. Here are a couple of the cool ones we did today and yesterday. I have a lot of editing to do to finish all of them, but we wanted to get these done right away.

Still editing the fashion shoot!!

2010-07-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

After further editing of my recent fashion photography shoot...I found another really cool photo. What do you think of this one? I think it has just the right "Vibe" for what we were trying to do. I am hoping to use a little of what I learned during this shoot to create really cool senior portraits. Attitude, fashion, creativity, style and fun....that is what makes great photos.

Creative Experimentation

2010-07-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay....we had a little downtime today so Dana and I decided to play a little with the studio lighting. I have been wanting to do some photos that have that "old school" glamour/film noir style lighting. I wanted to find a way to do it that would work easily in one of our studio sessions. I normally could spend up to a half hour setting up the lights for that style of photograph, so I had to simplify it enough that we can use it during a sitting. I think they came out pretty cool. Keep in mind...neither of us were really dressed or prepared to be photographed today.

ART Mondays

2010-07-07T06:14:00.001-07:00

Being a professional photographer doesn't mean that at some point you "know it all" and simply apply what you know. Photography, for me, is a lifelong passion and a lifelong education. I hope to always push myself to learn more, do more and create quality images. In order to continue learning and evolving as a photographer I have dedicated my Mondays (wife at work and son in Daycare and my only other day off) to creating my personal images. What does that mean? Well, I guess it means that on Mondays I am going to photograph what I want and do it in a way that improves my overall knowledge as a photographer. It may be a simple fashion shoot, an art project session, or simple studio experimentation with equipment, lighting etc.
This Monday, I got a call from a model who wanted to shoot some images for a clothing line. Pretty simple stuff, but with a fashion edge. I used this as an opportunity to work on my photo technique, lighting, framing and posing. In all....I got some pretty cool images. Here are a couple that I really like.Who knows what future Mondays will bring!!!! I am currently also working on an art project in which I will create images of the characters from my favorite novels. I will post some of those as I get them completed.

Xander and Ayla

2010-07-01T09:05:00.001-07:00

Okay....two of my favorite kids in the whole world came in today. Xander and Ayla are the children of two of our best friends, Dan and Jana. I have been so excited since Jana made the appointment and this morning I finally got to take their photos. They came out amazing. I think Jana is going to have a hard time picking since we took a ton of photos. Here are two that I really like.

Let Senior Season BEGIN!!!!

2010-06-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Senior portrait season for the 2010-2011 school year is in full swing. We are booking a lot of appointments so don't wait until the last minute. The summer will fill up fast! We have added several new backgrounds and styles to the studio this year. We are working hard to make sure that we keep advancing our photography into the fashion and glamour portrait style. Here is one of my newest backgrounds. I wasn't too sure about it when I ordered it, but after a few shots...it is one of my favorites.
I had a sitting today that was really fun. Grayson brought his '72 cutlass in for photos and I think we got some really cool ones. This one definitely has a fashion / 70's vibe.Keep watching here to see some of our best shots from the year! And remember to make your appointment soon. The school year will be here before we know it!

A couple of really great photos....I'm not biased of course...

2010-06-10T06:20:00.001-07:00

I have posted these photos on facebook and many other places, but I think they should be on here also. These are a couple of photos of my son in his traditional Ethiopian outfit. I had the idea quite a while ago to photograph him dressed this way, but in an Indiana cornfield. As it turns out, I couldn't actually put him "in" the corn because he is too short and we couldn't even see him. I do, however, LOVE how these came out.

New Senior Season....New Ideas....

2010-05-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we come to one of my favorite times of year....when I have enough free time to create new backgrounds and sets for our upcoming Senior Portrait season. I try not to buy a lot of "photo" backgrounds because they are the same old thing that every other photographer has. I love to try new things and create "scenes" that our customers can interact with. This creates the laid back, casual style that our customers love. I have about 8 or 10 ideas working around the ol' noggin right now, but here is the first one we have completed. Here are a couple of photos of our studio manager "Dana" on the new set. She hates being my guinea pig...We are just trying a few different poses on the new set...I love the possibilities....Well that is the first of the new stuff....I am well on my way to using every square inch of wallspace at the studio. We can't wait for you to come in for a sitting so we can try this stuff out for real!!!!!

Proms, Dance Recitals and Simon

2010-05-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend! On Saturday, we had a dance recital to photograph for Morton Community Center. It is always a fun event. Especially to see the really little ones who are so excited about performing onstage. That was in the morning, and then in the evening we had the Lewis Cass High School Prom. We have been photographing it for about 7 years now and it is always a lot of fun. This year was a little strange because I began noticing that some of those attending the prom were the children of my Classmates! Yikes...I am getting old.
Anyway, here are a couple of photos from those events.
On Friday, my wife and I brought our new son, Simon, into the studio for his first "portrait" session. He did pretty well. I will say that is very difficult to photograph your own children since they don't feel they have to listen to you. We thought the "bibs" without shoes or shirt was a good introduction to Indiana and my family. I may be biased, but he is just too darn cute!

A few quick shots...

2010-04-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to come in to the office on my day off to do a little paperwork. While I was here I decided to see if I could get a really good photo of Simon. I can get him to smile without any problems, but as soon as I put the camera to my eye...he would stop smiling. Luckily the little guy has eyes that look GREAT when he isn't smiling too big. I did a couple of "window-light" shots to really show his eyes. This is one of my favorites.

Okay....It's been a while, but with good reason!

2010-04-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to good about updating this blog lately. Sorry. As many of you know, my wife and I are adopting from Ethiopia....I guess I should say that we now HAVE adopted from Ethiopia. We made a whirlwind trip there 2 weeks ago and only got back last week. We came home with our little guy, Simon Kebebe Ailor, who is just amazing. The trip was amazing, difficult, exhausting, thrilling, emotional...etc. I still haven't processed it all into words just yet. Here is a photo of our little guy. As my son was attached to my hip during most of the trip, I didn't get to take nearly as many photos as I would have liked. I did get to take photos of some Children at the Yezelelem Minch feeding program. They do an amazing job of providing a hot meal for over 720 kids a week. I just thought these three little girls were beautiful and I had to take their photo. I got a lot of amazing photos of the kids that day.

Into Africa!!!!

2010-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, to all of you who have been keeping up on this blog, you know that My wife and I are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. On March 17th, we officially passed court and Simon legally became our son. What this means is that once his birth certificate and passport come through...we are off to get him and bring him home!!!!! It is looking more and more like we will be traveling during the last week of April. Ailor Photography will remain open during the week we will be gone, but our hours might be a little limited. I will post our exact dates and hour changes here as soon as I am 100% sure.
We GREATLY appreciate everyone's support and understanding during this time. This will, in no way, delay anyone's sittings or orders as Dana will continue to be here to provide service. Thanks again, and keep checking here. Once we are home I can post some photos!

Thank you J&C!

2010-01-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank the Lafayette Journal and Courier for making us the "Blog of the Week" this week. I was very surprised when they called, but grateful for the free publicity. I was even more shocked that they chose to run the excerpt about our adoption. The little guy is famous and he's not even here yet!
As a reminder... Ailor Photography is offering $10 sitting fees in February! If you book an appointment for a sitting between February 2nd and February 16th and bring a copy of the coupon below, your sitting fee will be only $10!!!!!!!! Call today as times are going to fill up fast!

Modeling Sitting

2010-01-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

Wow! Did we get some cool picts. or what? On Saturday we had a modeling sitting which is one of my favorite things to do. It is usually 6- 7 outfits with Hair and make-up changes...the works. Since it is winter, this sitting was all done in the studio. Thanks to a great model who was fun and had great taste in outfits, we got some really cool photos. Check them out:The second one here was taken on one of our newest backgrounds. It is very modern and looks great with any solid color. ESPECIALLY black or white. Thanks again for a fun sitting.
Everyone don't forget out $10 sitting fee special for February! Check out the details and coupon in my last post.

$10 SITTING FEES IN FEBRUARY!

2010-01-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

To celebrate our first year at our new location, we are offering $10 sitting fees from February 2nd - February 16th. Schedule your appointment during this period and bring in this coupon:
and your sitting fee will only be $10! That is over 60% off!!!!!! Good for all family, Senior, Business, and Childrens studio portraits. CALL TODAY TO MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT!!!

IT's A BOY!!!!!!!

2010-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned on this blog before that my wife (Wendi) and I are adopting a child from Ethiopia. We were not expecting to get a referral and find out who our child was until early spring. However, yesterday afternoon we were totally shocked to get a call and find out that we have a 15 month old little boy!!!!! He is so adorable that I can't describe him. We are not allowed to post photos of him online so if you want to see him....you will have to stop by!!!!!

We decided to call him Simon and keep his Ethiopian name as his middle name (Can't post that either...sorry). We are not sure what we will call him since he already recognizes his birth name, but for now we will call him Simon.

We have a little road ahead of us with paperwork, travel shots, court dates, immigration dates and travel, so it will be a little while before we can have him home. We appreciate all the support and kind words we have heard from everyone and look forward to you meeting our little guy.
~Mark

Dickens Success

2009-12-08T12:54:00.001-08:00

We had a great time on Saturday during the Dicken's of a Christmas. We took a lot of photos and raised $220 for The Jubilee Christmas. This was our first year taking photos with Santa, but rest assured it will not be the last. Next year we would like to raise even more and if things go well, we might offer to match the amount we raised! At the LUM they told me that they are providing for over 1600 Children this Christmas and we are glad that we were able to help.
Merry Christmas!
Mark and Wendi Ailor

Set for Photos with Santa - Thanks Traci!

2009-12-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

A special thanks to Traci from "Walnut Street Traditions" for helping us create our setting for the Santa photos. Here is a photo of me (trying to look festive) on the set. We hope to see you all here tomorrow for your photos with Santa. Remember...it is all for a good cause!
Merry Christmas!

Dickens - PHOTOS WITH SANTA

2009-12-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a reminder to everyone that we will be taking photos with Santa from 10am - 3pm on Saturday December 5th during the Dickens of a Christmas Festival. The cost will be $5 with the proceeds going to Lafayette Urban Ministries "Jubilee Christmas" charity. Come down and have your photo taken and support a good cause.
Merry Christmas,
Mark

New Background

2009-11-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

hey....we are entering a bit of a slow period here at the studio. My afternoons are still crazy, but my mornings are a bit more open. I have been dying to hang up some new backgrounds and I finally got one up today. Dana didn't know she was going to have her photo taken today, but she volunteered to give the new background a test. I like it a lot.Hopefully...soon after thanksgiving I will have the second one ready to go. I have to build a few things for it so it will take a bit longer. Look for it here! Happy Thanksgiving!

A few cool photos from the last week.

2009-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few cool photos that I took last week. I just thought they had style. Also a word to all Lafayette Jefferson Seniors who have NOT had their YEARBOOK photo taken yet. We will be at the school to finish up on November 11th, 12th and 13. Don't forget! This is your last chance!

A Special Portrait Session

2009-10-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

While I was out of the studio today Ashley had a sitting with a very special celebrity. We are going to be doing a lot of photos for him during the "Dickens of a Christmas" festival downtown on December 5th so we thought a little "test shoot" would be a good idea. Santa took a quick break from all his Christmas preparations and flew down for a couple of photos. They came out pretty good.
Remember that he will be back on December 5th from 10am - 3pm if you would like to come have your photo taken with him or just let him know what it is you would like for Christmas. The cost for a photo with Santa will be $5 and you will get the photo right then and there. All of the proceeds from "pictures with Santa" will go to a Christmas charity, we are not yet sure which charity.

A Full Senior Sitting

2009-10-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking for a while about putting an entire senior portrait sitting online just to give everyone an idea of what a whole sitting was like. I did Derek senior portraits recently and was really happy with them. I don't even think he has seen the outdoor ones yet. He picked a really nice location for his outdoor. Something special to him and that makes all the difference. The cool airplane didn't hurt either!

FREE HALLOWEEN PHOTOS!!

2009-10-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

For our second year in a row....Ailor Photography will be offering free Halloween photos of children in costume. As part of the downtown's "Operation Trick or Treat" We will be taking photos of children 12 and under, in costume. We will set up a Halloween themed background and photography individual children. No groups. Here is a sample of last years photos.
Photos will be on October 30th from 5:00pm - 7:30 pm at our downtown location at 1010 Main St. You will be able to pick up your photos the following day or after at our studio. Each child will recieve 1 free 4x6 photo. Please remember that the photos are for individual children 12 and under, in costume. We look forward to seeing a the kiddos in their halloween costumes.

Swine Flu and Airplanes.

2009-10-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, that might be a bit of a weird title, but strangely appropriate. I missed Friday due to a light case of the flu. I apologize to the appointments we had to reschedule. But trust me, you did not want to be around me that day. After a quick trip to urgent care (which I surprisingly was not swamped with sick people) and a round of Antibiotics, I am feeling much better today.
My Saturday started out with a really fun sitting even though it was outside in the cold and rain, which is not good for a person recovering from the flu. I drove to Delphi to a small landing strip and did some photos for Derek with an airplane. A Piper Cub (which is a very cool 2 seater). Here is one of my favorites. I was trying to give it a bit of an old-time feel and it worked out great. Derek...if you read this...you are going ot LOVE these photos when you come pick them up.

Fall is here...but few good days for photos.

2009-10-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we always look forward to fall and the photos we can do with all the fall color. this year it seems that we have had just enough rain to spoil a lot of outdoor sittings. I guess that is the bad part about planning for fall photos in Indiana. You never know when fall is going to show up or how long it will last. On Tuesday we did get a couple of chances to go outdoors. Here are a few photos from the fall so far.

READERS' CHOICE - VOTE TODAY!!

2009-10-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Ailor Photography had made it to the final voting on the Jconline readers' choice awards. If you think we are the best in the area...please go to jconline.com/readerschoice and vote for us today. We are very happy to be in the final voting and appreciate all the votes we have already recieved.
I have no idea if we win anything in this voting, it is just great to know that we are doing a good job and our customers appreciate what we do!
Thanks,
Mark

Lafayette Jeff Seniors.....It's not too late!

2009-10-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

For all of the Lafayette Jefferson Seniors who have not had their yearbook portrait taken yet...DO NOT PANIC! We are still taking appointments for the next few days to try and wrap up. You can have the photos taken anytime in October....you just need to call us in the next couple of days to get your appointment made. Also...we will be coming to the school sometime in November to catch all of those who just were not able to get scheduled. Stay tuned here to find out those dates when they are announced.
THANKS!

Yes, I meant to do it......and it's okay.....

2009-09-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Okay. I am putting this post up just to explain something. A pose that I do quite often (mostly because it is one of our most popular and biggest selling) occasionally generates this conversation.

customer: I just looked at our proofs and there is one image where my daughters head is cut off. Is there more in the photo than the proof shows?

Us: No...what you see in the proof can be cropped in further, but if her head is cropped then we meant to do it.

customer: Why would you do that?

Us: The image in question is what we call an "extreme close-up" of just the face. If we get the top of her head then the eyes will be in the lower half of the photo and it will look really dumb. It is okay to cut off the forehead if you do it properly and intentionally.

Here is a photo that always generates this conversation.
As you can see the eyes are the focus of this image and you are not missing anything by cutting off the top of the head. Compositionally...it just looks better this way. It is one of our most popular poses. Usually when I do this pose I also shoot a vertical image where the entire head shows, as in this image.
I assume by doing this I am giving the customer the option. If you do not like the super close-up then you have the full headshot to fall back on. The funny thing is that most say that they like the super close-up more. I think it is just so ingrained into us that cutting the top of someones head off is a bad thing that we can't look at the image with an open mind. JUST remember....if you like the way a photo looks.....don't worry about that stuff. It is okay to do that as long as it looks good. If you don't like it...then order the one with all of the head. Here are a few other examples of PROPERLY cropped images.

13 years of Ailor Photography

2009-09-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Okay....that is actually 13 years in business and 12 years having a studio as of September 17th! Sometimes it really seems like it has been a lot less time and others it feels like this is all I have ever done.
I remember the first year when I was lucky to have 1 or 2 sittings a week. I spent a lot of time that year sitting at my desk, reading a book and hoping the phone would ring. I must have read 12 - 14 novels that year. Anyway it has been a long road but totally worth it. I am so happy to have a nice studio and a large group of wonderful customers. I look forward to many more anniversaries.

Final sport of the season

2009-09-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well, between Neil and I we have managed to photograph all of Jeff High Schools fall sports. We did them all in about 3 weeks. We know that we still have to photograph some events this season, but the action sports are done. I let Neil photograph women's golf and men's tennis and most of football, but I went to football for a little while to see what I could do. Neil was using my best lens so once it started to get dark, I had to stop. Anyway, here are a couple of mine that came out pretty good. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good game for Jeff so we had a lot of photos of the quarterback dropping back, but that was about it for offense.
Remember you can view and order action photos from all of the fall sports at www.ailorphotography.com. Follow the link for online proofing, choose the event you want to view and enter the password: jeffphotos.

Lady's soccer this time!

2009-09-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yes...it is true...I do pick my favorite sports to photograph myself. I love soccer so of course, I assigned myself to photograph the girls soccer match vs. Kokomo. Here are two good ones. I shot over 380 photos so it is too much trouble to go through them and look for the "best"
It is always good to catch a header sometime during the game. I love this one because the ball is still in the photo and her feet are still off the ground. Pretty cool.

I'm pretty sure I photographed this girls senior portraits also. Who do you think comes away with the ball in this photo?

Well Neil is shooting girls golf and boys tennis yesterday and today. I will be joining him on Friday night for FOOTBALL. This will be a good chance to see how it is photographing under the lights at the new Jeff stadium. Should be fun.

No....I don't do weddings....BUT...that being said....

2009-09-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

I hope that all the people from the past couple of years who have heard me say "I don't do weddings" don't start calling me and yelling. I really don't photograph weddings under normal circumstances. In this case it was the wedding of my assistant "Ashley".
We were worried all week about the weather since Ashley planned an outdoor wedding (against my better judgment). As it turned out it was a beautiful day on Saturday for an outdoor wedding even though they had been calling for rain all week. I had fun photographing her wedding since it was at Riehle Plaza which has tons of great locations for photos. It is also quite liberating to do a wedding when you are not being paid.....takes the pressure off.

Anyway...here are a few of my favorite photos from the wedding. You might notice a theme with the sepia toning.

Anyway.....Ashley if you by any chance check the blog while on your honeymoon. I hope you like the photos.

Experimental studio

2009-08-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

In the back of our main studio is a smaller studio that we use, mostly, for business and yearbook headshots. With the Jeff Yearbook contract, it is nice for us to have a separate space to do the headshots. I am also using the space as an experimental studio to try out new, creative background ideas. I am tying to find those unusual things that will make a great photo, but were not designed to be used as such. Yesterday I made a cool image from a different idea. I covered the corner and floor with newspaper and it came out awesome. Let me know what you think!

Women's Volleyball!

2009-08-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

I have always thought that volleyball is one of the most difficult sports to photography. You have to keep both eyes open so you can tell who the ball is going to go to and the other eye through the camera. Tough. I haven't photographed volleyball in almost 15 years, but I did so last night and did a pretty good job, I think. Here are a few good ones.

Remember....all the photos from Jeff Sports and Events can be viewed through our website. Look at my last blog post for instructions!!!!

Lafayette Jeff Photos ONLINE!

2009-08-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last post...all of the Lafayette Jefferson sports and events that we photograph for "The Nautilus" will be available for viewing and purchase online. You can follow this link:
Ailor Photography Online Ordering
Or you can go to www.ailorphotography.com and follow the links for Online Proofing. The passwork for all Lafayette Jeff sports and events will be "jeffphotos". Please give us 48 hours after each event to get the photos online. We will be photographing 1 game or match for each varsity sport. (We often shoot a little of the JV also so you can check those out also). We will also be photographing many theater, choir and band events throughout the year. All the photos will be posted on our site. If you have any question...please email us or give us a call.
Thanks!

Let the SPORTS BEGIN!!!!!!

2009-08-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Now that the school season is up and running it is time for SPORTS! Yeay!!! Since this year we are handling the Lafayette Jeff Yearbook contract, we will be photographing all of the varsity sports and events. My sports shooting kicked off last night with boys varsity soccer (one of my favorite sports!). I haven't photographed sports action in quite a while so I was a little worried, but I got some great photos in the end. Here are a few!

All of the photos we take at the Jeff events will be available on our website for viewing and purchase. Just go to www.ailorphotography.com and follow the links for "online proofing". find the event you are looking for. When prompted enter the password "jeffphotos", and you can view all the best photos from the event and order any copies you would like. Please help us in spreading the word that the photos will be available online. Tell any parents or students who might like to have some action photos of themselves or thier children.
Next....look for girls volleyball, football, and girls golf!

Just a quick note about a COOL photo.

2009-08-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, The last rain we had just happened to be on the day of Williams outdoor sitting. It poured so we didn't get to do the photos that day....We DID get to do them today. He had brought a "stand-up base" with him for his studio photos and even then I was dying to take it outdoors. Luckily for us, today worked out and Will got some cool photos. Here is one of my favorites.
It was "Guerrilla" style photography.....Run out into the street....snap...and get out before you are run down by someone. Will....I hope you like them.....I think this one is really cool.

busy...busy....busy.....

2009-08-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! Have we been busy lately. School is just right around the corner and we are trying to get as many seniors in before the time crunch as we possibly can. We still take as much time with each sitting....I just don't have any breaks during the day. We have had some fun lately (as usual). Recently I was asked to do some Aerial photos of some property around the new St. E. Hospital and that was a blast. I haven't been up in a small plane for MANY years so this was a great experience. We went up and flew around for about 40 minutes or so...got all our photos and headed back. I will say that the combination of small plane, turbulence, and image-stabilizing lenses is a recipe for air sickness. I didn't actually get sick, but my head was seriously unsteady when we landed. I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!!
Here is a photo of the new hospital and property. As always...we are photographing seniors also. The deadline for the Lafayette Jefferson yearbook photos is coming up quickly. If you haven't booked your appointment...CALL TODAY!!!! Here is a photo from this week that I really liked. It was a beautiful day before all this heat kicked in.
Now that everyone is getting back to school in the next week or so, we will have a lot of new things going on. We will be photographing all of the Lafayette Jeff varsity sports and events and those photos will be available online. Keep your eyes open to find out how to view and order action photos!

Some really great photos this week.

2009-07-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wanted to put up a few photos that I really liked doing this week and weekend. First of all was my great niece, Lily. My niece brought her down to the studio on Thursday for some (long overdue) photos. She was so much fun to take photos of. Lily is very easy going and makes such BIG expressions. This is one of my favorite just because I love her smile. My wife and I took the family out for dinner after the sitting. They had been wanting to try sushi. Lily loved it....her parents.....not so much!

On Saturday I went out to the home of Levi Curwick to do some senior portraits. He wanted some with his four-wheeler and some around their home. They live right next to the railroad tracks so we had some fun taking photos there. It was a great day with stormy looking clouds so I did this "infra-red" photo to make it stand out even more. I LOVE THIS PHOTO.
My wife has put out a hummingbird feeder at our house and she just loves to sit and watch them buzz around. They have been emptying the feeder in less than 36 hours! I decided to take my camera and 300 f/2.8 lens home and try and get some photos of the hummingbirds. Just to see what I could get. I ended up shooting over 150 photos. Here is one of my favorites.

I had a lot of fun doing these photos this week. A good variety of subjects and each challenging in their own way. That is the best part. I love photography.

New Backgrounds.....new styles....

2009-07-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Now that we are really "in the mix" as far as senior season goes. We have been setting up and trying out some new ideas, backgrounds, styles, and techniques. We are always challenging ourselves to create new, different images. Check out these two black and white photos. We love the contemporary style that they have. Very cool.

Also....we want to remind all of the Lafayette Jeff Seniors to CALL TODAY to make your senior portrait appointment. The summer is filling up very quickly and the deadline to have your yearbook photo taken (Oct. 1st.) is approaching fast. Give us a call to make an appointment.

and the busy season begins!!!!

2009-07-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our busiest season for taking photos is usually in mid to late summer. The last two weeks have definitely been the start of the busy season. We are booking up VERY quickly with seniors and other portraits. With our new studio we are hoping to "return to our roots", so to speak, by photographing a lot more kids and families. This type of portrait used to be a large part of our work, but has tapered off over the years as we invested more time into senior portraits. I really love photographing seniors, but families (and especially) kids can really be rewarding. The kids can be so cute and so much fun.
Over the last month or so we have had quite a few family and children sittings. Here is one of my favorite photos from all of those. Isn't she just too cute?
Of course we have begun the busy senior season and we are really enjoying that also. We have so many cool things we can do in the new studio. This was a fun photo from today.

SUMMER THEME SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

2009-06-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

Okay....we are finally ready to do our first themed shoot of the year. We wanted to make a special "set" and theme that had a really nice summer feel to it. What says summer better than "the beach". There will be NO SITTING FEE for these themed shoots!!!! Just call and schedule your appointment

July 11, 1pm -3pm
July 12, 1pm - 4pm
July 13, 10am - 6pm

Take a look here at our sample of the summer theme! Bring your kids 6months - 5 years old in their swimsuit, shorts or any other summer clothes and we will take several poses of them on our beach themed background. (individuals or groups of 2 max.) We will upload the photos to our online proofing website where you can view them and place any orders at your convenience. CALL TODAY AS TIMES WILL BOOK UP VERY FAST!!!!!!!
If you have any questions...give us a call at 765-429-7145

Africa Pendants on Etsy.com

2009-06-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I mentioned the Africa Pendants that I have been making. My wife put up a little shop on Etsy.com last night so they are available for sale there.
MWASilver.etsy.com . Just in case anyone wondered how to get them!

Jewelry Photography and Africa...

2009-06-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is great to use those photography techniques that I haven't used since college. In my studio photography class (somewhere in the early 90's) one of our assignments was to photography jewelry, or at least, something very shiny. This can be tough because you have to use a "lighting tent" to keep from having a bunch of specular highlights. I of course don't use this technique in my daily photography since people aren't usually all that shiny. However, I recently had to remember all this stuff from 15 or so years ago.

For those who don't know...my wife and I are adopting a baby from Ethiopia. Hopefully sometime in the next year we will be home with our little boy or girl. We are very excited and very impatient. In order to pass the time, I decided to make my wife and I a silver necklace in the shape of Africa to wear as a daily reminder. After I finished ours we had an outpouring of interest in purchasing them. So....I went to work and made a few more and we will see how they sell. Thus...why we needed a photo of a piece of jewelry. I don't think it came out too bad!
We are still trying to decide what to do with the profits from selling the necklaces. We would like to use them to support (at least in part) some African educational charity. Anyway, life leads us in circles sometimes and I had to go back to my past to remember how to do a photo that will affect our future.

Welcome To Ashley!

2009-06-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

As I am sure you all expect, the summer season is a crazy time for a studio that specializes in Senior Portrait photography. It has been very busy around here, and I have neglected my blog. First and foremost, I want to introduce everyone to the newest member of the team here at Ailor Photography.... Ashley Blissitt.
Any of you who had your photo taken 4 or 5 years ago may remember Ashley as she worked for us while in High School. She recently graduated from University of South Florida with a degree in Business, and decided to return to the photography business with us. Ashley has always been a very good photographer, in her own right, so we decided to bring her back as our Children and Family portrait specialist. She is wonderful with kids and has a creative modern style that makes for great portraits. She has already helped us to start a milestone program for the first years of your childs life, and some new "Theme" shoots that we will be announcing very soon. (Our first is going to be a "summer, beach" themed shoot scheduled for sometime in July. Check back here in the next week or so to get exact information). We look forward to Ashley helping us out and giving us a boost of fresh, young energy. We hope to use that to keep us on the cutting edge of portrait style.

Vacation

2009-05-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we wrapped up most of the 2009 senior photography season last week and it was time for a little vacation before all the craziness of the 2010 season starts. With us handling the Lafayette Jeff senior contract we know this year is going to be a wild ride.

My wife and I decided to make a trip out to visit her family in Lancaster Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend since it is in the gap between senior seasons. It was a nice trip where I got to go trout fishing for a couple of days and even get to see my father-in-law fall in the creek. Fun for me....not so much for him. We also got to see our nephews Brandon, Andrew and Mason and spend some time having fun with them. I took the camera along to take some photos of the boys playing soccer and do a portrait session for them also. Here are a few of the best.

Here is Andrew on the "Pump-track"

And Little Mason on his scooter just before he flipped over the handlebars and crashed

Here is Brandon posing for his portrait.

And here is the best (and only) photo of all the boys...Mason just wasn't going to do what we
wanted him to do.

In all we had a really good time even with the 11 hour drive each direction. It may take a few days for my back to recover, but that is okay. We have our photos of the boys and trout in the freezer!

A fun couple of shoots!

2009-05-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

I just wanted a chance to make a quick blog entry so I could post these photos. On Monday I had one of my senior REPS come in for a sitting and we got a chance to use my new "lockers" background. I have to say that it came out really cool. I have been working on getting this background together for a while. Thanks to Main Street Mercantile I got it finished last week. I am really looking forward to seeing what ideas we can come up with using the lockers.
Today I had a sitting over at Purdue. It was an engagement sitting and they had hired the Boilermaker Special to be there for some of their photos. I think every one of their photos came out great, but this is one of my favorites. I can't wait for them to see all the photos.

OPEN HOUSE!!!!

2009-05-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Okay...finally after we are ready to have an open house for the new studio. We moved in here on February 1st, and we have been swamped with work ever since. We are just coming out of our busy senior season and we thought the timing was perfect to have an open house. We looked at the downtown gallery walk schedule and decided to have the open house on May 15th from 6pm - 9pm. We hope that anyone who is looking for a photographer for families, children, seniors or whatever will stop by and check us out. Even if you're not in the market for a photographer and you're just curious...stop by anyway. We look forward to showing off our new studio and letting everyone greet our staff.
Speaking of staff......Ailor Photography would like to welcome an addition to our team. Ashley Blissitt will be coming onboard as our Children and Family portrait specialist. Ashley worked for us about 5 years ago (when she was only 16!) and was a great addition to the studio. She went away to college in Florida and after graduating wanted to get back into the photography business. We are really looking forward to having her with us and having her help our business to be the best.

One BUSY weekend!

2009-05-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wow did we have a busy weekend or what! We are coming to the end of Senior portrait season, but that just makes us busier than ever trying to get orders and graduation announcements done in time. We had a lot of those in the past week. On Saturday we had the Morton Community Center Dance Recital to photograph from 8am until 12:30. I followed that with an engagement sitting on Purdue Campus (it was a beautiful day for it and the pictures are great). I had a short break after that and then off to photograph Lewis Cass High School's Prom in Kokomo. We have been photographing that prom for about 6 years now and we always have fun. I enjoy coming up with background ideas to fit their themes and colors. It is always a challenge to come up with something that is fitting, but not the typical "Cheesy" prom background. I think we did pretty good this year. My wife has helped me out with the prom the last couple of years and we always take our "prom picture" to start the night off.

Spring hurry up and get here.

2009-04-21T06:52:00.001-07:00

Well, we have had some good weather lately and some bad, but I did manage to squeeze in a few outdoor sittings while it was nice. Maybe I can do a few more this weekend. It is good to get outdoor and take some photos after being in the studio all winter. Here are a few photos (both studio and outdoor) from the last week or so.

We have been working hard this spring. We are getting our first Mailer together to send to Lafayette Jeff's 2010 senior class. Since we will be the studio handling their yearbook portraits we want to let them know that it will be a big improvement over what they have had in the past. Our quality is better, our prices are lower and our customer service is great. We know that no one like to be told where they "have" to have thier photos taken, but we believe that once they have a look at what we offer, they would choose to come here anyway.

We have also been getting things ready for the Lewis Cass High School Prom on May 2nd and the dance recital at Morton community center the same day. I will be very very very busy that day, but it should be a lot of fun.

Anyway, it looks like this weekend is supposed to be beautiful so get out and enjoy it. I know I will.

An evening of fun photography!

2009-04-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

My wife is a "faculty fellow" for a floor of girls at Purdue. She thought it would be fun to have the ladies of 3 south over to the studio last night for some fun photos. It was a lot of fun and we got some really good photos. The RA on the floor brought along her boyfriend for a few shots also. It was all pretty fun. Here are a few photos to give you an idea.

NEWS!!!

2009-03-30T10:44:00.001-07:00

Ailor Photography has just been made the official senior portrait photographer for Lafayette Jefferson high school. We will be bringing our high quality and reasonable prices to create images of all the graduating seniors.
Sometime in May we will be sending out a flyer and appointment schedule to all the 2010 seniors to give them all the information they need. We know that may students and parents do not like being told "where" they have to have thier senior portraits taken. Ailor Photography believes that with our quality and prices we can create portraits that everyone will be thrilled with. We plan to be a large "step up" from what you have had in the past.
If you have any questions about Jeff senior portraits, please give us a call or drop us an email. We will glady help you in any way we can.

Expanding even more!!!

2009-03-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Okay...this one really isn't expanding, but it is making better use of our space and giving us a second camera room. In the new studio we had a back room that has a restroom, a large dressing room and two other rooms that we didn't have much use for. They have been filled up with the old tenants stuff for the last month. However, now he has his stuff out, we tore down a couple of walls and have begun making the area into "Studio B".
In this space I have a few ideas. As you can see we are making it a high key (white) background. However it doesn't end there. We are going to use this space as an "experimental" background area. I am wanting to create some backgrounds with that "retro", "High Fashion" look. Something with a little style and attitude. Keep checking this blog to see how the space developes.

Right now we are just doing some construction and a little painting and organizing. In the end we will have camera room space totalling over 1300 sq.ft! Give us a call or stop by anytime to check out our new studio. We would love to give you a tour.

An unusual Sitting....to say the least!

2009-03-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

In my last blog entry I mentioned that we had a British television crew coming in with a couple to tape them getting a portrait taken. They mentioned that the couple would be bringing thier dogs for the photo. That isn't a problem with us since I love dogs and have no problem with people bringer in their pets. This was a little different though. The couple had 1 big dog (a pitbull), 1 HUGE dog ( an English mastiff) and ....A MONKEY! That's right...a monkey. It was really cute.
It was kinda strange to be pointing the camera at someone while simultaneously having someone point a camera at you. They are going to keep on touch with me about the program and I will try and link to some video on thier website. Also my friends in England Ian and Shiv and Siobhan and Dean...keep an eye out for me on Channel 4.

Is spring finally here?

2009-03-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Oh the weather this week really has me ready to head outside and do some location photography. I am a lover of winter and snow, but even I have had my fill and am ready for a warm up. Last week was just a tease. I am really looking forward to the spring so we can get back to our outdoor photography. I know we have a lot of clients just waiting in the wings for the good weather and hopefully it is just around the corner.
This past week we had quite a few sittings and a good variety. We had children, couples, familes and of course seniors. Here are a couple of cool shots from some senior guys.

This upcoming week should also be an interesting one. On Thursday we will be a part of a British television program. I am not sure about all the details of the program, but I know that a family is coming in for a photo with their dogs and that it will all be filmed by a television crew and end up on Channel 4 in Great Britain. Pretty cool. I hope that my friends in Birmingham and Manchester get a chance to see me in action. Siobhan and Ian...keep your eyes open.

Big Windows equals great light!!

2009-02-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

In the new studio, we have 4 HUGE windows in the front. They are mostly in the reception area of the studio, but I am constantly shooting in that area so I can use the amazing light I get there. Natural light and a couple of reflectors will give anyone eyes that are astounding.
I am still loving the new studio. Today I am finishing a little painting in the entry foyer and doing a little planning for some new and exciting background set ideas. I am in the mood lately for a little of the "retro-contemporary" look. Bold, exiting, fashion-style photography. I can't wait to get it all set up and have a few customers in to give it a try. We are already starting to gear up for the 2010 senior class and we want their photos to be better than ever. Keep your eyes here for all our upcoming cool stuff.

A Sunday shoot !

2009-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

For those who remember, we used to have a young lady who worked for us named Ashley. She left here to go to college in Florida for the last 4 years, but she will be back in May. She recently got engaged to a very nice guy named Josh and they came up this weekend to do a little wedding planning and have engagement photos taken. Here are a couple of favorites.

I am really looking forward to Ashley and Josh coming back to Indiana because Ashley is going to be coming back to work with us. Since our new studio is so large, we have room for her to begin building her own photography clients. She will be helping to set up some specialty "theme" shoots for children also. She will be another part of the puzzle that will make Ailor Photography the best studio in Indiana.

Thanks for a great first week!!!!

2009-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

First I would like to extend my many thanks to all my sittings during this first week at the new location. Your patience as I worked to remember where everything is was very helpful. We got some great photos this week.

The new studio works as well as I could ever have hoped. The space is large, but still warm and inviting. Everyone loved the large dressing room! The hardest part about the change was working with lights on stands. In my former studio, I had a track lighting system that kept the lights and cords up off the floor. The drawback about that system was that it was very limiting on how I could arrange my lighting. I decided that in the new studio I wanted all the versatility I could get so the lights went back on stands with cords to get twisted. It wasn't too bad really, I just had to "reset" after each sitting.
Anway, I had a great week and we are looking forward to many many great sittings in the future. Thank you again to all first customers and a special thank you to Jerry at Kdees coffee for supplying my opening weekend with the coffee to keep us going.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!!!!!!

2009-02-03T18:53:00.001-08:00

YES! We did it!! We closed the old studio at our normal time on Saturday and re-opened at the new location at our regular time on Tuesday. Didn't miss a minute. The new studio rocks! I can't wait for you all to come in and see it. We are hoping to have an "Open House" sometime soon so that everyone can see the space.

Admittedly, I am exhausted, but the bulk of the work is done. The studio, Office, and Dressing room are ready to go! My office.....not so much. I am still waiting on the former tennant to move a few of his things so I can really get in there and work. My office isn't much of a priority really. I hope to have that done in the next week or so. Today we got our new reception area chairs. Very cool. They have that contemporary feel that we were going for in this studio space. I am very excited about making this studio a very warm and inviting place where everyone feels comfortable. I think that will come out in their photos. I also have the display photos up in the windows and the new sign out. We are definitely Open for business. Our promotion really worked and we are booked up solid on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I can't wait to take the first photos in the new studio. LOOK FOR THEM HERE!!!!!!