248.790.7317
This is our shortest blog post. It’s only 63 words. It might not be great for SEO, and it doesn’t show off our photos. It may not solve the world’s problems and there isn’t a whole lot to it. Its purpose is just to simply say hi and that life is good. So, Hi! Life Is Good. That is all.
Love,
Doug and Ally
Photogenic is defined as “suitable for being photographed: likely to photograph well”. It seems about half of the people who come to Frameable Faces warn us that we are going to have a tough time with their session because they are NOT photogenic. Usually we just tell them we can’t help because we just don’t want the burden of trying to make such bad looking people look good. It’s probably hopeless right? WRONG!!!!!!!
Ally did NOT take this photo. I repeat – Ally did NOT take this photo… haha
Some people will go on and explain to us that “No – I’m serious. I don’t photograph well at all. I just don’t”. If you are one of those people then in all seriousness there are likely some legitimate reasons you feel this way. Here are 5 reasons you are not photogenic:
In short, not everyone is always at their perfect weight walking around 100% totally ready for their close up at a moment’s notice in perfect lighting with their favorite outfit on and hair perfectly styled to be taken by a random family member or friend with an iPhone who doesn’t know how to use the camera on it.
Here is the shamelessly self-serving part of this article – as you have probably figured out, these 5 reasons you are “not photogenic” can largely be addressed by going to a real professional whom you connect with. I don’t just say this as an ad for Frameable Faces. I mean it in general. It applies to any professional who knows what they are doing. Just don’t be hard on yourself if you haven’t always been pleased with how you look in photos. It is not necessarily your fault!
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Check out our podcast!
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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!
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Ally & Doug can be reached at the studio at tel:248-790-7317 or emailed at mailto:info@frameablefaces.com
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Tune in to the Doug&Ally Morning Show T-F between 8:30 – 11 EST UTC-4 on Periscope or Twitter along with many other live broadcasts on their channel, and find them at the following:
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
Periscope: http://pscp.tv/frameablefaces
Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/frameablefaces
Yelp: http://yelp.com/biz/frameable-faces-photography-west-bloomfield
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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?
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Yes that status was 5 years ago! It’s hard to believe… Ally’s dream of having a real studio of her own has become a reality and we love doing this together.
Humble Beginnings
Those who were around us and the mall back then might remember that this really started off as an experiment of sorts. The mall had several vacancies but tenants were starting to move in which at the time was really bucking the trend – this was right in the middle of the Great Recession and Detroit was the epicenter of the whole thing. Things were quite bleak around here but there were exciting things on the horizon at the Orchard Mall. As for Ally, the first few months were basically spent just her by herself in this space with a desk, a temporary backdrop, her camera and a banner in the window to see if this could be a viable business… She had been building Frameable Faces out of the house before this, photographing on location and this was a big next step.
Starting to take shape – Frameable Faces in early 2009 – we had our new sign but no paint, furniture or much else!
The “Rescue”
I was working a dead end job at T-Mobile as a National Account Manager selling BlackBerrys to auto companies who were mostly in bankruptcy at the time. I knew my days were numbered and Ally convinced me that when the time came that they showed me the door that instead of looking for another job we should pour all our energy into Frameable Faces Photography together. It was a struggle to be sure growing a new business in a really rough economy, but we had never been happier. I like to say that Ally “rescued” me from corporate America and I used to use the line that I was “way happier struggling than when I was miserable making money” and it was true!
5 Years Later
So here we are 5 years from that first status update about getting the keys to the empty space in our beloved mall and opening up the studio, and in some ways we feel like we’re just getting started! We’ve come a long way – we’ve made so many friends and met so many incredible “Frameables” along the way. We are forever grateful for all of you and we look forward to what’s next!!! Cheers to 5 years!!!
This is a post about life, work, kids, balance…
Our kids are at camp for a total of 3 1/2 weeks and they have two more weeks there before they come home. When we tell people this they say “Wow!”, “Party Time for you two!”, “It’s like a vacation!”, “Are you going anywhere?”, and “What are you going to do?”
Yes it’s like a vacation in a sense even though we are not taking any trips. When the kids are at camp it means more free time – you don’t have to drive them anywhere or pick them up. You can’t spend time with them because they’re away. We don’t have to worry about planning or making meals for them. So yes we have free time but that hardly means we are kicking back and laying by the pool for a month… Here are some of the things we are doing while our children are away:
What would you do with some extra free time?
Going outside during the winter in the cold and snow to take photos isn’t always on everyone’s priority list, but think about it – a snowy backdrop can be beautiful! Sure you may have to be cold for a little bit but the results are often worth it.
Well “thankfully” as of this writing it is December 21, 2012, the world is still here, and along with the continued existence of the world we have the existence of (a little) snow here in Michigan for the first time this winter! This is what got us thinking about the snow and we have indeed had some fun photo sessions in the snow over the years so we thought in honor of old man winter we would post a few together!
So, should you take photos in the snow? YES!!!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow……
We have been in our studio space here in the Orchard Mall for about three years now and we really are living our dream. It hasn’t always been easy building a young business but it’s been a labor of love for sure, and today on the day after Thanksgiving was one of those days when you just realize how thankful you are.
We are humbled by the opportunity to be a part of the lives of our people who we lovingly refer to as the “frameables”. We had so many people come by the studio to visit us over the last couple days – especially our high school seniors – some who are still in high school and just had a couple days off and some who are home visiting from college. They all make us smile!
When new parents bring babies to the studio to photograph and back to visit and photograph as they grow up, when a wonderful 90 year old lady brings a 90 year old photo in to restore and tells us stories, when families come together from out of town and gather in our studio to allow us to be a part of that reunion and document it for posterity, when a dog owner brings in their best friend for a session, these are the moments that have given us so much.
We are thankful for you. All of you. Thank you so much.
Ally and Doug
So….. we had a meeting with my friend and new guru Melissa Brodsky this morning and I am very excited! You see, Missy is an incredible and very accomplished writer and blogger and she knows her way around social media. I’ve mentioned her blog www.rockanddrool.com before and if you don’t follow it then you can’t be my friend anymore. Okay maybe that was a little strong. But you really should check it out – it’s fantabulous.
As most of you know I spend a lot of time updating our facebook pages and scouring the web for cool content that I think y’all will enjoy and get some use from. I tweet, I set us up with a page on LinkedIn and connect with people there, I’ve got Frameable Faces going on Foursquare, Yelp, YouTube……
It’s now time to revisit and take our blog seriously.
Little by little our online presence has morphed and grown quite a bit and this blog will once again become an important piece to the puzzle that should allow us a more robust platform and outlet for our creative energies (read – Doug can write and post more stuff), help us expand our reach, and help tie the strategy together.
All of those details might not mean a ton to all of you, but I know there are a decent number of frameables who are into this subject and regardless we just like to let you know what we’re doing and why. The blog gives us some additional flexibility and another way to build relationships online. We will continue to post on facebook and we will let you know when there is something to see here (which will be often) and we will ask you to continue to leave your comments, feedback, questions and come along for the ride! Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think! The frameables are the reason we are here and we look forward to giving back to you!
For some time Ally went by “Allyson Cohen Photography” before changing the name to Frameable Faces Photography. At the risk of sounding a little corny, Frameable Faces for us genuinely means many things and we thought we would share…
because it’s more than that. It is really a community – all of you! The smiling and frameable faces of the people who pass in front of Ally’s lens make up Frameable Faces Photography. You are all a part of it and it wouldn’t exist without you. You ARE the frameable faces.