Tag Archives: North Farmington High School

Have we mentioned we love our high school seniors? It lights up our day when they come back to visit and as I’m writing this it’s the day before Thanksgiving which means many of our past seniors are home from college! Current Michigan State student and former spokesmodel (not to mention North Farmington Raider alum) Hannah Iwrey spent the morning here with us yesterday and I snapped a droid photo of her and Ally before she left.

Ally and Hannah during yesterday's visit! (Photo taken with a Droid)

Affectionately known here as “HBM” (for Hannah Banana Montana), she has become like a member of the family. Normally I would Instagram a pic like this, but alas Hannah has a BlackBerry and there is no Instagram BlackBerry app so she isn’t on Instagram. I thought about posting it to Twitter, but it seemed an even better idea might be to write a blog post about the visit and so the idea for “Frameable Flashbacks” was born. Kind of a “where are they now” feature as we remember the great photo sessions and great times we had and check in with our seniors to see what exciting things they are up to.

We gave her three questions to answer for us after she left and here they are! Enjoy, and when you’re done enjoy the 2 “iconic” images from her senior session back in 2010 at the bottom of the page!

Frameable Faces: So what are you up to?

Hannah: As much as I know you’re cringing about this topic, I go to Michigan State and am currently studying to be a Professional Writer. I’m in my second year and much to any other Spartan’s dismay, I’m still 100% a Wolverine fan! I spend a lot of my time working on a short story that’s already 15 pages long, and another collection of stories based on my experiences in the summer camping world. When I’m not up at school, I’m more than likely sitting in the FF Studio with my BFF Reflecto and hating on Doug for his hats, or being made fun of for the way I pronounce certain words. Sarry aboot that, eh.

Frameable Faces: What are your future plans with your studies (what do you want to be when you grow up)?

Hannah: Like I said, I’ve been eagerly working on those two writing projects, and plan to further develop some other unfinished pieces for my writing portfolio. My dream plan for the future would be writing children’s books or young adult novels. If that fails, I think I may have a promising future as a Sassmaster. I mean, I already have so many pairs of Sassy pants…

Frameable Faces: What do you remember most about your Frameable Faces experience?

Hannah: I really don’t know how you can ask someone to pin-point just ONE great thing about being a part of the Frameable Faces Family! Wow look at me and my alliteration, maybe this whole writing thing will work out. I love the energy that both Ally and Doug bring to sessions. I was super nervous to shoot my spokesmodel session during my junior year, but once the awesome music started from Doug’s endless library and Ally snapped the camera, it all fell into place. I also really loved going on location to some awesome places in the area, truly unforgettable. But I’d have to say my ultimate favorite aspect of FF is how welcoming the studio always feels when I drop by for a visit, I’m proud to have earned a nickname!

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Class of 2013 Frameables! Part 2

October 25, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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Back in September we posted some Class of 2013 Frameables and promised that there would be more to come, so as promised here is Part 2!!! What a great year this has been and the fall colors of Michigan have been beautiful! We have enjoyed each senior who has come through our doors – more great sessions, great stories, great friendships being built. Our sometimes-rogue reflector “Reflecto” has even been moved to start tweeting largely because of the fun he’s had on the senior sessions (although he probably won’t admit it).

Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this new round of photos of these inspiring young Frameables!

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Frameable Faces For Seniors! “Behind the Scenes” – Picking Up Proofs

October 15, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – we LOVE our seniors! Photographing seniors is one of the most enjoyable things we do. Ally and I both enjoyed high school and we attended North Farmington High School together. While we knew each other and I was only one class ahead of her, we did not date until after college (it’s actually a fun story). Because we went to high school together and only live a few minutes away from where we grew up we’ve always been able to relate to each other’s high school experience and it’s never really that far away. Maybe that’s why we enjoy high school photos so much!

We thought it would be helpful to give some details here about our process for taking senior pictures for those considering our studio, and we’ve included a fun behind-the-scenes video of a senior picking up her proofs. This can also give you some ideas for what you may want to look for in a studio for senior pictures if you don’t live in the Metro Detroit area. There are 5 main steps in our process of a senior photo session:

Consultation. We always meet ahead of time with our seniors and usually a parent so that we can get to know each other. We talk about the upcoming session and plan it out based on the senior’s vision for the pictures. We discuss style, location, clothing, colors, hair, makeup (for the girls), life, school, plans for after high school and whatever else is on their mind.
Photo session. 3 hours of anything goes – often starting with a yearbook headshot and then moving along to fire, water, trees, meadows, alleyways, buildings, pets, friends…. and almost every session has a story. From a small twister hitting the mall during a shoot to a cat hunting down a chipmunk right in front of us in a park, lots of crazy stuff can happen and often does! We have a ton of fun during our sessions – lots of laughs.
Sneak peeks. We usually post a couple images from the session on facebook (with a model release OF COURSE – be wary of photographers who will post your image for their commercial purposes without permission), sometimes a behind-the-scenes shot from the session on Instagram as well as the occasional tweet. We really enjoy seeing all the love that our seniors get from their friends with likes, favorites, comments and tweets online about the pictures from their session.
Proof pick up. This is always really exciting – lots of anticipation to see the images which depending on the season can be anywhere from 2 – 4 weeks after the session. Our seniors get a physical proof book which they get to keep and we present these to them with an in-person slide show set to music on the big screen in the studio. It’s a very special two minutes for everyone. This is the part of the process we have highlighted here in this video clip of a proof pick up!

The 5th and final step is simply to place the order – wallets for friends, wall portraits for the family room, prints for the grandparents, pictures for the office, coffee table books for the living room… Plenty of options!

All in all it’s one of the best parts of our “job” – and it certainly doesn’t feel like a job at all.

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

September 28, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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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!

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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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Class of 2013 Frameables!

September 7, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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School is in session and we couldn’t be happier with the group of seniors we have photographed so far from the class of 2013! These young people are so inspiring and we hope you are inspired by these images. This is a huge year for these kids (not to mention their parents) – like the first big step on the yellow brick road of their adult lives with all the promise, excitement and adventure of a future that is laid out in front of them to make it whatever they want it to be. That is what you will see in these images – seniors who want the most and aren’t afraid to go for it! We love our seniors and we’ve had a blast so far with this group – great relationships being built, great stories, great sessions, great times.

There will be more to come, but for now enjoy our first group from the class of ’13!

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Senior Highlights From The Classes of 2011 and 2012!

January 24, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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We love photographing high school seniors here at Frameable Faces! As we prepare to start photographing our new crew of spokesmodels for the class of 2013 we have been reflecting on the fantastic class of 2012 and how great of a class it was. Having gone to high school together (go North Farmington Raiders!) we still talk about high school a lot and we keep a couple of our yearbooks here at the studio. The current seniors get a kick out of them. They are vintage 80’s yearbooks – big hair, skinny ties and the like. It’s fun comparing the changing styles and that leads to conversations about changing trends in senior pictures.

Do a search on Wikipedia for Senior Portraits and the article will tell you that senior portraits date back at least to the 1920’s, but today’s senior pictures aren’t your grandparents’ or even your parents’ senior photos… today they are way more awesome! North Farmington High School’s yearbooks for example didn’t even have color senior headshots in the yearbooks before 1988 and “back then” seniors weren’t typically going on location for part of a three hour shoot. So as we look forward to getting started with the class of 2013 we take a brief look back at a few of our favorite images from the classes of ’11 and ’12….

Senior Highlights…

Senior Highlights

Is she stunning or what???

August 21, 2008

by allycohen

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So yesterday I spent four, YES FOUR, hours shooting L. She’s an unbelivable senior model and I had the absolute BEST time photographing her. I’ve officially made up my mind…Seniors are my favorite subjects to photograph!

L had another session right before mine and we agreed that we’d meet at her house to go over some outfits. We picked a bunch of great ones and we were off. We went to a construction site and the workers there were all about watching us work instead of doing theirs! I got to even shoot at my old high school, since she’s a student there and captain of the Pom squad! OH! I almost forgot to add that she’s a 4.0 student AND gorgeous, too! Talk about having it all!!!

I definitely have my favorites, and there’s still more that I have to complete, but I thought I’d start you all off with these few. If you want to see the rest, add me as a friend on Facebook (Ally Levine Cohen) with a note letting me know who you are and browse away!!

Anyone else wanting to be a senior model? Let me know! I’m putting together a great Senior Rep program, too, if you’re interested in chatting about that, too!

So, enjoy!

Until next time,

Ally