Let Senior Season BEGIN!!!!

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...

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....

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

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...

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!

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!!!!

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!

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

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!

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!!!