This year’s third annual spokesmodel party was a blast! It’s definitely one of our favorite days of the year and the culmination of the planning, photographing, and getting to know our newest team! Some of them we’ve known for years and some we’re just getting to know. We’ve become very fond of each and every one of these seniors-to-be and to have them all at the studio wearing their Frameable Faces T-Shirts and hanging together is as good as it gets for us!

Our awesome team!

Just like last year we began the festivities with the debut of the new spokesmodel video with behind the scenes clips from the photo sessions and even a fun outtake at the end:

We then had dinner, and this year we had it catered by Pine Lake Market in Keego Harbor – the food was fantastic! Then in keeping with tradition we ate Just Baked cupcakes. Soooo good.

Our Just Baked Cupcakes!

Then we took some photos. Everyone had picked up their t-shirts and spokesmodel cards which were laid out on the table when they arrived, and we took some team pictures first.

Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Swag!

Then it was everyone’s turn to do individual shots for the mural that goes in our window for the upcoming year which is always a lot of fun. Look for that in about a month in our window and on Facebook. There are actually some traditions within the murals emerging – like who will be the “jumpy girl”, who will be eating a Just Baked cupcake, which boy will be flexing his muscles, and who will do something that has not been done before?

All in all it was a great night and as we’ve said before, a great group of kids.

Frameable Flashbacks! – Fahad

April 29, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We received an unexpected visit from one of our seniors from the class of 2011! Fahad is quite the entrepreneur and he was the first senior we photographed with an SUV and it was a very cool session! Fahad is quite a go getter – a very entrepreneurial young man and we thought we would catch up with him in our latest “Frameable Flashback”!

Frameable Faces: Fahad you have a lot going on these days – what’s been happening?

Fahad: I am going to school full time & running three businesses. A fundraising company, home health care and a coffee business.

Frameable Faces: What are your goals for the future?

Fahad: My goals for the future are to get my MBA before I turn 24 and own 10 businesses before I turn 26.

Frameable Faces: What do you remember about your Frameable Faces photo session?

Fahad: I remember doing the photo shoot by the lake. It was a lot of fun! I loved the fact that Ally worked with me throughout everything. She did the shots I was happy with even though it took us a while. I would recommend Frameable Faces to all of my friends!

Senior Picture - Frameable Faces

Marty’s Cookies – Yummy and Frameable!

April 26, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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I had always been aware of Marty’s Cookies (they’ve been baking cookies locally in Metro Detroit for over 30 years) but for whatever reason I hadn’t been very familiar with the product, at least not more so than any other cookies. Cookies are clearly a weakness of mine and I’ve tried many good ones, so when we had the opportunity to photograph some Marty’s Cookies for their new website I was excited – It’s a pretty common occurrence when you photograph food that you get to try some.

Peanut Butter Cookie

Wow

You could accuse me of just talking these up to help plug a client – that’s fine. I don’t care. I’m going to say it anyway – these cookies are some of the better ones I’ve ever had. I’m sure along the way I’ve had some amazing homemade family recipe cookies that are truly special, and I can’t think of which were the best off the top of my head but I’d put these up against most cookies anywhere. I think my three favorite were the peanut butter, the butter pecan, and the chocolate chocolate chip (which are not usually my favorite), but here’s the kicker – not only were the cookies outstanding but the banana bread was way more than I bargained for. I’m pretty critical of banana bread/cake since my mom made it a lot when I was little and it was my favorite. I’ve always been disappointed by commercially baked banana bread – it never tastes like home. However I have to say this banana bread was darn close. Totally legit – moist, flavorful fantastic banana bread. I’m now a believer and I highly recommend this stuff. Just sayin’…

Banana Bread

Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Butter Pecan

Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodels Part 3 – Guys Edition!

April 20, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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Here come the guys….! These two young men complete our roster of spokesmodels from the upcoming class of 2014. We are really impressed with both of them and they both happen to be North Farmington Raiders just like us! Pretty soon we will have all 12 spokesmodels together to create our new mural for the window of the studio which is always a lot of fun for us. These two sessions were both fantastic! Enjoy!

Noah

class of 2014 senior spokesmodels part 3 High School Senior Pictures - Frameable Faces

Danny

class of 2014 senior spokesmodels part 3 Frameable Faces Photography Senior Picture

Love For Boston and All Of Our Cities

April 17, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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This post is not about professional photography or social media, or running a small business, but I feel it’s appropriate. We capture images here – that’s what we do day in and day out, and most of what we do is a celebration of life and relationships. After the horrific images that came from the Boston Marathon a couple days ago I got to thinking about that city, the resilience it is showing and how important our cities are. I haven’t been to Boston but I still have some thoughts that I just wanted to put out there – thoughts on our cities in general with Boston as a backdrop. We are all thinking about Boston now like we all thought about New York, D.C. and flight 93 after 9/11, and like we all thought about New Orleans after Katrina and any of the other tragedies that have touched us all. As Americans we wrap our arms around a city that has been hurt and we feel for those who were injured and grieve for those who died.

Boston Marathon

Love for Boston

We have never been to Boston as I said so we can’t rave about it first hand, but we are aware of what an awesome city it is. It is definitely on our list of places to visit someday. It has been noted and emphasized that many people – first responders and ordinary citizens alike rushed in to help after the bombs went off by the finish line on Monday. Locals were helping out-of-towners who may have been trying to connect with family members amid the confusion. Boston, just as other cities have, has given us yet another great example to follow…

Love for other cities

I hope by saying this I’m not minimizing the tragedy since that’s not my intent, but I think we should take this opportunity to remind ourselves that we should love all our cities, and subsequently (as cheesy as it may sound), each other. We should reinforce the sense of community that our cities give us – a mass of humanity all functioning together in a huge and complex living breathing machine. A gigantic display of life and relationships. This might be obvious but when you visit a city take the time to enjoy what is unique about that city – if you go to Philly for example eat a cheesesteak sandwich (even if it’s a veggie version) and check out the history – the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall… Take photos of the skyline. Soak it in. Take the time to strike up conversations with strangers and let them know you are visiting their city and how much you love it.

Love for your own city

Over our Spring Break a couple weeks ago we did not go out of town. We stayed home and worked that week, but we did take one day to do a Detroit “staycation” day where we ate breakfast at Toast in Ferndale, went to the Detroit Historical Museum, drove around Belle Isle, took in an iMax movie in Dearborn, ate dinner at Slow’s BBQ in Corktown, and finished up with dessert back in Ferndale at Treat Dreams. A celebration of Detroit food and history. We love Detroit.

It’s easy to love our snow peaked mountains, our national parks and our beaches with their natural beauty, but in times like these let’s be thankful for our mighty cities too. Let’s work together to make them great. Here are a few (amateur) snapshots from some past visits to other cities…

Independence Hall in Philadelphia – 1989

I always thought this shot I took in 1986 of the Washington Monument was cool…

Snapping our reflection in Cloud Gate – the Chicago “Bean”

Family snapshot from the Empire State Building

Family snapshot from the top of the Empire State Building – New York City 2010

Boston is wounded, but Boston is tough and Boston will get through this senseless act. Boston, the rest of the country is sending their thoughts and wishes your way. I know we certainly are, and we will be adding pictures of your resilient and beautiful city to our collection someday when we come to eat your food, learn your history, and meet your people.

Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodels Part 2!!!

April 10, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We are excited to bring you part two of our series of images of our new class of 2014 high school senior spokesmodels! We posted part 1 last month of the first 5 and now here are the next 5. This is shaping up to be a FANTASTIC class!

Emily B

Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Photo Class of 2014 Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Class of 2014

Emily S

Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Photo

Courtney

Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Class of 2014 Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Photo Danielle

Frameable Faces Senior Spokesmodel Picture Class of 2014

Erin

Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Class of 2014 Frameable Faces Spokesmodel Photo Class Of 2014

Frameable Faces High School BFF Mini Sessions!

April 3, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We have done BFF (“Best Friends Forever” for those who aren’t down with the lingo) sessions before, but we have had a couple of specific requests lately that compelled us to come up with an option for graduating seniors.

High School BFF Mini Sessions

The Details:

One hour booked (approximately 15 minutes of shooting)
Two friends (standard package – an additional friend can be added for a fee)
One backdrop and one outfit
5 low res files on a disc – duplicate copy for each friend
2 prints (same pose – must be from the pool of 5 selected images – one for each friend 8×10 or smaller)
Additional files/prints available for additional cost
Total package $250

The shoot takes about 15 minutes, the images can be uploaded, selected, slightly retouched and burned to a disc on the spot. The whole process is completed in an hour. The prints are ordered during this time and take up to two weeks to arrive.

Perfect Graduation Gift

When two best friends leave and go their separate ways to different colleges this can be a great way to make the separation a little easier by having a nice professional photo framed on a dresser in a dorm room and an extra few professional shots on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. It works great for two seniors, or as in the case of our awesome models shown here (they are two of our all time favorite #frameables) one senior who is leaving and a younger BFF who still has some high school to go… We have had seniors do BFF sessions for their senior pictures and we will continue to do that – our regular senior sessions are up to 3 hours so when BFFs do them they both pay for their session and we block off up to 6 hours to do plenty separate and together with locations, outfit changes – the whole experience. This is a simpler option for two friends to do towards the end of their senior year or during the summer before they leave just as a nice memento to take with them. Take a look at a few ideas with our models below!

High School BFF mini sessions

The Top 5 Scariest or Suspenseful Photos in Film

March 30, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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Let’s start by saying none of the top 5 photos are actually published here in this blog post…. BOOO right? It’s okay, I learned a little about copyright and fair use of movie images while researching this post. We are certainly sensitive to people grabbing copyrighted images and using them illegally so I was curious about whether obvious and iconic images that appear everywhere are considered public domain or not. So long story short…

Top 5 scariest photos in film

I went to this link after a Google search, found The Motion Picture and Television Archive and called the number listed. A very friendly and helpful guy gave me a lot of good information and it boiled down to me having the option to purchase the photos I wanted from them if they weren’t public domain for $75 – $100 each. Not horrible but more than I wanted to spend at the moment (when I have a massive following maybe I’ll reinvest into the blog in this fashion but I’m not ready for that). He did say generally you can get an idea if an image was distributed by a film studio if you go to ebay and see one there for sale with the studio info printed on the bottom. This generally indicates that you can use it. None of my top 5 are available on ebay but I will provide links to them if they are available on the web – one for example is right on Wikipedia and I believe Wikipedia has the right to display it. Whether the others do I’m not sure… if they don’t and the image isn’t there when you click on the link then maybe they were caught and were forced to take it down…

The Top 5 Scariest…

Now for our top 5 – caution – there are spoilers here:

1. The final shot in The Shining – 1980

If this didn’t give you a chill the first time you saw it then nothing in a movie will. When it’s revealed that Jack Torrance was always the caretaker at the Overlook Hotel when we see his smiling face in the July 4th, 1921 photo hanging on the wall it’s the perfect final scare to the scariest movie ever made… The classic Kubrick slow zoom into the wall and then the photo builds the lump in your throat as you realize what you’re looking at.

2. The moving photo in the scrapbook in IT – 1990

Many Stephen King fans will agree that It was one of his scariest books. While the TV movie with Tim Curry as Pennywise the clown didn’t quite do the book justice I still feel it had its moments – one of which was the depiction of the moving photo in the scrapbook that the kids are looking at together. When Pennywise stops and sees that they are looking and makes a beeline to the surface jumping up onto the lamppost it’s a pretty good rush.

3. The old photo of Eva Galli and the Chowder Society in Ghost Story – 1981

This film gave me nightmares after I saw it in the theater at the age of 11, and I still love it. There is something creepy about the fact that the only photo which exists of Eva Galli is one where her face is blurred since she moves right as the photo is being snapped. While I was able to find numerous images from Ghost Story I was not able to find the photo itself anywhere on the web.

4. The photo from Blow-Up which turned out to be more than meets the eye – 1966

In this groundbreaking film by Italian director Michaelangelo Antonioni a photographer takes a photo of two lovers in a park but discovers upon enlarging the photo what appears to be a dead body in the background.

5. The discarded Polaroid negative from No Way Out – 1987

This is a case where the photo itself isn’t scary or freaky, but the fact that it was a Polaroid negative required lengthy computer processing to become visible. The photo was the only forensic evidence in a case with plenty of twists and turns and the processing creates a suspenseful race against time for Kevin Costner’s character who is ultimately revealed to be the spy all along. Great movie, but once again I was unable to locate the photo on the web.

Honorable Mention – the vanishing siblings of Marty McFly in Back To The Future – 1985

This suggestion came from someone on our facebook page when I mentioned I was writing this post. While not actually “scary” or “suspenseful” since Back To The Future is a comedy, I’d be lying if this photo didn’t cross my mind and put a smile on my face when I was putting together this list… 🙂

Can you think of any others?

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Frameable Faces Photography
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Frameable Faces Photography is a small biz retail mom & pop shop of Doug&Ally Cohen located in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States Of America!
************************************************
Ally & Doug can be reached at the studio at tel:248-790-7317 or emailed at mailto:info@frameablefaces.com
************************************************
Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/frameablefaces
Facebook: http://facebook.com/frameablefaces
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frameablefaces
YouTube: https://youtube.com/frameablefaces
Instagram: https://instagram.com/frameablefaces
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/frameablefaces
**********************************************
Being “Frameable” is an attitude, a community, a way of life – a life you would want to celebrate and display on your walls for all to see! Tell us… ARE YOU FRAMEABLE?
**********************************************
Join the Frameable Faces Community – sign up for our email newsletter for the best of the week in the Frameable Faces World! Click here!

9 Things To Tell Your Kids About Photography

March 22, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We had a great morning today at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills, MI for career day! We presented to two separate groups of 8th graders about a career in photography and it was so much fun. The kids had really great and thoughtful questions, and it got me thinking that I should share some things to tell your kids about photography just as we did today.

9 Things To Tell Your Kids About Photography

1. Getting an expensive camera isn’t the only route to becoming a great photographer. It can certainly help, but it’s not enough. If you are truly motivated and it’s in your heart you can hone your skills and become pretty good with almost any camera. Having the most advanced medical equipment wouldn’t make you the best doctor and having a $100 football doesn’t make you a great quarterback. I’d rather have a great person I connect with with a good eye and a $75 camera (or even an iPhone for that matter) take my picture than an arrogant know-it-all jerk with a $10,000 camera. Now keep in mind I won’t want to enlarge an iPhone photo and put it on my wall – you will certainly be limited by a cheap camera and you probably will never be able to call yourself a professional photographer with a basic digital point and shoot camera, but equipment isn’t everything. It’s pretty important (eventually it becomes really important), but it’s not everything.

2. Being a great photographer only comes with experience so just start shooting. Get out there! Learn what photos you like to take the most, experiment and find your style. If you like portraits take your friend or your sibling to a park. If you like landscapes or wildlife go to a nature preserve. Inspiration is available all around you.

3. Being a great photographer only comes with knowledge so don’t only start shooting. Learn how to use your camera. Read the manual (crazy right?). Learn about lighting. Learn about posing. Learn about editing – kids can play with cropping and basic post production techniques with programs as simple as iPhoto. It’s not too early to start to appreciate the craft behind becoming an accomplished photographer.

4. Be aware of what you share online. This doesn’t mean don’t participate and be terrified of the Internet. It does mean be aware of how you represent yourself, how mistakes can hurt you, and the power of enhancing your life and making connections with social media. Social media is obviously very visual and images can be very powerful in good and bad ways. If you are a musician you can post links to your music or you can stream it on soundcloud, if you are a sculptor you can post a picture of your sculpture but it might not do it justice, but if you are a photographer your work is ON facebook if you post it there and it shows up in people’s news feeds – bam. Instagram is built on photos. It is critical that your kids understand the reach of these platforms – how they can use them to their advantage but also the dangers of posting something foolish and opening up their private lives to the whole world if they aren’t careful. Social media is here to stay and we’ve used it to build our business so it’s important to become savvy online – it will continue to get tougher to thrive without it. The 8th graders we met with will be able to take a whole course on social media when they get to high school next year.

5. Taking pictures for a living can give you a ton of freedom but it won’t happen right away. The allure of being your own boss can be strong for an artist. Whether you want to own a studio, be a freelance photographer or photojournalist you may be the type that marches to the beat of your own drum. For me I know that working in the corporate environment and having a boss was a nightmare. I much prefer having my own business, but I know we would not have been able to pull it off if we hadn’t had plenty of experience in the workforce learning how business works (and how it doesn’t work). I don’t think it’s the best advice to tell a youngster to plan on never working for someone else – to go from graduating from school straight to —–> business owner. Just my opinion… We see a lot of photographers fail because they don’t respect and learn the business of photography.

6. Taking pictures is extremely rewarding and a worthy pursuit!!! This holds true for professionals and amateurs. Taking pictures is expression, it’s connection, it’s celebration, it’s history, it’s emotion, it’s a moment, it’s flat out fun. Kids love to snap and share pictures. Instagram selfies, facebook profiles, snapchat, tumblr – this is how they connect and express themselves. What an outlet! It’s a fun byproduct of technology that some old school photographers can’t understand and they lament how it’s devaluing what real pros are doing. We feel it’s the opposite – the more people appreciate pictures the more they’ll appreciate good pictures. We never discourage youngsters from having fun with photography. We embrace this new culture and here is a funny example of a guest post I wrote for another blog where I discussed ideas for good content on Facebook for photography studios. Look in the comments where some angry old school photographer chimed in and just ripped me apart for validating these fun new forms of expression.

7. Find mentors and ask questions. Go to a local studio. Go to a local independent camera store. All of us pros started somewhere and there were photographers who helped us along the way.

8. You aren’t too young to subscribe to blogs and websites like Peta Pixel where you can learn a ton. There are a lot of sites like this one with tips and examples of new and creative photos. We share many articles that stand out on our facebook page as well. In addition to gaming or surfing silly videos on YouTube maybe your kids can mix in a few of these – they might find plenty they like.

9. Think about the businesses you love and why. Whether it’s a certain ice cream shop, or a clothing store, or a gaming store, or some other specialty store, think about why you like them. Kids are consumers – they can learn from the businesses they like if they are paying attention and it can shape the kind of business people they can be. If you are a photographer of people you will want to treat your people the way you like to be treated as a customer. These are simple lessons that shouldn’t be lost on kids.

I hope these help! Feel free to chime in or even better have your child chime in – if you’re local stop by and visit! We would be happy to answer questions.

Check out the Doug&Ally Morning Show PODCAST!!!

**********************************************
Frameable Faces Photography
**********************************************
Frameable Faces Photography is a small biz retail mom & pop shop of Doug&Ally Cohen located in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States Of America!
************************************************
Ally & Doug can be reached at the studio at tel:248-790-7317 or emailed at mailto:info@frameablefaces.com
************************************************
Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/frameablefaces
Facebook: http://facebook.com/frameablefaces
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frameablefaces
YouTube: https://youtube.com/frameablefaces
Instagram: https://instagram.com/frameablefaces
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/frameablefaces
**********************************************
Being “Frameable” is an attitude, a community, a way of life – a life you would want to celebrate and display on your walls for all to see! Tell us… ARE YOU FRAMEABLE?
**********************************************
Join the Frameable Faces Community – sign up for our email newsletter for the best of the week in the Frameable Faces World! Click here!

A Favorite Frameable Family Is Growing!

March 19, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We love maternity sessions and they are especially fun when they are the second one with the same family! To be a part of this the second time around with a soon-to-be older sister who we have been photographing since she was a newborn is really special.

Older sister’s name begins with an “H” and something else she is that starts with “H” is a HAM. She is so funny and we love her – such a character! Great family and great session!

Frameable Faces Photography - Maternity Family Photo