Sneak Peek!!

Sneak Peek 

At The 

 A Kid Again Calendar 

I started working on a calendar for A Kid Again highlighting the adventures for the children and their families and some of the fund raisers.

Hope to have this completed to have a 18 month calendar.

Month of March

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 

Everybody!!!!

Merry Christmas to a Special Person

When you have a photograph of a person and it's just too busy what do you do.  Make it better!


With a little creative touch and vision you can make poor images into pieces of art.

Original Image

Finished Product

Being A Kid Again

 The book "Being A Kid Again" is a look at what A Kid Again is about.  How the charity was started and what they do for families with a child who has a life threatening illness.  

Seventeen families are highlighted with photographs, their story and what adventures the children enjoy.  

The one commitment A Kid Again has is to take the children out of the medical environment and allow them to have fun filled adventures through out the year with their families.

Barbra Matta, the wife of OSU basketball coach Thad Matta, made a very interesting comment,

"Mark after I received the book Being A Kid Again I shared it with my children.  They could not put this book down!  They read it 3 times and the very next day they got it out again.  They were amazed at the photographs and the stories of the children.  You  have captured the most precious moments of these families.  Thank you!"

 You can help these children enjoy a day of normalcy by giving a donation of $50 and you will receive this beautiful coffee table book to share with family and friends. 

If you are a business owner give them to your clients or employee's as gifts.

Debra Penzone,  of Charles Penzone's Grand Salon, purchased a book for each of her employee's as gifts.

Click here to learn more about Being A Kid Again and to purchase your copy.

Click on the images to see a larger version.

Alex and his Senior Portraits

Had a wonderful time with Alex from Marysville yesterday while taking his senior portraits.  He is a quiet, high energy guy and fun to be with.

I had to do something really special for Alex so I worked today on a couple of his photographs.  We did a series of images with his baseball uniform and bat.  Putting a little artistic approach to a couple of images.

Ohio Sled Hockey

I had total enjoyment tonight photographing the Ohio Sled Hockey team.
Some of the best kids and they love to slide on the ice with their sleds.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas has always been so special to me and I would like to wish everybody

 A 

Very Merry Christmas 

and a

Happy New Year !

Please have a safe holiday when you travel and at home.

May your New Year bring you wonderful blessings and prosperity.

Amazing people, amazing photos for an amazing charity

Saturday the Cleveland chapter of A Kid Again held their annual Christmas party for the families.  What a wonderful time with great people and great food from Applebees.

Just want to share a few family portraits with you!!

A very touching story.

December of 2009 at 8:00 AM I get a call from a dear friend.  He says "Mark I need you to take some photographs of my son's family,  he hasn't seen his family in for months since he is in Iraq."

His son left for Iraq before his third child was born.

We set an appointment for the next day at the studio.  A young woman with 3 little children came to the studio with grandpa.

During the session the oldest child was not feeling so well and grandpa had to hold him while I photographed the mother and baby.  I was so grateful grandpa was there because he know exactly how to make his grandson feel better.  When it came time to photograph the oldest with his mother, grandpa could make him smile even though his was not feeling his best.

I told my friend that I would have images for him and his daughter-in-law to view tomorrow morning.
Actually I had them done in a few hours since I knew it would take more time to ship them to Iraq in time for Christmas.

I sent an email to my friend telling him how he could view the images.  A few minutes later he responded with an email with a one line note saying "I can't stop crying."

Two days later the images were printed and ready to ship to Iraq in plenty of time to get there for Christmas.

I received another email for my friend

"Mark

I opened the photos of my grand children and was overcome with tears of joy!  The day of the shoot, my grandson was ucharateristically unhappy.  But your uncanny ability to prepare your subject and your artful eye, again delivered photos that exceeded my expectations by miles.  You are truly a master of the art of photography!

Grateful for your remarkabel talent!"

About a month later I received this email from the son in Iraq.

"Sir,
You have done a fine job and I cant tell you how much I appreciate it. I look at those photo's every day. They are what gets me through. So take pride in what you do sir, because it inspires me constantly!

Thanks Again"

This is a touching story and I want to tell you to never put off getting portraits done of your family.  They will inspire you and touch you in ways you never thought possible.

Photograph of the son's bunk in Iraq.

Actual portrait on son's bunk

New Idea's

A lot of you don't know this but, I stay up late at night when my creative juices are flowing.
So I had this idea of putting montages together and here is what I came up with.

Your comments would be deeply appreciated!

Do you think good photography is an easy path to wealth?

Here is something for every one to think about.  In an article published this month in the Professional Photographers of America magazine Professional Photographer how much income the average photographer makes per year.

It is shocking and in some cases very true!

"There's a crazy perception out there that photography equals easy money.  In reality, on average, photographers keep less than 22 cents of every dollar they make.  With $100,000 in gross income, that's $22,000 for the photographer, which is below poverty level.  To succeed takes hard work, a diligent approach to accounting, and strong attention to detail - not to mention talent and maybe even a dose of good luck."  December 2010 edition - page 43.

 So if you think a photographer is charging you too much for that 8x10 photograph you just purchased, think again, there's a lot that goes on behind that photograph that you don't see.

Here are some of the reasons photographers charge what we do.

1.   Knowledge:
      We are educated just like a lawyer or doctor.  Training, continuing education, testing of techniques and practice.  It takes us about 3 to 4 plus years of education and experience to achieve great results.  It's not an over night experience.

2. Equipment Costs:
    The equipment we use as professionals are not like the camera you might purchase for your everyday photographs.  The cameras and equipment we use run in the $1,000's of dollars and we need back up equipment in case a piece of equipment has a hick up.

3. Studio and Office Costs:
    Some of us have a store front while others may work out of their home but it's still all an expense.  Not to mention marketing takes a very big chuck of our profits.

4. Props and Backgrounds:
    Did you know that the average cost of a 8'x10' background can cost $500 or more!  Everything we need to make an image look great cost money.  Yes we can deduct it as an expense but, every dollar spent, just like you purchasing something for your home, it all adds up.

5. Time:
    The old saying which still holds true today "Time is money".  Imagine how much time a photographer puts into polishing your photographs.  We have time before you arrive to get the studio ready for your session.  Taking the images. Editing all images taken. Retouching and enhancements.  Sending in your order.  Quality check of the images after printing.  Delivery of your images.  The most important time, the time we spend with a customer.

I could go on and on but that would make this article a book.

Can you say "It's just a photograph!"

WOW! Is all I can say.

WOW! Is all I can say.

The Christmas party for A Kid Again was the biggest yet with over 1,400 people attending.

Good thing we had two photographers working and it was non-stop for both of us.  The line was long and I hope that every one who wanted a family portrait was able to get one.

I did 74 families in 3 hours and the portraits look wonderful.  That is 2.42 minutes for every family.

What a blessing it is to be able to give families a portrait.

Here is an email Kathy Derr sent me this morning.

"I have to tell you that I heard from a mom yesterday who just lost her child in November and how much the family pictures from over they years mean to her. Thank you for sharing your talents with us and for the memories you give the families. "

Now here is another great thing ..... I get to do this all over again this coming Saturday in Cleveland!!

Here is just a sampling of the family portraits taken.

97.1 The Fan Holiday All Sports Web Auction

Here's a great way to shop for your favorite sports fan on your Christmas list and shop from home! 

Plus you are supporting one of the best charities in Ohio who help children with a life threatening illness to be A Kid Again

Starting today, December 3, log on to the 97.1 The Fan auction website to bid on exciting sports memorabilia items and experiences. During the 97.1 The Fan web auction, you will find unique items such as footballs autographed by former OSU coaches and athletes, a framed photograph signed by Jack Nicklaus, a Cleveland Cavaliers game experience package, a Columbus Blue Jackets experience and much more!

Don't delay - online bids will only be accepted until Sunday, December 12. You won't want to miss out on winning the perfect gift for your favorite sports-enthusiast!

All proceeds from this great web auction will benefit A Kid Again. To learn more, visit 97.1 The Fan

Camera Class for the Amatuer

With Christmas upon us and I know there are going to be people getting new camera's as a gift but maybe some already have a camera and don't understand how it works "Yet!!!"

Some people will say "I don't know how to use this #@#^ camera."
They may not say it out loud but it's in the back of their minds.

The other thing that happens so many times is people will not read the manual that came with the camera.  In some ways I don't blame them since a camera manual is so boring.  Plus the way the manual is written is sometimes to technical for some readers.

Well I hear you calling and I am here to HELP!!

I will be asking certain groups to open their doors and offer a class to help people understand their new or old camera.  I will keep you informed where and when these classes will be held.

Right now working on having the first class in Dublin.

Some of the topics to be covered are:

That wonderful setting "P" for professional.
POP goes the flash.
Why didn't my photo turn out great.
What are all those other settings for.
Best photo quality.
Composition.
Taking a better photograph.
How to chase the kids around.
What is "Red Eye" and how to remove it.

If you are interested in this class please email me at clickphoto@columbus.rr.com or call the studio number 614-832-6448.

A Kid Again on ONN April 2010 with Mark Williams and Jeff Damron

Jeff Damron CEO of A Kid Again and Mark Williams talk to Eve Mueller of ONN
about the book "Being A Kid Again".

Jeff also talks about the Kings Island 5K.