Author Archives: Doug Cohen

A Family Session With Four At Five And Under!

A family session with four at five and under can pose a challenge on paper no doubt, and Ally loves a challenge!  Of course we do a lot of planning and take plenty of time to make sure we get the photos we need, and when the kids are well behaved and cooperative that certainly helps.  There is a fine line however – “well-behaved” at a young age can mean “not allowed to be kids and have fun” if you’re not careful, and we do want to capture their personalities.  This particular crew struck the perfect balance – they had plenty of fun, but they also listened and stood where we needed when we needed and we were able to get great results!

Four At Five And Under

Such a fun family!  We would be remiss if we did not mention that we have met Rabbi Yarden before since our daughter has volunteered at Friendship Circle for some time now – an outstanding organization that is doing phenomenal things around the globe.  If you are not familiar with Friendship Circle I encourage you to take a look at the important work they are doing for people with special needs.  He and his wife Bayla are both on staff there so it was nice to have them and their family here.  This vine should give you a little behind the scenes flavor of how this session went…

A Mom and Two Daughters Together Is A Work Of Art!

A mom and two daughters together is a work of art without a doubt!  We would love to see more sessions just like this one with a mother and grown daughters.  Having them together is very special especially if they are not living in the same city and so are the results!

A Mom and Two Daughters

Meanwhile I’ll apologize if this is cheesy (and she doesn’t know I’m putting this in this blog post) but Amy is the mom and I want to give her a plug.  Part of the reason I worked “art” into the theme here is her business is Artworks by Amy and we love our very own “Frameable Faces Artworks” she made for us which we display here in the studio.  Our business card holder that greets you when you enter the studio and our outgoing mail holder were both made by Amy.  She does fantastic work on all kinds of items.  Here is the vine we posted when we first got ours… as you can see Ally was pretty happy!

Relay For Life West Bloomfield 2014 – Team Frameable Faces!

Relay For Life West Bloomfield 2014 was another successful and meaningful day for Team Frameable Faces!  This year we set out with a goal of raising at least $1500 to fight cancer and we are happy to say we reached our goal!

Relay For Life West Bloomfield 2014

Photo by Hala Eliya Photography

Our friend and member of our team Kelly Taylor who manages the Orchard Mall joined our family for the team lap at the beginning of the day in the photo above.

This year’s theme for Relay was “Relaywood” and every team had a movie theme.  If you follow our blog you may know based on this post we are big fans of Pulp Fiction so that’s what we chose.  Our tag line was “Cancer’s Dead, Baby.  Cancer’s Dead” (as opposed to Zed).  We had Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase at our tent which may or may not have contained the cure for cancer.  It’s still a mystery what’s in that briefcase…  We were also joined by Saundra Hood who generously donated her time for massages at a dollar per minute.  In the film a gangster who went by “Tony Rocky Horror” was tossed over a 4th floor balcony for allegedly giving Mia Wallace a foot massage so we stayed away from foot massages just to be careful – haha!  We also may not have had any Big Kahuna Burgers or 5 dollar shakes but we did have a Jack Rabbit Slim’s dance contest – here is a vine of our winners – the Freedlands!

The Cutest Expectant Couple Ever!

The cutest expectant couple ever came to our studio for a maternity photo session and we loved having them here!  Tetyana and Cergiy are having a boy and they are so excited. We were happy to be included in such a special time in their lives and to take some fun photographs.  Allow us to share some wonderful sneak peeks from their session!

cutest expectant couple

Tetyana had some really fun ideas when we met for the consultation including a couple we had not done before.  One of them was the idea of painting Cergiy’s hands blue and creating hand prints around the growing baby in the womb.  It wasn’t even really that messy!  We made a fun behind the scenes vine of this.  Take a look!

6 Secrets About Senior Pictures The Government Is Hiding

The government knows PLENTY about high school senior pictures – trust me.  Do not think for a second that they would ever let these secrets get out if they could plug all the leaks.  At great risk to my well being I am going to share these secrets with you because, well, I think they are important darn it.  So here are 6 secrets about senior pictures the government is hiding:

6 secrets about senior pictures

Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

1.  Senior pictures could stop North Korea.  If you saw this recently you know the story goes that Kim Jong Un is making all men in North Korea get his style of haircut.  Our seniors are all about individual expression and being themselves.  Someone told me that they heard someone tell someone else that a friend said… our government is planning to unleash a bunch of our senior pictures on the North Korean population to incite an overthrow of Kim Jong Un when the people of North Korea realize how nice it looks to express yourself with any style of hair you like.

2.  Senior pictures are fun.  Okay this is a BIG one.  I’m going to guess that being a senator for example is not nearly as fun as taking senior pictures.  The government has tons of sealed files on just how fun senior pictures are and they do NOT want you to know.  Maybe the government is just jealous.

3.  Aliens love senior pictures.  That is the real story behind Hangar 18.  Aliens came to Earth to pass out wallets.

4.  Senior pictures make Presidents.  Sure this doesn’t always fit the narrative of character-shaping events they want you to focus on like George Washington chopping down a cherry tree (okay maybe that’s a bad example since there were no cameras during George Washington’s time nor were there “high schools”) or Teddy Roosevelt charging up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War – but there are plenty of sealed documents that prove it was how most of our leaders felt about their awesome senior pictures that set them on the path to the White House.

5.  The government spied on Soviet on-location senior photo sessions during the Cold War.  Decades before senior photos became really popular in the U.S.A. some Soviet photographers were going out on location with high school seniors.  Apparently much like everything else during that time we viewed this as a communist threat, because, well, it was the Soviets.  The whole thing was short lived since the Soviets scuttled the on location program anyway, presumably because the pictures were boring.  The photographers were hired by the Soviet communist regime and were not allowed to be very creative.

6.  The government tried to limit outfit changes during senior sessions.  This was just one of those silly “government getting too big” things.  The bill was defeated when it was revealed that term limits have nothing to do with outfit limits and that freedom of expression does apply to clothing.

I know that exposing these secrets can put me at great risk but I felt it was my duty to help my fellow Americans.  Hopefully the government won’t get mad and do anythi

 

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

Persistence Paid Off With This Happy Family!

Yes persistence paid off with this happy family!  Sometimes life, scheduling and various circumstances can get in the way of a scheduled photo session.  What are you going to do?  Sometimes it happens and that is just the way it goes!  This fun family was supposed to come to the studio once before but it didn’t end up working out.  We stayed in touch and ended up getting it rescheduled.   Then, the day before the session a minor sports injury occurred which threatened to “leave a mark” on one of the boys the day before the shoot!  Could the session be foiled again?

persistence paid off

Well as you can see by the fun family photo above the little guy shook it off and we were able to do the session without even resorting to any injury retouching!  I am not even going to tell you which brother it was!  Nothing to see here people!  Nothing to see that is other than just great pictures!  We hope you enjoy these sneak peeks.  Next we have a couple of individual shots of these handsome young men.  We like the way these look in black and white of both little brother and big brother:

persistence paid off

persistence paid off

Next we have a fun behind the scenes vine and as you can see we worked with several cute poses!

5 Reasons You Are Not Photogenic

Photogenic

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!!!!!!!

Photogenic

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:

5 Reasons You Are Not Photogenic

  1. You are not pleased with the way you currently look.  Maybe you aren’t in the best shape of your life, or for whatever reason you aren’t thrilled with the way you look at the moment.  Hey no one is perfect, but you are the best and most unique version of you!  I wrote about this recently here.  Embrace and love yourself!  It’s okay!  If you indeed have not been taking good care of yourself then make that change and start now!  Meanwhile this is not the only reason you are “not photogenic”.
  2. You aren’t naturally comfortable in front of the camera.  Some people on a moment’s notice can just light up when someone is going to snap a photo.  They take more pictures, they practice more, they are prepared.  You are already convinced that you are not photogenic so you aren’t confident about being in a picture and you are not comfortable.  That does not mean there cannot be an environment created with proper planning where you will be comfortable.  There absolutely can be.
  3. You are being photographed by non-photographers.  This can impact a photo in a number of ways.  The person taking the photo may not have an eye for it and/or you may not connect with them.  Those two factors are really important for making a good photo – it doesn’t matter if it’s a ten thousand dollar camera without those two things.
  4. You typically are not lit (or posed) properly.  This is a continuation of the last point.  There is so much more than just knowing how to work a camera to produce a good photo.  Lighting (and posing for that matter) is a huge factor.  For example when we first opened the studio a photographer friend asked us why we had our main soft box set up on the side of our studio opposite our window.  He said that our main box was competing with the light coming in from the center court of the mall and impacting our lighting set up negatively.  He was right.  It wasn’t a difference I would have noticed but Ally sure noticed it after we made the change.  This is just one example of many factors that contribute to the composition of a photo that all combine to make you look better.  Real pros go to seminars and work with their peers – constantly honing their craft to improve all of their skills all the time.
  5. You typically are not prepared to look your absolute best when a random photo is snapped.  Maybe because of your line of work, your daily schedule or your hectic life in general you don’t have your best clothes on and your hair looking its best at all times.  If you are female your makeup also might not be done when someone says “C’mon!  Let me just get a quick picture!”

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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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
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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:
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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?
**********************************************
Join the Frameable Faces Community – sign up for our email newsletter for the best of the week in the Frameable Faces World!  Click here!

 

 

Hanging Out With Mitchell (and Teddy) – a Boy and His Dog!

Hanging out with Mitchell (and Teddy) was really a great time!  It’s always fun when pets are included in a senior session and this was no exception.  Mitchell is a great guy – a personable and accomplished young man and his dog Teddy is not so bad either!  Let’s take a look…

We started off in the studio with a suit coat and dress shirt in front of the grey background.  We usually like at least one formal look like this one for the guys and Mitchell has a cool confidence that comes through in this photo.

Hanging Out With Mitchell

Then we headed out on location – in this case to Mitchell’s house where we met Teddy, Mitchell’s pup and Mitchell’s delightful mom hung out with us as well.  Teddy was pretty funny sprinting around in circles and generally having a blast of a time!  There were a few really nice textures and backgrounds for us to work with there and Mitchell did a great job.

Hanging Out With Mitchell

Hanging Out With Mitchell

Here is our fun behind the scenes vine of the session:

Maddy The Bat Mitzvah Model!

We had so much fun with Maddy the Bat Mitzvah model recently!  This photo session was a collaboration with Guys N Gals here in the mall since Ms. Maddy’s dress was designed and special ordered from them.  We had to keep these photos under wraps until after the big event since these images were on display for all to see at her party, “Club Maddy”!

Bat Mitzvah Model

First Maddy went to Guys N Gals where she was able to try on various dresses for style and size…

Dress selection

Then she picked out the type and color of fabric she liked…

Color fabric swatches

And here is the fabulous result!!!  Beautiful!!!

Bat Mitzvah Model

A Bar or Bat Mitzvah is really such a special time for a young person and their family, and a professional photo shoot is a fun and unique way to mark the occasion!  The images are great for decorations at the party and they can be based on the theme for the party as well.  The photo session itself can also be a great gift!  Here are a couple more photos from Maddy’s awesome session!

Bat Mitzvah Model

Bat Mitzvah Model

While we are at it… I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that we are now available to photograph your upcoming event!  In the past if we were asked if we photographed mitzvahs our answer was “not really…”.  For starters it was too difficult to work on weekend nights since we have kids of our own.  So now our event photographer Angela is available and has photographed several bar and bat mitzvahs for us and she has done a fantastic job just as we knew she would!  There will be more details and photos on this to come and in the meantime Angela is available so call us and you can come to the studio to meet her!

 

 

Springtime Spokesmodeling With Gabrielle!

Yes let me repeat that title – SPRINGTIME spokesmodeling with Gabrielle!  We finally got a picture with some green in it for our last (but definitely not least) spokesmodel from the upcoming senior class of 2015!  We have put a wrap on our spokesmodel sessions and now we are preparing for senior photo sessions starting next month.  Yes we have already started booking them and no it’s not too early to get on the schedule for yours!  So with that said, let us get to a few stunning photos from Gabrielle’s session shall we?

Springtime Spokesmodeling

We have actually photographed Gabrielle before and gotten to know her family over the last couple years which always adds another element of fun for us.  As with every one of our female spokesmodels this year we started out in the studio briefly with our “black and blowy” set up which is always a winner.  Gabrielle landed this shot with perfection!

Next we went outside on what started out as a rainy day which we were a little nervous about.  The color came a little late this year with the brutal winter we had and it was this day or bust based on our schedules.  But the sun did indeed come out and we also had the advantage of an assistant and location scout on this shoot – Gabrielle’s boyfriend J. Edward!  That was a first for us and he really added to the proceedings.  What a great guy and a great help on the session!

Springtime Spokesmodeling

Ahhhh – now doesn’t that look nice?  Here is our fun behind the scenes vine from the day: