Tag Archives: west bloomfield photographer

No Sun? No Problem For Sara’s Superb Session!

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Sara had a great session here recently on an afternoon that gave us a completely overcast sky.  Logic might tell you that you want “nice” weather outside for senior pictures with lots of sunshine, but we promise we are not just trying to make our seniors feel better when we say overcast skies are perfect for shooting!  When the light is not coming from just one direction than you can photograph in any direction and choose any angle you like!  Diffused light is great light, and that’s what we had for Sara.  So, no sun?  No problem!

We’ll get to the outdoor stuff in a sec, but first let’s take a peak at a studio shot we did on the black background.  This is our black and blowy setup, and even though her hair isn’t totally “blowy” it’s only because of her beautiful thick curls, and don’t her eyes look incredible?  This would be a good time to give a shout out to Shifra Raskin whose studio is right down the hall from us for the wonderful job on Sara’s makeup.

no sun no problem

Next it was time to head outside where Sara’s mom met us for the location shoot.  Sara’s mom is funny, and we also have to mention that Sara is clearly well liked because on at least two separate occasions around the time of her session when telling someone we were photographing her the response was “Oh I LOVE Sara!!!”

no sun no problem

As you are starting to see with these October photos we are starting to get a lot more fall colors and we had some here for Sara!  You would never know it was a “dreary” day – the setting looks great, the lighting looks great, and Sara looks great!  This ground level bridge is a nice little recent find as well…

no sun no problem

Here is our fun behind the scenes vine of the afternoon!

And lastly we’ll leave you with this one – the beautiful fall orange and the beautiful eyes…

no sun no problem

So there it is!  We had a great day with Sara – and as we said, no sun?  No problem!

 

Alison Appears In Our “Brand New” Meadow!

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We have mentioned that lately we have had some great success exploring brand new locations for senior sessions…  Granted they aren’t “brand new” exactly – certainly they were there for some time, but they certainly are new to us and they have us so excited!!!  We have found at least five new trails off the top of our heads in parks that we’ve been to plenty of times before, and they’ve led to great new streams, trees, and bridges.  But maybe the best find so far was Alison’s meadow – it was right under our nose and we never knew it.  More on that in a sec…

First let’s talk about Alison.  What a nice girl – beautiful inside and out.  Her mom came with us on the session and we really enjoyed them both!  We focused most of her session on location which we will highlight here.  First we went to a trail that we’ve used before where the fall colors were starting to pop.

meadow

Alison looks great here!  Now you can’t quite see it in the photo above, but a little further along that path it goes uphill a bit, and we thought we would take a little walk to see what was over the ridge…    Well lo and behold it opened up into a huge multicolored meadow that took our breath away!  Since she was the first one in the meadow we’ll now call it “Alison’s meadow” which is how we roll here at Frameable Faces.  🙂

meadow

Wow right???  Here is our behind the scenes vine from the session where you can get a glimpse of how much fun we were having…

As a little sidebar we even came across this big snapping turtle hanging out on the side of the trail!  I took a quick photo with my iPhone…

snapping turtle

Beyond the meadow there were more trails and a random bench that we took advantage of for this next one…

meadow

So pretty!  We’ll leave you with this last one with a little water in the background.  Love the fall colors reflecting in the water, and love Alison’s relaxed pose in the grass…

meadow

Yes – this was a spectacular session we have to say, and we’re glad we got to experience the new location with Alison and her mom!

Planning For This Killer Session Was Key With Kyle!

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Kyle’s killer session was a classic example of how good planning leads to great results!  We’ve known his parents for some time and we explained to them when they called to schedule Kyle’s senior pictures how important it would be to meet for a consultation to plan the session.  If you don’t meet ahead of time there will inevitably be general disorganization and cluelessness about what we’re doing and where we’re going on the day of the session…  With Kyle what came out of the meeting was that we wanted to get some natural photos with the fall colors and gritty urban shots.  So by planning our timeline and locations we were able to cover a lot of ground and finish right on schedule!

Kyle is a great kid and when both his mom and dad joined us on his session we were excited!  We had a lot of laughs, and we got some great photos!  We met on location first to get the nature shots – here’s one of them:

Killer Session

Pontiac is always a good idea for gritty urban photos for a high school senior.  It’s a cool city with a bunch of hidden treasures and while it has had its share of tough times and it might not be the shiny cosmopolitan locale that some of its neighbors are, Pontiac is a tough and resilient town and we love being there.  We have had some of our favorite senior sessions there and Kyle’s was no exception.  These next two photos were taken there:

Killer Session

Ally loves the way this next one highlights Kyle’s eyes…

Killer Session

Here is our fun behind the scenes vine with a couple quick highlights from the morning!

Finally we headed back to the studio (right on schedule I might add) and grabbed a few shots indoors – we’ll leave you with this one on the grey.

Killer Session

So there you have it!  Kyle’s killer senior session where planning made perfect!

Lively and Lovely With Lindsey On Her Senior Session!

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Lindsey came to the studio for her lively and lovely senior session on a beautiful sunny Saturday and while it was our first time photographing her here at the studio it wasn’t the first time we photographed her.  She jumped in for a few shots with her cousins a few years ago when she was a little younger and it’s always fun to do senior pictures with someone we’ve photographed before!  Oh – and especially a North Farmington Raider – you know how we love our Raiders being Raiders ourselves!

We’ve had great sessions with this class of 2015 and for different reasons – every senior is unique and different.  In Lindsey’s case she wowed us with her lively sense of style and fashion and won us over with her sweet and lovely way inside and out!

We began in the studio with some simple shots – like this one of Lindsey in a white top and jeans on the white background:

Lively and Lovely

She’s great in front of the camera!  We played around in the studio for a while including some shots of Lindsey in her brown and gold Raider letter jacket as you can see in our fun behind the scenes vine of the day!

Next it was time to head out on location for a little nature and a little city…  First we went to the grey wall that actually used to be white.  We love its new paint job and and we love Lindsey here:

Lively and Lovely

So Lindsey looks great so far right?  Well these last two outfit changes clearly kicked it up a notch or two – this one on the stairs which you saw a clip of in the vine is just so cool!  The hat, the haute couture feel, the hair twirl, the attitude – LOVE this.

Lively and Lovely

And then last but not least with the natural backdrop – just a spectacular shot of Lindsey here…  Wow.

Lively and Lovely

So there you have it!  Lindsey’s lively and lovely senior session!  We hoped you loved these photos of our day with her!

A “Senior Session Rhapsody” With Raina!

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Screenshot 2014-10-22 09.29.43

The word “rhapsody” works on several levels for Raina’s outstanding senior session!  Let’s count a few of the ways shall we?

  1. The idea of photographing Raina once we met this sweetheart and her mom was “music to our ears”
  2. She can play a rhapsody on her cello which she included in her session (as a former cello player myself this made her session extra special for me).
  3. Photos aren’t “written or spoken” per se but they can certainly be an expression of “great enthusiasm, praise, etc.” and we have great enthusiasm for Raina’s session!

So yes, we think it’s appropriate to present a few highlights from what we are calling a “senior session rhapsody” with Raina!

We started in the studio on the black background with our “black and blowy” setup that we love:

senior session rhapsody

We love the black and white stripes of her blouse against the black background, and her eyes look amazing!

Next we headed outside and we captured some shots in the park as well as in the city.  Let’s look at a photo from the park first…

senior session rhapsody

Beautiful right?  Now let’s take a look at our fun behind the scenes vine where the cello makes an appearance!

Next it was time to head to the city for a cosmopolitan look – Raina looked at ease in all the settings!

senior session rhapsody

And finally the grand finale with the cello!  Love this photo with the fountain in the background!

senior session rhapsody

So there you have it!  Our senior session rhapsody with Raina!  We really enjoyed our time with Raina and her mom and we finished it off with a group hug!  We hope you enjoyed these photos from such a wonderful afternoon!

Just A Great Hangout With Jeremy!

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Just a great hangout with Jeremy is what his senior session felt like!  Sometimes those are the best sessions.  Sure we are taking pictures and the senior is posing and changing clothes a few times, but when you’re just having a good time hanging out talking about life, and in this case a lot of American history which Jeremy and I have a common interest in, then it just feels like hanging out with a buddy.  Meanwhile Jeremy’s older brother Devin was here last year with his mom for a memorable senior session as well, so we were excited to have them back!

We had a lot of laughs and we’ll get to that a little later, but for now let’s just start with some great location shots…

Great Hangout

The colors are changing on a daily basis at this point which is obviously a photographer’s dream.  We love the reds, oranges, browns and yellows we get in the trees here in Michigan, and we had a great morning to be outside on this day!  This has been a good spot for us with the water in the background and Jeremy just looks relaxed and at ease don’t you think?

Next we hit some trails and captured this photo with this little triple tree…

Great Hangout

Here is our fun behind the scenes vine and here is where we get to a few of those laughs I mentioned.  Jeremy’s brother had a fun silly photo that came out of his session so we stopped at the store for a little Hubba Bubba to try to top it.  Haha!

Next we changed locations to go to one of our meadows…

Great Hangout

And then we changed locations yet again to go to one of our favorite bridges and this time we’re presenting it in black and white – just a cool classic and dramatic shot of our guy here…

Great Hangout

So there it is!  Simple – a great hangout with a great guy with a great mom and, of course, great results!!!  Hope you enjoyed these photos of Jeremy!

How Do We Spell Style? J-O-R-D-A-N Of Course!

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Photographing a guy who can rock a session like Jordan is a treat.  What a great kid.  And apparently the rest of the world shares our opinion because Jordan seems to know everyone around here and everyone knows him!  We knew this was going to be a good photo shoot and his mom came along to hang with us for the afternoon.  We had a blast.  The guy knows fashion, knows how to pose and has a great look so the session really came together nicely.  This is not totally by accident either since Jordan is considering a career in fashion.  So when asked how we spell style around here we’ll just answer J-O-R-D-A-N from now on!

First we started in the studio for one of several GQ looks that we love with the suit and tie this time on the black background…

We Spell Style

Then after some additional studio work we headed outside for what turned out to be a perfect fall day.  We went mostly for the natural look and we started out with this pathway through one of the meadows that we love:

We Spell Style

Here is our fun behind the scenes three part vine from the day!

Next we headed over to one of our favorite bridges for this one…

We Spell Style

Catalogue material right?  The boy knows how to dress and how to pose.  This last photo is a unique one with the hoodie and Jordan standing in the road – we love this.

We Spell Style

So how do we spell style again?  Oh yeah – J-O-R-D-A-N!  And now you know why.  We hope you enjoyed these sneak peeks from his outstanding senior session!  We certainly enjoyed our afternoon with Jordan!

 

A Melodic Senior Session With Matt!

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Our 2015 seniors continue with a melodic senior session with Matt!  What a great guy – his mom joined us on the session and their interaction was really cute – just cool and enjoyable and they have a great relationship.  Matt is a mature and laid back gentleman!

Meanwhile they took us to a new spot we never knew existed right under our noses not far from where we live!  I mentioned in the blog post for our last senior that lately some of our explorations have been more rewarding than usual and this was one of those.  A long raised pathway through the woods that ends as a dock on a small lake.  Such an awesome location and we were shocked!  We’ll get to that later.  In the meantime let’s start with a photo in the studio on the black background which was how we started our afternoon…

melodic senior session

Next it was time to head outside and explore a little.  Interestingly enough we made a stop at the same spot we hit with our last session but there are several different options at that location that we didn’t highlight in the last post, starting with this one looking out of the tunnel and down the pathway.  It makes for a really cool lighting effect!

melodic senior session

Then we used the adjacent stairs for this close crop – now that’s a good looking kid right?

melodic senior session

Now here is the melodic part – it’s our fun behind the scenes vine of the session including a little musical interlude by Matt at the end of our newfound dock!

And the resulting photo…

melodic senior session

So there it is!  New spots, guitars, great guy to photograph – that’s a pretty good day in our book.  We hope you enjoyed these sneak peeks from Matt’s session!

 

Bringing A Cool Spot Back With Becca!

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We are always on the lookout for cool new locations for senior sessions and it seems lately some of our explorations have been more rewarding than usual.  New meadows, pathways and bridges get us excited!  But once in a while during a consultation a senior sees something on our iPad that we hadn’t thought about in a while and leads us back to a spot that we get to see in a whole new way!  Becca did that for us when she chose this very cool tunnel that we hadn’t been to in years.  So yes – we are bringing a cool spot back with Becca!

We’ve also mastered a few new lighting tricks since the last time we were here, and we love the way this one came out:

Bringing A Cool Spot Back

So cool – and Becca looks great!  There is also a cool outdoor staircase right by the tunnel which we took advantage of.  Any location that has a couple of different looks in close proximity is a bonus.

Bringing A Cool Spot Back

Here is our fun behind the scenes vine that we made from this location before we headed back to the studio…

Next it was time to head back and get some studio shots.  Becca liked the purple which is fun – it looks great but we don’t use it a ton.  We love Becca on this color!

Bringing A Cool Spot Back

We finished up on the white background and this is one of those shots that just begs to be made into a black and white.  It just looks cool – Becca looks totally in control here – love the pose and love the attitude!

Bringing A Cool Spot Back

And that’ll do it for now – another fantastic senior and fantastic senior session!  We hope you enjoyed these sneak peeks!

Sharing A Few Photos From A Special Day – Our Son’s Bar Mitzvah!

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Many of you asked to see the pictures from our son’s Bar Mitzvah when they are available, so we are sharing a few photos from our special day!  When photographers need pictures the question inevitably comes up “So who is photographing YOUR event?  You aren’t doing it right?”  Haha – that would be interesting – setting up each shot and then….setting the timer and getting back in the picture right?  Of course not.

Well as you may know for some time we were not really in the event photography business.  It’s not Ally’s specialty personally and we couldn’t work on weekend nights or we would never see our kids.  Enter our wonderful event photographer Angela.  She has done a fantastic job for Frameable Faces on events and at this point we couldn’t think of anyone better to trust with the task of photographing Tony’s Bar Mitzvah.  She did an amazing job as we knew she would.  We are so proud to showcase not only our son and our happiness on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah, but also Angela’s work as we have watched her grow over the years since the very first day she simply walked into our studio, still a student, and asked if we might be looking for another photographer.

First we started at Adat Shalom Synagogue during the week for pictures of the service on the day of our rehearsal:

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

“Tailgating With Tony”

Our party was at Oakland Yard Athletics in Waterford which is an amazing place to have a party and we also want to give shout outs in particular to Just Baked for their amazing cupcakes, Nick at Pine Lake Market for the amazing job catering, Co. 512 for the Adidas wear, Top That Table for the awesome decorations, and Josh and Cassie from Tronix Entertainment for getting the party started and keeping it going!  Meanwhile back to the pictures and the awesome job Angela did capturing the scene and the mood!  She was everywhere…

Our Son's Bar MitzvahThat mechanical bulldog is hilarious…  Tony and his friends were able to play various sports throughout pretty much the whole party.

Our Son's Bar MitzvahNext it was time for Tony to make his official entrance for the montage and candle lighting.

Our Son's Bar MitzvahOur Son's Bar MitzvahOur Son's Bar MitzvahOur Son's Bar MitzvahTime To Hora!

The hora is a traditional dance at Jewish occasions and it’s always a blast!  Angela captured a bunch of great photos of the hora!

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

We love this view of the entire party where you can see a full dance floor doing the “wobble” while others were hitting golf balls, playing other sports, or just hanging out.

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Lastly we love this photo of our happy family – especially the kids dancing together (and not fighting)!

Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

So there you have it!  Highlights from one of the best nights of our lives.  We are happy to share them with you and we hope you enjoyed them!