Tag Archives: photography

Let’s start by saying none of the top 5 photos are actually published here in this blog post…. BOOO right? It’s okay, I learned a little about copyright and fair use of movie images while researching this post. We are certainly sensitive to people grabbing copyrighted images and using them illegally so I was curious about whether obvious and iconic images that appear everywhere are considered public domain or not. So long story short…

Top 5 scariest photos in film

I went to this link after a Google search, found The Motion Picture and Television Archive and called the number listed. A very friendly and helpful guy gave me a lot of good information and it boiled down to me having the option to purchase the photos I wanted from them if they weren’t public domain for $75 – $100 each. Not horrible but more than I wanted to spend at the moment (when I have a massive following maybe I’ll reinvest into the blog in this fashion but I’m not ready for that). He did say generally you can get an idea if an image was distributed by a film studio if you go to ebay and see one there for sale with the studio info printed on the bottom. This generally indicates that you can use it. None of my top 5 are available on ebay but I will provide links to them if they are available on the web – one for example is right on Wikipedia and I believe Wikipedia has the right to display it. Whether the others do I’m not sure… if they don’t and the image isn’t there when you click on the link then maybe they were caught and were forced to take it down…

The Top 5 Scariest…

Now for our top 5 – caution – there are spoilers here:

1. The final shot in The Shining – 1980

If this didn’t give you a chill the first time you saw it then nothing in a movie will. When it’s revealed that Jack Torrance was always the caretaker at the Overlook Hotel when we see his smiling face in the July 4th, 1921 photo hanging on the wall it’s the perfect final scare to the scariest movie ever made… The classic Kubrick slow zoom into the wall and then the photo builds the lump in your throat as you realize what you’re looking at.

2. The moving photo in the scrapbook in IT – 1990

Many Stephen King fans will agree that It was one of his scariest books. While the TV movie with Tim Curry as Pennywise the clown didn’t quite do the book justice I still feel it had its moments – one of which was the depiction of the moving photo in the scrapbook that the kids are looking at together. When Pennywise stops and sees that they are looking and makes a beeline to the surface jumping up onto the lamppost it’s a pretty good rush.

3. The old photo of Eva Galli and the Chowder Society in Ghost Story – 1981

This film gave me nightmares after I saw it in the theater at the age of 11, and I still love it. There is something creepy about the fact that the only photo which exists of Eva Galli is one where her face is blurred since she moves right as the photo is being snapped. While I was able to find numerous images from Ghost Story I was not able to find the photo itself anywhere on the web.

4. The photo from Blow-Up which turned out to be more than meets the eye – 1966

In this groundbreaking film by Italian director Michaelangelo Antonioni a photographer takes a photo of two lovers in a park but discovers upon enlarging the photo what appears to be a dead body in the background.

5. The discarded Polaroid negative from No Way Out – 1987

This is a case where the photo itself isn’t scary or freaky, but the fact that it was a Polaroid negative required lengthy computer processing to become visible. The photo was the only forensic evidence in a case with plenty of twists and turns and the processing creates a suspenseful race against time for Kevin Costner’s character who is ultimately revealed to be the spy all along. Great movie, but once again I was unable to locate the photo on the web.

Honorable Mention – the vanishing siblings of Marty McFly in Back To The Future – 1985

This suggestion came from someone on our facebook page when I mentioned I was writing this post. While not actually “scary” or “suspenseful” since Back To The Future is a comedy, I’d be lying if this photo didn’t cross my mind and put a smile on my face when I was putting together this list… 🙂

Can you think of any others?

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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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Facebook: http://facebook.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!

9 Things To Tell Your Kids About Photography

March 22, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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We had a great morning today at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills, MI for career day! We presented to two separate groups of 8th graders about a career in photography and it was so much fun. The kids had really great and thoughtful questions, and it got me thinking that I should share some things to tell your kids about photography just as we did today.

9 Things To Tell Your Kids About Photography

1. Getting an expensive camera isn’t the only route to becoming a great photographer. It can certainly help, but it’s not enough. If you are truly motivated and it’s in your heart you can hone your skills and become pretty good with almost any camera. Having the most advanced medical equipment wouldn’t make you the best doctor and having a $100 football doesn’t make you a great quarterback. I’d rather have a great person I connect with with a good eye and a $75 camera (or even an iPhone for that matter) take my picture than an arrogant know-it-all jerk with a $10,000 camera. Now keep in mind I won’t want to enlarge an iPhone photo and put it on my wall – you will certainly be limited by a cheap camera and you probably will never be able to call yourself a professional photographer with a basic digital point and shoot camera, but equipment isn’t everything. It’s pretty important (eventually it becomes really important), but it’s not everything.

2. Being a great photographer only comes with experience so just start shooting. Get out there! Learn what photos you like to take the most, experiment and find your style. If you like portraits take your friend or your sibling to a park. If you like landscapes or wildlife go to a nature preserve. Inspiration is available all around you.

3. Being a great photographer only comes with knowledge so don’t only start shooting. Learn how to use your camera. Read the manual (crazy right?). Learn about lighting. Learn about posing. Learn about editing – kids can play with cropping and basic post production techniques with programs as simple as iPhoto. It’s not too early to start to appreciate the craft behind becoming an accomplished photographer.

4. Be aware of what you share online. This doesn’t mean don’t participate and be terrified of the Internet. It does mean be aware of how you represent yourself, how mistakes can hurt you, and the power of enhancing your life and making connections with social media. Social media is obviously very visual and images can be very powerful in good and bad ways. If you are a musician you can post links to your music or you can stream it on soundcloud, if you are a sculptor you can post a picture of your sculpture but it might not do it justice, but if you are a photographer your work is ON facebook if you post it there and it shows up in people’s news feeds – bam. Instagram is built on photos. It is critical that your kids understand the reach of these platforms – how they can use them to their advantage but also the dangers of posting something foolish and opening up their private lives to the whole world if they aren’t careful. Social media is here to stay and we’ve used it to build our business so it’s important to become savvy online – it will continue to get tougher to thrive without it. The 8th graders we met with will be able to take a whole course on social media when they get to high school next year.

5. Taking pictures for a living can give you a ton of freedom but it won’t happen right away. The allure of being your own boss can be strong for an artist. Whether you want to own a studio, be a freelance photographer or photojournalist you may be the type that marches to the beat of your own drum. For me I know that working in the corporate environment and having a boss was a nightmare. I much prefer having my own business, but I know we would not have been able to pull it off if we hadn’t had plenty of experience in the workforce learning how business works (and how it doesn’t work). I don’t think it’s the best advice to tell a youngster to plan on never working for someone else – to go from graduating from school straight to —–> business owner. Just my opinion… We see a lot of photographers fail because they don’t respect and learn the business of photography.

6. Taking pictures is extremely rewarding and a worthy pursuit!!! This holds true for professionals and amateurs. Taking pictures is expression, it’s connection, it’s celebration, it’s history, it’s emotion, it’s a moment, it’s flat out fun. Kids love to snap and share pictures. Instagram selfies, facebook profiles, snapchat, tumblr – this is how they connect and express themselves. What an outlet! It’s a fun byproduct of technology that some old school photographers can’t understand and they lament how it’s devaluing what real pros are doing. We feel it’s the opposite – the more people appreciate pictures the more they’ll appreciate good pictures. We never discourage youngsters from having fun with photography. We embrace this new culture and here is a funny example of a guest post I wrote for another blog where I discussed ideas for good content on Facebook for photography studios. Look in the comments where some angry old school photographer chimed in and just ripped me apart for validating these fun new forms of expression.

7. Find mentors and ask questions. Go to a local studio. Go to a local independent camera store. All of us pros started somewhere and there were photographers who helped us along the way.

8. You aren’t too young to subscribe to blogs and websites like Peta Pixel where you can learn a ton. There are a lot of sites like this one with tips and examples of new and creative photos. We share many articles that stand out on our facebook page as well. In addition to gaming or surfing silly videos on YouTube maybe your kids can mix in a few of these – they might find plenty they like.

9. Think about the businesses you love and why. Whether it’s a certain ice cream shop, or a clothing store, or a gaming store, or some other specialty store, think about why you like them. Kids are consumers – they can learn from the businesses they like if they are paying attention and it can shape the kind of business people they can be. If you are a photographer of people you will want to treat your people the way you like to be treated as a customer. These are simple lessons that shouldn’t be lost on kids.

I hope these help! Feel free to chime in or even better have your child chime in – if you’re local stop by and visit! We would be happy to answer questions.

Check out the Doug&Ally Morning Show PODCAST!!!

**********************************************
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 2014 Senior Spokesmodels Part 1!!!

March 12, 2013

by Doug Cohen

1 Comment

We are excited to present a two part series of images of our new class of 2014 high school senior spokesmodels! We couldn’t be happier with this wonderful group of young ladies and are very proud to have them representing Frameable Faces Photography for this upcoming school year! Some of them we have just met recently and some we’ve known much longer – it’s hard to believe they will be seniors in a few short months!

DANIELLE

Danielle - Class of 2014 Frameable Faces

MARA

Mara - Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodel

MARISSA

Marissa - Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodel

TAYLOR

Taylor - Class of 2014 Spokesmodel Taylor - Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodel

ALANAH

Alanah - Class of 2014 Senior Spokesmodel

Oso Sweet Onions Prove To Be Delicious AND Frameable!

February 16, 2013

by Doug Cohen

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If you follow us at all you probably know by now that we are huge foodies – we love to eat and we love to photograph food, so when the chance came to photograph some sweet and yummy onions we thought it would be very a-peel-ing….. 🙂

Oso Sweet Onions are incredible! We were familiar with them already since they are sold down the hall at Hiller’s Markets, our neighbor. They have about a third higher sugar content than other sweet onion varieties and they don’t release fumes when you cut them so they are virtually tearless! So yummy… They were great models too – very photogenic and easy to work with (haha). Take a look!

Oso Sweet Onions are ready for their close up!

We learn a lot when we photograph products and we enjoy that part of the business. You may recognize these bins or the Oso Sweet Onion logo at the grocery store… grab them and then go back to the Oso Sweet Onions website for recipes and more information, and then the world can be your onion!

Oso Sweet Onions

Meanwhile, the Food Channel we’re not but we took some onions home from the shoot and cooked them up…. What’s your favorite way to enjoy onions?

The Whole Family Was Here and it Was A Blast!

February 7, 2013

by Doug Cohen

2 Comments

When the impetus for a session is to have both children with their spouses and all five grandchildren together it’s as good a reason as any, and when one of the children has a connection to Ally going back to college days that makes it even more fun for us! What a joy for the grandparents to have their whole family together and captured to decorate their walls!

Multi-generational Family Portrait

We had some laughs on this one to be sure – if you follow us on facebook we shared a “photography tip” that arose from this session. Ally needed to make the youngest kids laugh so she told them that she pooped in her diaper. They were CRACKING UP at this announcement! It was hilarious. There was lots of talk about photography and music and all the adults were jumping around and acting silly to get the kids to smile at one point which was pretty funny…. We hope you enjoy these images as much as we enjoyed producing them!

Family Portrait Siblings and Cousins

Happy Valentine’s Day Starring The Baby For All Seasons!!!

February 6, 2013

by Doug Cohen

1 Comment

We have been photographing this little superstar since he was born and he’s pretty scrumptious. You can actually see he’s yummy below because his mommy was eating him up and left kisses all over him!!! So this photo will serve as our Happy Valentine’s Day wish to you starring one of our favorite little Frameables!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

As a bonus you’ll see why we’ve referred to him as the “baby for all seasons” because he came to the studio in October and transformed into a tasty little chunky pumpkin, and yes this was a real pumpkin! It was chilly in there but he didn’t complain – he totally rocked that shoot and as you can imagine we had a ton of fun with both of these shoots. Each session attracted a crowd of smiling people outside the studio – how could you look at these and not smile? 🙂

Happy Halloween!

Photo Restoration – Restoring Vietnam War History

January 16, 2013

by Doug Cohen

9 Comments

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!

Should You Take Photos In The Snow…..?

December 21, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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Going outside during the winter in the cold and snow to take photos isn’t always on everyone’s priority list, but think about it – a snowy backdrop can be beautiful! Sure you may have to be cold for a little bit but the results are often worth it.

Well “thankfully” as of this writing it is December 21, 2012, the world is still here, and along with the continued existence of the world we have the existence of (a little) snow here in Michigan for the first time this winter! This is what got us thinking about the snow and we have indeed had some fun photo sessions in the snow over the years so we thought in honor of old man winter we would post a few together!

So, should you take photos in the snow? YES!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow……

West Bloomfield Photographer, Frameable Faces Photography

Class of 2013 Frameables! Part 3!

December 20, 2012

by Doug Cohen

2 Comments

The spectacular class of 2013 continues! Fall has given way to winter but the fall colors lingered in some cases for longer than we thought. We still have a few on tap and maybe we’ll get some good snowy scenes, but for now here is the latest round of young inspiring frameables who mean so much to us! Before we know it they’ll be graduating, moving on and we’ll be photographing the class of 2014!

Frameable Faces Photography, Senior Pictures

Ain’t No Family Like A Detroit Family…

December 15, 2012

by Doug Cohen

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As you know we are big fans of the “D” especially if you happened to read our love letter to Detroit. What we have here is a family who feels the same way… which makes us fans of them too! This was a great session! We love a family who together coordinates a theme for their session and what better theme than the Motor City, Detroit Rock City, Motown, the 313, Hockeytown…. you get the picture.

It was fun having them here – here’s the evidence….

Family Photo Frameable Faces Photography