Rangefinder Magazine
August 2006
Lab Profile: MomentShare by Lou Jacobs Jr.
Ladies of the Lab

The Pai family portrait

IN 1968, EXPERIENCED photofinishers Craig Pai and his father established Excel Photo Service in Chicago. Their business catered to the best professional wedding, sports and portrait photographers in the area, and after a few years Craig bought out his father, who moved to Hawaii.
In 1976 Craig married Leslie, who had a degree in special education and spoke fluent Spanish. The couple had five biological daughters and adopted a little girl from Honduras who needed nutrition and love. Leslie raised the girls while Craig managed the lab.

The Pai family behind MomentShare’s front counter

Without warning, in November 1995, Craig died. After 20 years of marriage, Leslie found herself in “the most unthinkable situation” as sole owner of an established pro lab, with no business experience. “Competitors tried to panic our customers,” Leslie recalls, “spreading word that no one was in charge. Through numerous complications, it took three years to legally take control of my business.”
Excel continued producing its traditional quality work as Leslie educated herself in all aspects of the company. Accompanied by her daughters, Tiffany, now 27, Jolie, 25, Tami, 23, Shanie, 21, Samara, 20, and Kayla, 15, Leslie says, “We attended meetings and shows, met with countless photographers, and got a jumpstart on the arriving digital age.
“We have the best digital equipment available, from ZBE Chromira to Frontier 370. Our employees attend training classes and all six daughters insisted on learning every inch of the lab. Tami even knows how to maintain and repair all the equipment. They’ve all acquired excellent digital skills and artistic training through the Illinois Art Institute. Some clients refer to Tiffany and Shanie as the ‘Digital Divas’ because of their editing talents.”
As the popularity of digital photography grew, Leslie looked to the future. Two of her senior technical consultants owned and operated a software development and hosting firm. She explains, “Using the skills of Elton and Curtis Wilson, we started MomentShare (www. momentshare.com), working closely with the most successful of our photographers to create a full-service professional lab with online proofing and order fulfillment. We saw that this combination of technology and pro-lab personalized service could greatly increase photographers’ income by giving them more exposure while increasing reprint orders. MomentShare is our national brand, and is the online division of Excel Photo Service. We are first and foremost a pro lab. We realize photographers aren’t all computer geeks just because they went digital, and we make it simple and inexpensive to get their work out there.”

Behind the scenes, in the shipping department, everything is as neat and pristine as the area of the lab that the public sees.

The digital department takes orders via FTP and email, offers photographers tech support, and, Leslie adds, “We create a custom web page for each MomentShare photographer with an easy-to-use control panel to display and sell images online. Every event includes a personal, intuitive ordering gallery that may stay online indefinitely. “While all six Pai girls and myself manage and supervise Moment- Share and Excel,” Leslie asserts, “we all play major roles in production along with an amazing digital support staff. A Pai gives personal attention to every photograph that leaves the lab. Posting proofs online gives them exposure to new clients, and photographers can concentrate on shooting because MomentShare handles orders. We also offer large prints, individually designed albums, and we even do digital artwork and enlargements for other professional labs, all at competitive prices.”
The story of the Pai family and MomentShare is an inspiring success story. They pulled together when tragedy struck, and Craig would be very proud about the reputation of Excel and Moment- Share in the 21st century.

There is a reason why Curtis Wilson is highlighted. He is Tiffany's husband of few years. Tiffany and Curtis are running or at least influencing Jolie images. This is what Curtis does for a living: