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

Top 8 wipeoutsThis 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…

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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….
  4. 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 bootTop 8 wipeouts
    Top 8 wipeouts

    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!

  5. 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.
    Top 8 wipeouts

    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).

  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. “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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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
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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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Join the Frameable Faces Community – sign up for our email newsletter for the best of the week in the Frameable Faces World!  Click here!

 

The 6 Best Photography Blogs on the Web

I spend a lot of time blogging and reading blogs and I want to highlight the photography The 6 Best Photography Blogsblogs which I enjoy and/or learn the most from so you can bookmark them whether you are a professional photographer, a hobbyist, or just an enjoyist.  Yes I think it’s fun to make up the occasional word now and then…. after all, I still want to make sure you have good organic reasons to visit our blog.

Without further adieu and in no particular order…

  1. Photofocus.  This is Scott Bourne’s online magazine (they don’t consider themselves a blog per se which means they focus on creating content and do not allow comments on the site).  Ally and I were first exposed to Scott when we saw him speak in Nashville at Imaging USA (a huge photography convention) a couple years ago.  What impressed us about Scott was that unlike most of the speakers there he didn’t have anything to sell in his presentation.  He just imparts knowledge and there is a lot of good information at Photofocus from new product reviews, info on the industry, stunning images (he has done some amazing wildlife work), and tips and inspiration.  Highly recommended.
  2. Rosh Sillars.  Rosh is based here in Michigan and his blog has become a go to for me for great information on the photography business.  Lots of great info on social media for studios with practical tips and ideas.
  3. Hair Of The Dog.  The Hair Of The Dog Blog is pretty much guaranteed to make you smile.  Centered on pet photography, the “Session Spotlights” are awesome – such fun images of pets – dogs flying through the air with their tongues out – even the occasional mouse.  We love to photograph pets here at Frameable Faces and we get a lot of inspiration from this site.
  4. The Collective.  This blog is run by Andy Bondurant and focuses on photography, business, and life in general.  His wife Kia is a photographer as well and she contributes to the blog along with many other voices from around the industry.  I’ve guest posted on this blog before and I’ve learned a lot here.  Andy and I even debated on a topic with a point/counterpoint before and I think I even almost got him to see my side (haha).  The Collective pretty much became my Instagram manual once I upgraded to a Droid.
  5. PetaPixel.  I love this site.  Described as “a blog about photography geared towards tech-savvy photo-enthusiasts” there is much to enjoy here.  You will find a lot of incredible images here as well as plenty of industry news and photography tips.
  6. MCP Actions.  This blog is run by Jodi Friedman who is based locally in Metro Detroit.  The primary focus here is Photoshop actions and workshops and if you use Photoshop and/or Lightroom you need to bookmark this site now.  The blog is not limited to photo editing however, with plenty of other topics covered and I have had the honor of guest posting here twice.  The first time included the debate between Andy Bondurant and me in the comments which I referred to above!

So there you have it – my top 6.  We are always looking for recommendations for other blogs – please share with us!  What are your favorites?

7 Tips For Getting The Most From Professional Headshots

In today’s world of social media and with the opportunities available for online networking and Professional Headshotsmarketing,  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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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?

**********************************************
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!

Class of 2013 Frameables!

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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