User:Pai
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In 1968 Craig Pai and his father established "Excel Photo Service Inc" on the north side of Chicago. They had years of experience in the photofinishing field prior to opening and, because of the beautiful work that the newly established lab was turning out, they acquired the business, loyalty and respect of Chicagolands finest and best known photographers. Excel Photo Service catered to professional event and portrait photographers (we use the term ‘event photographer’ for any professional photographer who shoots any sort of event whether it is a wedding, a sporting event, Bar Mitzvah, Baptism, quincenera, or prom...etc). The industry was all optical at that time and Craig was the person who started what is known as the "shooter" system which became very popular with users of 35 mm film in and around the Chicago area. His father moved to Hawaii within a few years and Craig bought 100% of the shares of Excel.
In 1976 Craig and I (Leslie) were married... I had a degree in Special Education, and I speak fluent Spanish, sign language for the deaf and I play every and any musical instrument by ear... We had 5 biological daughters together when we decided to adopt a little girl from Honduras who would not have had the chance to live if not given much needed nutrition and love. I put my teaching degree aside to care for our six daughters... Craig took care of Excel Photo and I took care of the 6 girls. We both loved our "jobs".
Without a warning... on November 19, 1995, Craig died of an cerebral hemmorage. We had been married for 20 years, and now, suddenly, I found myself in the most unthinkable situation of being a young widow with six little girls and a photofinishing lab to run. (I was now the new and sole owner of Excel Photo Service Inc.) I was not only inexperienced in the business world… but also in life. I was a ‘stay at home’ mom for so long that I didn't know what horrible things people were capable of when it comes to business, money and competition. Competitors tried to panic many of Excels customers as they ‘spread the word’ that "no one" was in charge of the lab… and they urged the photographers to pull their work out as soon as possible.
Anyone who is a parent and has a family to support will understand that sometimes you must do what you HAVE to do… not what you necessarily WANT to do... There were many so called friends and relatives that tried to take advantage of the situation and it took 3 years for me to legally take control of my business and finalize my husbands death. The mourning period was over and it was now time for my good sense, brains and inner strength to "kick in".
Excel was still turning out great work as the same loyal and experienced workers continued in the lab. We were producing the same exceptional quality work that we had done for the last 30 years. Not only were we providing professional photographers with exceptional quality work, but I decided to take our lab to the next level. I joined many Photographer associations such as the CPPA and the PPA. Accompanied by my daughters Tiffany (27), Jolie (26), Tami (23), Shanie (21), Samara (20), and even Kayla (15), I attended meetings and shows and met with countless photographers and other wonderful people in the industry. We educated ourselves on the soon to arrive Digital "take over" that was about to happen and we got a 'jump start' on it . We still very happily print optically for the photographers who prefer their film and optical pictures. (We have an amazing Colex dip and dunk film processor and a complete optical department for the 15% of our clients who still want to use film).
We purchased some of the best digital equipment available on the market from the ZBE Chromira to the Frontier 370. We put our employees through classes and training on each new piece of equipment and many became experts in the field. All six of my daughters insisted on learning every inch of this lab along with me... (Tami even learned how to maintain and repair all the equipment) and they have acquired the best artistic and digital skills that I have ever come across. They are known to be some of the best ‘artists’ in the field and some even refer to Tiffany and Shanie as the “Digital Divas” because of their amazing digital editing skills. They were born with amazing talent and have excelled in art and technical skills as well as training and learning computer and graphic skills through The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg. They accepted the changes to digital as a natural progression and have been key in the advancement of the lab.
As digital was “taking over“ the photofinishing… labs around the nation (especially the smaller labs) started to close and fold... Photographers were beginning to feel the effects as their sales began to drop and the photographers found themselves having to re-learn digitally everything that they had previously known so well. Both the labs and the photographers were feeling the stress and the pain. We could see where the industry was heading… and for this reason… about three years ago, we decided to go with the flow rather than to fight and sink like so many others.
We were lucky that two of our senior technical consultants owned and operated a software development and hosting firm. Utilizing the skills of this unbelievable team of brothers, Elton and Curtis Wilson, we began what is known today as MomentShare. Working closely with the most successful of our photographers, we built MomentShare from the ground up entirely based on what photographers needed and wanted. MomentShare is a full-service professional lab and online proofing service. MomentShare is our national brand and the online division of Excel Photo Service that still allows us the same control over the quality that we demand from every print.
With MomentShare in place our digital department continued to grow in leaps and bounds. We began taking orders via FTP (and even email), and began to develop many new features for our photographers. We personally create a custom web page for every one of Momentshares photographers so that their customers will never even know that they left their website. Every photographer has their own elegant control panel where they can create packages, view invoices, and email their customers. Every event includes an intuitive ordering gallery for their customers with a favorites section, order tracking, and slide show. With the ability to place their events online for as long as they choose and an Unlimited Events plan with no monthly fees, MomentShare has become the ultimate online solution for the professional photographer.
All six Pai girls (and myself) manage and supervise MomentShare and the lab as well as play a major role in the production of the photos. We all put in countless hours and are devoted and loyal to our family business and to our customers. We often hear the feedback from our photographers that they love the personal attention we give them, and I think this comes from being a dedicated company with real and dedicated employees. Not one photo leaves our lab without one of the Pais personally checking for quality! Our employees are all extremely skilled in the field of photofinishing and we have an amazing digital, support and technical staff. We take all calls personally from our photographers from all over the United States (as well as other countries), and we answer all emails in a timely and friendly manner.
We help photographers with their technical questions and concerns so they will be able to post their proofs online, which helps them sell more pictures, gives them a lot more exposure to new clients, and frees up a lot of their time and worry as MomentShare does so much of the work for them. The professional can finally concentrate on his shooting while MomentShare handles the ordering, processing, printing, and shipping. If proofs or large photos, album prints, Mounted photos or even canvas is desired the lab does it all... Nothing is outsourced. We have a custom, NO templates album design and layout department so that each photographer can offer his own unique album that is unlike anyone else’s. MomentShare fulfills the entire order while maintaining the finest possible quality.
The digital artwork that we turn out is so remarkable and impressive that we have other professional labs asking us to correct their problems and to print enlargements for them. MomentShare is probably the most competitively priced and easiest online fulfillment lab that anyone could come across and we will never let our quality and personal attention falter simply because every one of us cares so MUCH about this business.
The Pai Family is a success story. We pulled together as a family when tragedy struck and learned together, grew together and succeeded together. When so many people care that much about a family business and share that same passion for quality… they can only succeed.
