Tag Archives: DougNAlly Morning Show

Sometimes photo restoration can be just as rewarding as creating a new photo. Mike is a client who brought in an incredible photo that was damaged, creased and tattered to see if we could fix it. You can see the results below and after learning that this was what Mike called home while serving our country in Vietnam we can only imagine what this photo means to him. Actually I’m sure that most of us cannot imagine it, but you can feel that you are looking at an important piece of history – personal and national – when you see it. To be able to restore this image to such a pristine state is a very rewarding thing and Mike was gracious enough to allow us to share it on our blog. The next time you get annoyed about your living conditions – you wish your kitchen was a little bigger or you can’t stand the draft along the floor in your bedroom, think about what the soldier deals with while he/she is out there defending our country.

Vietnam photo - before photo restoration

Before restoration

After restoration

We asked Mike a couple of questions about the photo and here is what he had to say:

Frameable Faces: So Mike, tell us what is in this photo?

Mike: This is a picture of what I called home for some time when I was serving in Vietnam. I prefer not to talk too much about my time over there, but the photo definitely means a lot to me.

Frameable Faces: Can you tell us more about the photo? Did you take the photo yourself and did you have it developed once you returned home?

Mike: I took the photo myself with a throwaway camera. I wasn’t going to take an expensive camera over there and my mom actually sent over a disposable camera for me to use. I had to just keep the camera on me since there was obviously nowhere to get it developed where I was. I brought it back to the U.S. when I returned in 1967 and that’s when I got it developed.

Frameable Faces: Well we are glad we were able to restore it for you and we hope you are happy with the way it turned out. Thank you so much for sharing and for your service!

Mike: You are welcome and I couldn’t be happier – this photo deserved to be restored and I’m putting it in a frame so I can display it properly. You guys did a perfect job on this!

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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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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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Dear Detroit, You Are Awesome. Love, Frameable Faces

December 9, 2012

by Doug Cohen

4 Comments

Image courtesy of www.DetroitApparelFactory.com

We have traveled all around the country and there are a lot of cities we love. My family is originally from New York and I love it there. I love the big city and it really is an incredible place – endless things to do, see and eat. We love Chicago – we have close friends there and it’s a short drive – a ton to do there too. We love D.C. with its monuments and history. Atlanta and Philly are great cities. San Fran and L.A. are amazing. Dallas is very cool and so is Cleveland. Cincinnati is great – awesome chili, ice cream and ribs. We love Virginia Beach and we have family there. We also love South Florida and we have family and friends there all over – all the way down to the Keys – stone crab and key lime pie! We like Nashville, Houston, Tampa, Oklahoma City, Santa Fe, Jacksonville, Columbus, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Vegas, San Antonio and Atlantic City. We appreciate the smaller cities and college campuses we’ve visited like Madison, Dayton, State College, Hattiesburg, Cedar Rapids, Pensacola, Oxford, Syracuse, Vail, Taos, Morgantown, Annapolis, Richmond, the list goes on…

We love our National Parks. We love visiting battlefields, President’s homes, mountains and sand dunes. We love Skyline Drive, the Rockies, and the Natchez Trace. We want to explore the Northeast, the West and the Northwest. We have not yet been to Mount Rushmore, The Badlands, Big Sur, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Hawaii. We have much more we want to see.

Dear Detroit You Are Awesome…

BUT,

Here’s the thing. As wonderful and awesome as all those places are, we still love Detroit and the surrounding Metro area the most. Why is that? It’s not easy to explain to those who don’t live here. There are plenty of specific things we love of course. The food is fantastic – Lafayette Coney Island, Mexican Town and Greektown, the best Middle Eastern food, plenty of good Indian and deli, some great chop houses, amazing breakfast options all over the suburbs in West Bloomfield, Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Ferndale, Polish food in Hamtramck – and on and on. Lots of cool places to hang out as well in the aforementioned towns. Lots of diversity. There are world class museums in Detroit and there is a music history here like few other places on Earth. Of course there is also an awesome sports tradition here. Ann Arbor is pretty close as well, an incredible college town. Detroit skyline

On paper does Detroit stack up to the other cities? That really isn’t the point. The point is Detroit is where we’re from. Detroit is where we have our studio Frameable Faces Photography (West Bloomfield to be exact). Detroit is an underdog. Detroit has been kicked and punched and Detroit has punched back. Detroit rocks. Detroit is home. So Detroit, WE LOVE YOU AND WE ARE NOT LEAVING YOU.

Love,

Doug and Ally Cohen

Frameable Faces Photography

An Interview with Reflecto!

November 24, 2012

by Doug Cohen

1 Comment

Those of you who have been on location with us have very likely met Reflecto. He’s our sometimes rogue, somewhat snarky, and quite often arrogant reflector. He is really a character and while sometimes he gets a little out of line he’s definitely never boring, so we thought we would sit down for an interview with Reflecto and find out what’s on his mind….

FF: Let’s get right to it – it’s been said that you are a sometimes-rogue, somewhat snarky, and even arrogant reflector. Is that fair?

Reflecto: Listen, haters are gonna hate, so let ’em is what I say. It’s pretty simple. If I am awesome and I say so does that make me the bad guy for speaking the truth?

FF: Okay….. Uh – we won’t try to answer that question. How about you tell us about your childhood?

Reflecto: I try not to talk about my past too much. My family moved around a lot and had various jobs – wrapping York peppermint patties, getting odd jobs as foil – stuff like that. I decided when I was old enough that I would never settle and I was able to snag this gig with Frameable Faces. Now I run the place! Haha! Follow me on twitter at @reflect_o! Winning! I’m the be-

FF: Hey easy – let’s stay on topic okay?

Reflecto: Whatever – fine.

FF: What was your best moment on a photo shoot?

Reflecto: When you are supremely talented like me there are just too many to choose from. I enjoyed smacking Doug in the face on a shoot once. It was quite genius really – I waited for a really windy day and then “bam”! I really think he just thought it was the wind that caused it. Hahaha!

FF: You must have other moments that don’t involve violence…

Reflecto: Okay I’ll admit that I do get some satisfaction when my beautiful reflecting makes a senior look great. It definitely validates how great I am, and if the #frameables (yes I’ll appease Doug and Ally and call them that) are happy as a result then that’s a bonus.

FF: Who is Blocko?

Reflecto: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

(side note – “Blocko” is Reflecto’s alter ego and he’s nicer than Reflecto – we’re not sure why he didn’t want to talk about it)

FF: We know that sometimes you try to blind the frameables by reflecting the sun into their eyes. Do you think they deserve that?

Reflecto: The media embellished that story. My talent can be “blinding” – whoever made that comment meant it figuratively not literally. Like Michael Jackson told Paul McCartney I’m a lover not a fighter.

Frameable Faces and Politics? They Don’t Mix and Probably Shouldn’t For Your Business…

November 1, 2012

by Doug Cohen

5 Comments

Frameable Faces and Politics In this election season politics dominate our airwaves as well as our social media feeds. In my view it’s generally not a good idea for a business to share their political opinions. We’ve seen many examples of businesses doing this and the controversy that follows. Chick-fil-A is a recent high profile example that comes to mind and I also found an interesting article that examines the politics of retailers and the potential impact on their brands.

Frameable Faces and Politics?

If anyone is curious who I’m voting for and why I suppose you could call me privately and I might be willing to discuss my views. While I have definite opinions I will not be making any public statements of support nor any attacks on either President Obama or Governor Romney. I believe Frameable Faces is a place where people should come to celebrate. If we have success as a studio it is going to be because of the relationships we build and the faces we capture with photography – it’s certainly not going to be based on our politics. This should be a place for #frameables of any color, creed, orientation or affiliation. I can’t stand the partisanship and the politics as they are happening, but I still love our system overall. It’s flawed to be sure but in the photography business we spend a lot of time studying faces, and just as human imperfections are part of what make people lovable and unique the same can be said for our system of government. At the end of the day one candidate will win and one will lose based on who we (the people) say. It’s America and I love it. The loser will concede and we’ll move on. There will likely be no military coup or revolution.

Keep the election in perspective

So here is my political statement – it’s actually a history lesson… I am a huge student of American history and for those of you who don’t know much about the history of our politics, if you think the partisanship and the ugly side of recent elections are getting worse and it makes you feel the country is going in a bad direction I have news for you – this is NOTHING. Picture Joe Biden and Paul Ryan challenging each other to a fight – or a duel with pistols for example – don’t forget something like that actually happened. The man on your 10 dollar bill? That’s Alexander Hamilton, a founding father who was killed in a duel by former Vice President Aaron Burr just across the river from Manhattan. The whole decade of the 1790’s was fueled by bitter rivalries within the government and intense partisanship between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Washington felt Jefferson betrayed him. Adams and Jefferson went from friends to enemies (they reconciled in their later years). The elections of 1824 and 1828 between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson were so explosive they are almost hard to believe… Lincoln’s election in 1860 was a catalyst for an awful war between North and South. A deal was made to put Rutherford B. Hayes in office after the 1880 election after messy and confusing results. The 1912 election saw Teddy Roosevelt turn on his dear friend William Howard Taft, storm out of the Republican convention, form his own party and hold his own convention which essentially had the effect of handing the presidency to Woodrow Wilson. Partisan politics and negative campaigning is certainly nothing new.

Life will go on

My message is for everyone to keep a little perspective going into this election, and while I understand having strong feelings about your convictions I don’t think it is wise to mix your business with your politics. I’ll vote how I’ll vote and I’m not going to fan the flames of anger by using the platform of our business and this blog to try to impose my views on others. Regardless of the results of the election the sun will still rise on Wednesday morning. Republican and Democratic officials will still be working together to help the victims of superstorm Sandy on the East coast. I’ll wake up and have breakfast with my kids and get them to school, and Ally and I will open up the studio of our dreams and take more pictures. And, as all Americans should, I’ll wish the best to our president regardless of which man wins the election.

When You Fell Did You Get Back Up? Our Top 8 Wipeouts

September 28, 2012

by Doug Cohen

No Comments

This post really has nothing to do with photography, but there might be a life lesson in here somewhere by the time you are done laughing at us. I poke fun at Ally for being a clutz but I’ve had a few good spills myself over the years. So here we go with our top 8 wipeouts in no particular order (even though I saved the best for last – don’t cheat)….

Our Top 8 Wipeouts…

Doug vs. his shoelaces. This goes back to the summer of 1987 while playing high school football for North Farmington against Detroit Denby in a summer 7-on-7 tournament at Wayne State University. Summer 7-on-7 tournaments are non-contact – no pads and no tackling. I went across the middle for a pass and got hit hard by one of their linebackers. I got up and squared off with him and all eyes were on us. “What the H was that?” I yelled. “So maybe I tripped” he said. We stared each other down for a second – suburban kid vs. city kid, and then I turned to walk away…. and tripped on my shoelace and fell flat on my face.
Ally shows her graceful side on the honeymoon. Ally and I got married in 1996 and went first to Disney for 4 days and then on a week long cruise. We were dressed to the nines for the formal dinner when Ally pulled a spectacular faceplant just outside of the dining room in front of about 100 people. She survived and we laughed our butts off.
Doug decides not to be outdone on the honeymoon. I believe the story went something like this… We were on our way to the tender to take us to the island from the ship when I realized I forgot something at the room. I went back to get it while Ally waited only to find out I went the wrong way and ended up at the wrong end of the ship. Not wanting to miss the boat (literally) I sprinted down the hallway of the ship in flip flops which I can now tell you is dumb. My flip flop got caught and I went flying – I saved my fall by instinctively grabbing on to the rail and I sliced my right hand in the process. When I finally got back to Ally my hand was covered in blood. I still have a pretty nice scar from that one….
Ally vs. a Bosu ball. This happened in the summer of 2012. Three weeks before our daughter’s bat mitzvah Ally was working out and fell off of a bosu ball chipping a bone in her foot. Luckily she was able to get away with wearing a boot
Bosu ball

Bosu ballfor a couple weeks and she was good to go for the bat mitzvah. It wasn’t easy though – especially when we found ourselves deeper into a forest than we planned for a senior photo shoot and that hike was pretty tough on Ally in her boot with a still freshly broken ankle…. what a trooper!
Doug “leads” the team through the hoop. As I am fond of pointing out (with love of course) Ally has never “saved” a potential fall in her life. If she trips at all she’s on the ground. As with my own honeymoon wipeout this was another one I “saved” but it was no less embarrassing. For this one we go back to high school for our opening football game on September 5th (my 17th birthday)… It was at Southfield Lathrup and I was a captain of the team so I led the team out onto the field and through the big paper hoop the cheerleaders had made for us to bust through. However the girls didn’t notice that they were holding the hoop right over the edge of the paved high jump pit and I stepped right on the edge which sent me stumbling for about 7 steps through the hoop.
Doug gets a sack

I’m sure our opponents were very intimidated…. We still won though 17-7 and I even though I had an unfortunate fumble I did still have two sacks. Here’s a picture of one of the sacks (I’m #31 in white).
Ally on the sidewalk. Ally was strolling along one winter day in front of the student union while she was in college at Michigan State when she went down hard on her butt on a patch of ice as she was saying hello to someone on the sidewalk. Ally tried to play it off with her “cute little outfit on and cute little boots” as she tells it, but she was definitely a little embarrassed.
Doug on the driveway. Ice strikes again… I slipped on a patch of ice on the driveway maybe about 6 years ago or so. Legs went straight out and I landed hard on my butt – to the point where I was pretty sure I broke my tailbone. It was bad enough that I went to the doctor for x-rays but there was no break. I was sore for a couple days but no major injury.
“Mmmmmm Strawberries”. This is really the most epic of all of them. We were up North spending a weekend with friends at their house in Boyne City. We were hanging out on their dock on Lake Charlevoix when my buddy’s mom brought some fresh strawberries down. It was a beautiful day and Ally was enjoying a perfect moment with her strawberries when the back leg of her chair slipped off the edge of the dock sending her head over heels and crashing upside down into the water about 5 feet below. She survived that one without a scratch, but that was definitely one of the most intense moments of pure chaos I’ve witnessed. Absolutely gut-busting hilarious.

There you have it. The top 8 wipeouts. I kept it to 8 in order to keep it even – I could have mentioned Ally’s dive on her first senior session or her tumble into a couple bikes at spinning class, but that wouldn’t be fair. Hehe…

The point of course is that this post is a metaphor for life. We all fall from time to time. Life is not about whether you fall. You will. It’s about whether you get up, and hopefully you can laugh at yourself a little and enjoy the whole experience along the way. What was your best wipeout? Share it in the comments!

7 Tips For Getting The Most From Professional Headshots

September 18, 2012

by Doug Cohen

3 Comments

In today’s world of social media and with the opportunities available for online networking and marketing, great professional headshots are more important than ever. So where do you start? How should you go about it?

7 Tips For Getting The Most From Professional Headshots:

Go to a pro. Okay so we’ll admit that this tip is a little self serving – this is a blog for a professional photography studio after all… But whether you live in Metro Detroit and come to us, live in Metro Detroit and don’t come to us, or wherever you might be reading this, the point is do NOT leave your professional reputation and image to a friend with a camera phone, and choose your studio carefully. Headshots are not that expensive and you need to make a good impression – it’s worth spending the extra 100 or even 200 dollars to have a high quality photo. A good headshot by itself is not likely to land you a million dollar deal, but a crappy unprofessional headshot could potentially lose you one.
Have your headshot match the type of business you are in and your approach to that business. For example, if you are an attorney you will want a different headshot if you are in the business of putting away the bad guys or enforcing non-competes for corporations than if you are an amicable divorce attorney. If your job requires you to be tough and serious than you may want to look serious in your photo. If your job requires you to be helpful and understanding than you may want to look caring and inviting – with a nice smile.
Try to stand out a little. Depending on your business it helps to not be boring. If you are in a creative business and you are trying to increase sales based on your ability to come up with a wow factor then it’s okay to be edgy. A cool hat, an unconventional expression, a different color background – if you are an artist be true to your style.
Be careful in trying to stand out. Don’t go overboard. If you are trying to stand out and it comes off as silly or unprofessional it can backfire. If you find yourself asking if your idea is a little too cheesy than it probably is. Use the advice of your pro who is in the business.
Be prepared. This would seem to go without saying, but think about your clothing ahead of time. Make sure your hair is done/combed properly, and if you are a woman a good rule of thumb is 30% more makeup than usual.
Make sure you update often enough to match how you look. If you gain or lose a considerable amount of weight, if you have decided to shave your head or shave your beard after wearing one for 5 years, if you have gone grey since your last headshot, it’s time for a new one.
Update your profiles. Once you get your headshot make sure you update every profile you use online – especially the personal profiles you use for business. This includes your website as well as your LinkedIn, twitter, and others for example. As an extra tip within a tip, consider how you use your different profiles. For example you may use facebook purely for personal purposes and therefore you may not want to use your professional headshot for your facebook profile. That’s fine, but be aware that just because you’ve distinguished your personal profile as personal that doesn’t mean that how you conduct yourself there may not impact your professional reputation. It can – absolutely.

We hope this helps and we wish you success! What other tips do you have that have helped you for getting great professional headshots as a client or taking them as a photographer?