Tag Archives: frameable faces

Photos From A Special Night At Club Sedona!

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We are proud to present to you some awesome photos from a special night at Club Sedona!  This was another unique opportunity to watch our amazing event photographer Angela in action at a special occasion that we attended as guests.  This is a very rewarding experience because we get to celebrate such a special day with friends on a personal note and we know we can have a part in making their day even more special with amazing photos from a professional standpoint.

Sedona becomes a bat mitzvah

We have known Sedona since she was tiny – almost her whole life and she is growing up to be a beautiful, nice, smart, and funny girl.  It was a delight to be at her bat mitzvah, and as with most bat mitzvahs we photograph we’ll start at the Temple on the bimah with Sedona and her family.

Angela also captured a couple of really nice moments between Sedona and her siblings at the Temple:

So sweet right?  Here’s a nice one of the bat mitzvah girl by herself:

On To Club Sedona…

The party was held at Emagine in Royal Oak which is a great venue for a party!  Music, great food, dancing, candle lighting, and even a little bowling!  What a blast.  Let’s start with a photo of Sedona in front of one of the banners featuring a photo that Ally did at the studio…

Club Sedona

So fun!  Now let’s give you a feel for the party which Angela captured splendidly!  Take a look:

Club Sedona

Club Sedona

Club Sedona

Club Sedona

A great time was had by all and Sedona was the star on her special day!  Great girl, great family!  Club Sedona was a huge success!  We hope you enjoyed the highlights, and once again big credit to our event photographer Angela who captured the day!

The 5th Annual Senior Spokesmodel Party With The Class of 2016!

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If you have walked by our studio then you have seen the long white mural of high school senior spokesmodels that graces our window.  Maybe you’ve noticed that we change it up every year with our new crew, and we take those photos at our annual get together with our team when we PAR-TAY at the studio!

Spokesmodel party time!

We gathered at the studio with our peeps and as we always do, we brought in food from the Pine Lake Market who does a fantastic job of catering (ask for Nick).  We even had a birthday cake for Caitlin since it was her birthday on the day of the party!  This year we incorporated a couple new platforms that we weren’t using last year like Periscope and we broadcasted our crew introducing themselves – take a look:

Squad goals…

Next we premiered the new Spokesmodel Video which is a big highlight for us every year.  This represents months of photographing these awesome kids who we get very close to, and we are very proud of this…

The video includes this collage that we also worked on this Spring – because just (Frameable) FACE it – the class of 2016 is a B16 DEAL!!!

Spokesmodel Party

Next it was time to take the pictures for the mural which is always a lot of fun, and we posted a little behind the scenes vine as we usually do for sessions, but this time we managed to get a glance at all of them posing!  Take a look…

A Celebration of Murals…

Since this was our fifth mural we thought it would be fun to celebrate that milestone on Instagram – check it out:

Spokesmodel Party

And let’s give the new one its own spotlight – it’s about to get its own spot in our window where you’ll be able to come by and see it in all its glory!!!

Spokesmodel Party

So there you have it – another great new team to represent our studio as we roll into a new season of seniors!  WE CAN’T WAIT!!!

An Urban Senior Photo Junket With Jon In Birmingham!

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A junket is defined as “an extravagant trip or celebration, in particular one enjoyed by a government official at public expense”.  Well, our urban junket with Jon was a celebration for sure – even if it wasn’t official government business!    Birmingham has some of our favorite spots and even though we sometimes contrast Pontiac and Birmingham as “grungy vs. cosmopolitan” we can still find some gritty locales in Birmingham too.

Meanwhile Jon is a great kid – the weather was a little windy and chilly but he handled it like a pro.  We’ve known Jon’s family for a few years now but we hadn’t really spent much time with him before his session, and we found him to be a really nice guy!  So let’s get to some photos shall we?

A Senior Photo Junket With Jon…

We met up together in Birmingham and started shooting, and the first photo we are sharing is with a background that we often present in black and white – it just works…

Senior Photo Junket

Cool right?

Now let’s switch to full color as we explore some alleyways…

Senior Photo Junket

Now let’s take a fun behind the scenes look at the day with this vine that we posted:

Fun right?  Now let’s take another view of the alleyway segment of the session before we switch it up again with this full length photo of the whole scene…

Senior Photo Junket

At this point we made a location switch and headed to a secluded area where we knew we could get this photo through a fence.  We do this once in a while and it always makes for a dramatic image.  What do you think?

Senior Photo Junket

Love that one, and it’s a good one to finish on for now!  We hope you enjoyed our urban senior photo junket with Jon!  We certainly had fun on location with him!

Doug’s Rant – Image Quality ISN’T Everything On Instagram (and more)

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Yes it’s that time again… time to RANT.  I have 4 basic topics to cover so let’s get to it.

Rosh Sillars tweeted the link to an article about Instagram this morning written by Andrew Hutchinson for Social Media Today which I thought was good.  You should read it.  Now while I do NOT disagree completely with the idea that image quality is everything for certain strategies on Instagram, I do disagree with this as an overall statement.  So those of you who know me will know that I feel the need to respectfully present the counterpoint in the spirit of healthy debate.

Three reasons image quality isn’t required on instagram:

  1. Think about the name of the app – INSTAgram.  The “Insta” in Instagram implies an instant and spontaneous sharing of photos made right from your iPhone.  Granted you can post images that aren’t taken with your iPhone but the app is clearly designed with that in mind with the basic camera and editing interface in the app.  Many brands post professionally crafted and edited images on Instagram with a ton of attention to detail to the author’s point and it works for them.  But sometimes when you capture something fun and immediate you might not have it set up for perfection, and that’s actually what can make an Instagram perfect.  I would take it a step further and say that even as a photography studio our strategy on Instagram is typically not to show off our finished work here but to rather bring people behind the scenes and have fun, which leads me to number two…

    Image quality

    NOT a professional photo!

  2. Instagram is social.  Perfect art might not always be.  A collage or a funny incident can tell a story or start a conversation – an interesting one.  A perfect photo can too I suppose, but when you go to an exhibition or art museum they don’t hang a white board with a marker under the display for people to engage and leave comments.  Tell a story and have fun with your followers and don’t always worry about the quality of the photo.  To borrow something that Mark Shaw (one of my favorite Periscopers) might say, it’s not Autogram – don’t just broadcast perfection at people to show top quality.  Now don’t post total garbage either, but keep the focus on being fun and social.
  3. There is a ceiling on how awesome your images can be for your following because of the platform.  Many people are looking at these images on an iPhone.  Is that really the best way to see a professional photo?  It’s not a bad way per se, it’s just not the best way.  An EZ Bake oven isn’t the best way to bake a top notch cake, but it could be the most fun cake of your life if you do it with a child.  Our clients come to our studio to get images to hang as their centerpiece on a wall – not just to look at on their iPhone.  So once again – don’t always worry about the quality.  You typically can’t show off the very best of a quality photo on an iPhone.

Okay moving on…

Why I Don’t Like Email Lists

This is another one I go against the grain on.  I do not like email lists.  I’ve never sent out regular email newsletters or tried to build an email list of clients.  I’m not saying they don’t work, I’m just not interested in sending emails to clients.  Email has been around since well before social media existed, but it’s done on a computer or some other electronic device so it’s not as old school as say, junk mail, so let’s call it “post-old school”.  I suspect it works largely as a numbers game – not because getting another email is sooooo awesome.

Will YouTube come back for brands?

I’ve been posting more video to YouTube since I started Periscoping.  I like to repurpose some of my scopes and upload some of my tips to our YouTube channel.  It has led me to hang out on YouTube with a renewed sense of purpose as a brand, and I’ve connected with people on Periscope who are doing the same.  When I went back to the channels and brands I had subscribed to before I saw that many of them hadn’t posted anything in months, but I think this could change…  Just my guess – this is one where I’m just wondering aloud.  This is a whole other topic in itself on ways to effectively build your brand on YouTube which I’m exploring in new ways now.  I’ll keep you posted.  What are your thoughts on this?  Do you subscribe to channels and organize your YouTube channel with playlists?  As an individual?  As a brand?  Are you social there?  Subscribe to our channel and let’s connect!

Image Quality

Yes I’m slightly addicted to Periscope

Of course it comes back to the game-changing monster that is Periscope.  I wrote a post for MCP Actions about 5 very specific ways you can use Periscope for your photography studio… and I also wrote a post here about what you need to know about Periscope (so far) back in April.  At this point I’m totally hooked – I’ve built some great relationships in ways I never did before on any other platform.  I notice however that many people still don’t know what it is yet and haven’t given it a try, so I think I’ll be writing another post soon about what you can accomplish with Periscope.  The people who aren’t early adopters might want to know what the “why” is…  While I’m at it I may write one about who you should follow there.

That’s it for now – I’d love to hear your comments on this whether you agree or not.  Thanks for reading and join me on Periscope where we can discuss these further!

Frameable Flashbacks! – Our Very First Intern Kim!

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It has been a while since we have done a Frameable Flashback – kind of our version of “Where are they now?” with our former seniors!  The best part of photographing high school seniors for us is the relationships we have with them which continue to grow after they graduate.  It’s a thrill to follow their accomplishments and with several of our 2011 seniors graduating this Spring it’s time to check in with a couple of them and see what they are up to.

Meeting Quiet Shy Kim…

When Kim Savin first came to the studio for her senior consultation she was painfully shy!  She barely said a word!  Her fun personality started to come through a little by the time we went on location to Cranbrook where she attended (the only time you can photograph a senior at Cranbrook is if they attend there).  She had a great session and here is a highlight:

Intern Kim

Corrupting Intern Kim – hehe….

We were pleasantly surprised when we got a call in the Spring of Kim’s senior year asking if we would take her on as an intern as part of a school sponsored senior project, and Kim spent three weeks here at the studio with us.  We’ve always joked that we took such a sweet, demure, and innocent girl and totally corrupted her!  She was awesome to have around the studio and we’ve stayed in touch with her ever since – following her life at Vanderbilt and overseas in Spain.  She even made us paella once!

Present Day Hanging Out With Friend Kim!

So here we are 4 years later and she’s graduating college which is really hard to believe…  that flew by!  She visited us yesterday and true to form (she never knows what she’s in for when she stops by) we put her on the spot for a Frameable Flashback!

Intern Kim

Frameable Faces:  So tell us what you’re up to these days Kim?

Kim:  I graduated from Vanderbilt University a couple weeks ago. I’m home now for a few weeks and then I’m moving back to Nashville. In Nashville, I’m going to spend my days working at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt doing psychology research, and my nights and weekends taking advantage of Nashville’s live music scene and continuing to sample all of the barbecue the South has to offer.

Frameable Faces:  That is amazing!  And what about the future?  What are your plans?

Kim:  I hope to work for a few years and then do some traveling before going to graduate school for clinical psychology. In the long term I want to be a research psychologist, ideally at a university in a lively city with my family, warm weather, and a Spanish-speaking community that I could work with.

Frameable Faces:  Tell us – what was the most memorable part of your Frameable Faces experience?

Kim:  The most memorable part of my Frameable Faces experience was interning here for a few weeks at the end of my senior year of high school.  Not only did I learn so much about “mall life” and the photography business, but you and Ally also taught me a few life lessons, often involving some colorful new vocabulary.   It was so much fun for me to intern at Frameable Faces and I always look forward to coming back to visit! 🙂

We will always look forward to it too!  We are so proud of and excited for Kim and this new chapter in her life!

Photographing The Fantastic Family Of An Old Friend!

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Here we are with back-to-back family sessions on back-to-back days with back-to-back blog posts!!!  Say that five times fast…  Meanwhile this is another fantastic one and in both cases we’ve known the dad of the family outside of the studio so we were excited when they called us to photograph their families.  Ally has known Larry from yesterday’s post for a couple years, but I have known Mike from today’s post for about……..40 YEARS!

Going back a ways…

Yes Mike and I go back almost to the beginning to Forest Elementary School and Rolling Oaks / Wedgewood Commons which was the greatest neighborhood, and it was the greatest time to grow up there.  It’s always a little surreal to have someone’s family here that you go that far back with.  Meanwhile Mike has done really well in the family department – his wife is a sweetheart and his boys are great!  So let’s get to the photos!

Fantastic Family

Everything has been blooming which makes for great location shots and the weather held up nicely – we had a mix of clouds to contend with here and there which made for some light changes but we were prepared!

Next we have a great shot of the boys!  Birmingham is nice because you have access to green and brick for a little of both…

Fantastic Family

Studs!

Okay let’s take a look at our behind the scenes vine of the day – possibly the most epic vine from a family session we’ve ever posted!

Note the #AbbeyRoad hashtag.  Haha!

Fantastic Family

So maybe we played in the street a little….  it was totally blocked off so we can assure you no laws were broken nor clients harmed in the making of this next image.

Fantastic Family

One more shot as we bring it back to a nice moment between the happy couple…

Fantastic Family

So there it is!  A fantastic family indeed!  We hope you enjoyed the highlights from our morning with them!

This Family Is Definitely A Work Of Art!

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The family is the classic masterpiece isn’t it?  This family session was special for a few reasons.  For starters they don’t all live in the same city so when they get together it’s really nice for them, which in turn makes it really nice for us to be a part of.  The fact that they would choose to capture the occasion of being together here at our studio is really rewarding for us.  In addition, Larry and Ally have gotten to know each other through spinning class and Larry is just a great guy so when he decided to bring his wife Barbara and their kids here we got excited!  Ally teaches spinning classes a few times per week and Larry comes to the class and brings a lot of good energy so we knew this session would be fun!

A Work Of Art…

Let’s start with a couple of family portraits shall we?  The first one is a bit of a classic pose that really turned out nicely…

Work Of Art

Up next what would a family portrait session be at Frameable Faces without a family hug right?  We love the family hug!

Work Of Art

They really were enjoying being together that day and you can see it!

Now let’s take a look at a fun photo of the siblings…

Work of Art

…and one of the happy couple!

Work Of Art

Now before we share one last bonus photo let’s look at our fun behind the scenes vine of the session!

More Works Of Art!

So as you can see in the vine Larry wanted to celebrate Barbara’s art as well so we wanted to share one last photo of Barbara with her work!

Work Of Art

How cool right?  Not sure we’ve done a photo quite like that one – love it.

And so there it is – a family that is truly a work of art!  We hope you enjoyed the highlights from their session!

Jordan’s Beautiful Senior Session – With A Special Guest…

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Jordan is a sweetheart and what a nice family she has!  This was a special session with a special guest – Andy the horse!  This is the fourth time we have photographed a senior with her horse and we really love these sessions.  What beautiful and majestic animals horses are and Andy was no exception.  He also had a sweet disposition – a mellow fellow who spent some of our time just casually chowing on the grass around him.  But we’ll get to Andy a little more later…

First Just Jordan…

First let’s concentrate on a couple shots of Jordan in the studio.  Her mom and little brother were both here to cheer her on and Jordan nailed her poses and she is extremely photogenic!  We started off with some Spartan gear since she’ll be attending Michigan State in the fall:

Special Guest

She’s so cute!  Next we went for a slightly more dramatic look against the black backdrop and she nailed this shot too…

Special Guest

Love that one – we are particular fans of the black leather look against the black backdrop!

Now let’s take look at our behind the scenes vine of our day with Jordan and here we get our first look at Andy!

One funny note about that vine, when I was posting it something happened that I just had to screenshot and tweet…  take a look.  Haha!

Special Guest

Special Guest Andy!

Once we were done in the studio it was time to head up to the stable.  Jordan’s dad was there so we had the whole family hanging out which was really nice.  Obviously this day was all about Jordan, but the interaction between her and Andy was so sweet and you can get a sense for their connection in the vine above and in these next two photos for sure.  We love the way this silhouette turned out as Jordan gently gives a kiss to her friend.

Special Guest

We’ll leave you with one more of Jordan and Andy just hanging out together on a nice sunny day…

Special Guest

Beautiful right?  We loved this session, this family, and this girl!  We hope you enjoyed these highlights from our day with them!

Senior Pictures With Style, Beauty, and Elle-gance!

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Our session with Elle definitely produced senior pictures with style, beauty, and Elle-gance!!!  This was technically our fourth time photographing Elle – once with her family a couple years ago, once for her spokesmodel session, once for the mural in our window (sometimes I forget to count that) and now her senior pictures!  Anticipation for this session was high, and Elle certainly delivered!

To Heritage Park We Go…

Heritage Park served a couple of purposes on this day.  Not only is it a fantastic park with many obvious and hidden treasures for a photographer, but for Elle it was a safe distance away to keep her out of range for the Detroit Country Day water wars (haha).  Her mom joined us for the session and we had a blast!  So let’s get started – I believe this is the first time we’ve used this wooden door in the stone wall that we love:

Elle-Gance

A little side note here – very often we feature both full length and close up photos of our seniors, but these are all full length of Elle because Ally said she just looked so cute and coordinated with her outfits she felt the full length showed off the whole look!

Elle-gance…

For this session we spent the whole time outdoors which is a nice change especially at Heritage Park.  It gives us a chance to really explore.  The blossoms framing this photo and the backlight on Elle’s hair really come together nicely here…

Elle-gance

Let’s take a look at the first vine from this session… yes a session so nice we vined it twice!

You can see from the vines we used a number of different spots for this session many of which we won’t get to here…  But a shot like this next one is just undeniable even if we didn’t vine it:

Elle-gance

Now for vine number two!

So fun!  Okay now one last shot…

Elle-gance

So there it is – style, beauty and Elle-gance!  We hope you enjoyed these highlights from our morning with Elle!

 

Brad’s Senior Session Definitely BLUE Us Away!

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We were pretty excited when Brad’s mom Stefany brought him here for senior pictures because we go way way back with his family – for me personally it’s about 35 years!  Brad is a really nice kid and an impressive guy.  He’ll be attending The University of Michigan in the fall and it’s always cool when your high school colors match your college ones this closely!

Go Blue…

This session “blue” us away since the predominant color is blue – Brad brought his Detroit Country Day navy blue and gold baseball gear which helped bring out his blue eyes for these pictures.  So let’s take a look at a few of them shall we?

First we started out on location which we do for all morning location sessions since we like to catch the sun lower in the sky for lighting purposes, and our conditions were great…

Blue

Nice shot huh?  We did one shirt change for the location part and grabbed a few more shots before we headed back to the studio.  Here’s one of them:

Blue

Let’s take a look at our behind the scenes vine of our day before we take it back to the studio…

Back to the studio…

We got some great stuff on location so it was time to head back to the studio.  We love the combo you see in the vine with the khakis and the baseball gear (note the shirt and Michigan tie under the jersey) – here’s a great one with the cap turned around.  Fun!

Blue

We’ll leave you with one more with this pensive and dramatic close up in black and white.  Check it out…

Blue

So there you have it!  Another fantastic senior session as we start winding down on the class of 2015 and start gearing up for the class of 2016!  Best of luck to Brad and we hope you all enjoyed the highlights from his session!