Online proofing and ordering

As I close the business, our website is being transferred to Vince Walter Photography.  In the meantime, if you need to view your online proofs or place an order online, follow this link:
https://vando.imagequix.com/list.html?id=29DCH9A
You can continue to place orders here and they will be shipped to you.
Thanks,
Mark

Studio Closing May 31, 2012

     I have had a great time!  Ailor Photography will soon be closing it's doors as Mark starts his new career.  While it is difficult to think about closing a business that I have put my heart and soul into for over 15 years, it is a happy time as I look forward to my nursing career.  I have no regrets.

    To all of our loyal customers, business partners and friends, I would like to say "Thank you".  Thank you for all of your support over the years.  It is seeing you and your families that I will miss the most.  For many of our clients, we have watched their families and children grow and helped them document every milestone along the way.  Many of you ceased to be customers a long time ago and instead became friends. 

     We will be "officially" closing our doors at the end of May.  However, our hours for the month of May will be sporadic.  We will not leave business unfinished!!!  You can still order photos from us right up until our closing and you will be taken care of.  After that, you will be able to continue to order photos from your past sittings by visiting Vince Walters' photography studio at 828 Main St (765-420-0955).  He will be taking all of our old files etc.  Please consider giving Vince a chance for your next family, child or senior portrait.  He is an excellent photographer whose work I admire very much. 

     If you have any questions about our closing, please feel free to contact me at mark@ailorphotography.com.  If you happen to be downtown, please feel free to stop in and say goodbye...I would love to hear from you. 

Thank you all.

Mark

Purdue Alumnus Magazine Shoot

    The Purdue Alumnus Magazine has a great story about the young man I am hoping to go to Ethiopia with.  I met him while photographing the picture for this story and we talked a lot about Ethiopia.  After working with me he went out of his way to contact me and ask if I would be interested in traveling to Ethiopia with them in May to photograph the work they are doing there.  Of course I am thrilled and excited about the opportunity to go to Ethiopia again, but I am also thrilled to be a part of his amazing project.    Check it out here:
Purdue Alumnus Magazine

Not about photography...but still part of my business passions.

     I have mentioned on this blog many times that I am an adoptive parent.  Ok...admitted...my son's photos have been featured on here A LOT!  I can't help it, he's just too cute.  Anyway, our son was adopted from Ethiopia in 2010.  We were constantly looking for children's books etc. that were about adoption, or multiracial families etc. that would allow Simon to see that there are other kids out there like him.  There were lots of books that were "generically" about adoption or so specific that they didn't match Simon's situation.  So what did I decide to do???  Write my own.  I am a decent artist, but my writing skills are marginal at best.  Luckily, I had my wife and friends there to help use put together a children's book that is about Ethiopian adoption.  It is called "Binyam's Big Trip".

   We self-published the book and it is now available for sale!  Just follow this link to find out more:
Binyam's Big Trip
    It was a fun project and I am thinking that I have one or two more stories in me.  Hopefully, other families of adopted children will find this book as a way to start conversations with their children about their personal stories.

Online Specials!

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!!!!!!

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!