A picture is worth a thousand words, making photographs and stick-figure sketches the easiest solutions to looming dissertation deadlines. Take advantage of efficient visual-communication strategies with today’s Groupon: for $59, you get a two-hour photo shoot for up to five people, including a disc with 25 high-resolution, retouched images ready for print and web publishing (up to a $450 value), and an 11”x14” print (a $75 value) from Ilene Squires Photography (up to a $525 total value). Photo shoots are on location within the five boroughs only; additional subjects may be added for $50 each.

Talented shutterbug Ilene Squires expresses her love of storytelling through her dexterous use of the lens, capturing fleeting moments and recording them indelibly for clients. Select a favored spot in the city for the two-hour shoot, posing amid downtown skyscrapers, on a colorful stoop in Harlem, or alongside chess-playing squirrels in Central Park. A specialist in children's photography, Squires focuses her sharp eye on her subjects' best sides, creating striking portraits that transport each poser's personality to photo albums and frames. After the shoot, subjects select a favored shot to be commemorated in an 11"x14" print, then they receive a disc packed with 25 high-resolution, retouched images perfect for sharing with friends online or printing out and plastering over misbehaving mirrors.