Hail to..... wait - which?

I couldn't resist this one....  One more little "buy local" rant and then I'll (try to) leave it alone for a while.

As a follow up to my "Meditations on Buying Local" post, this shirt appeared on this link at Rivals.com....  

I'm sure many of you saw this already since a lot of people got a kick out of it and posted it on facebook especially here in Michigan where we are based.  For those of you who aren't in Michigan and may not know, Michigan State University's team name is the Spartans and their colors are green and white, but the University Of Michigan Wolverines' fight song contains the opening line "Hail to the Victors" and their colors are maize and blue.  Needless to say this was a pretty bad mistake to mix them up and put them on the same t-shirt.  I hate to sound like a broken record but putting your loyalties aside for a second and your urge to talk some smack if you're a Wolverine or a Spartan, what this really is is a commercial for buying LOCAL.  Do you think a local Michigan based t-shirt company would make a mistake as ridiculous as this?  No way.  Why would you want your school's logo hijacked by some national corporate brand like this that doesn't have a clue about it?  

Now granted college athletics is huge business and national brands Adidas and Nike are the official outfitters of the sports teams at the two schools so you can't really avoid buying the apparel from a national company.  That's the way it is.  But I think the point here is there are local independent retailers you can support that sell licensed t-shirts with your alma mater on them who would never make a mistake like this.  Local merchants have a feel for the local community and have a vested interest in it.  National chains....not as much as evidenced by this shirt.  Maybe that is a generalization that isn't 100% fair, but c'mon.  This actually made it to their website.  Not one person at Pink cared enough or bothered to check on this?  A business sports reporter actually pointed it out to Victoria's Secret which is what prompted them to pull it off the site.  Once again our message is not to boycott national chain stores, but rather in a case like this let Pink stick to what they do best and when you are considering buying some gear for your local team consider a local option first.  If Pink bothered to get the shirt right and you could buy Pink products from local merchants then I guess it would be different, but they didn't and you can't.

Thankfulness

We have been in our studio space here in the Orchard Mall for about three years now and we really are living our dream.  It hasn't always been easy building a young business but it's been a labor of love for sure, and today on the day after Thanksgiving was one of those days when you just realize how thankful you are.

We are humbled by the opportunity to be a part of the lives of our people who we lovingly refer to as the "frameables".  We had so many people come by the studio to visit us over the last couple days - especially our high school seniors - some who are still in high school and just had a couple days off and some who are home visiting from college.  They all make us smile!

When new parents bring babies to the studio to photograph and back to visit and photograph as they grow up, when a wonderful 90 year old lady brings a 90 year old photo in to restore and tells us stories, when families come together from out of town and gather in our studio to allow us to be a part of that reunion and document it for posterity, when a dog owner brings in their best friend for a session, these are the moments that have given us so much.

We are thankful for you.  All of you.  Thank you so much.

Ally and Doug

Meditations on Buying Local...

BUY LOCAL - you hear this everywhere right?  Save our local economy!  It's pervasive.  There are facebook and LinkedIn groups devoted to the idea, politicians throw the issue around to try to make each other look better than the opponent knowing that it's an emotional hot button for their constituents, businesses remind you at every turn almost as a sales pitch to get you to come in and buy something in their store.  You start to become numb to it.

Listen - it's certainly an important issue to us being a local business ourselves but I like to keep these posts a bit lighter and more fun.  I don't want to be a downer and I certainly don't want to get on a soap box to beat you over the head again to shop local.....  (hmmmm wait Doug - this isn't a typical light fun Frameable Faces blog post - seems you already went there).   Sorry.  Big exhale..... Okay - I'm just gonna go with it then.  But I'm going to try to make it as painless as possible.

The fact is there were three different things that put this in my head this week in particular which is why I'm thinking about it and felt the need to blog about it. The first thing happened at our last Orchard Mall tenants meeting.  One of our fellow tenants alerted all of us to a project and website called The 3/50 Project whose mission is to strengthen independent brick and mortar businesses.  What I like about this is that it appears to be a very sensible and practical call to action.  The "3/50" part refers to the suggestion that everyone pick out 3 local businesses they would miss if they closed and commit to spending $50 per month collectively at those businesses.  The studies suggest that for every 100 dollars spent at a local business 68 of them return to the community.  For every 100 spent at a national chain only 43 stays here, and for every 100 spent online none of it stays here.  Makes you think.

The second thing happened in Birmingham the other day while we were there photographing a senior.  We drove past the Varsity Shop which is a sporting goods store that has been there since I was a kid.  It is a small corner store that certainly would seem to be a relic from a bygone era when you compare it to stores like Dick's and The Sports Authority not to mention Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart and all the other big box stores who sell sporting goods.  I don't know the people at the Varsity Shop and I haven't been in there forever.  I don't know what they specialize in and I have no stake in spotlighting them, but my point is when I pondered how they've managed to stay in business when so many others couldn't it dawned on me - they certainly didn't do it because I shop there.   I felt a pang of guilt - I have good memories of that place and they deserve better from me.  Now to totally beat myself up over this isn't fair because I do buy local - a lot.  And with online commerce and the economies of scale that a Target or a Costco brings to the table I'd be nuts to not make sure I looked for the best deals from time to time as we try to support our family with a still-young business in this wonderful economy of ours.  Indeed, the 3/50 Project doesn't suggest you stop buying from chains, they just suggest that you make sure your healthy balance includes a helping of local merchants.  I personally think I can do better and I'm going to buy something from the Varsity Shop when I get a chance.  Meanwhile the Orchard Mall is filled with many local merchants.  We've got a Panera here sure (love their breakfast power sandwich - hold the ham, extra egg), but we've also got a couple local eateries, a very cool local toy store, a couple boutiques, a linen store, clothing stores, a bridal couture, a dance studio, a locally based supermarket chain, a jeweler, a gift shop, a few spa/salons - all local.  Most of the businesses here are local and not many malls can say that.

The third thing that happened was we received a nice thank you gift from a Michigan based company we order our albums from called Finao (the link is to their blog and much of it is targeted at their clients who are professional photography studios like us - lots of shop talk).  This made us feel great and appreciated - this company really gets it.  A very inspiring move on their part.  It makes us happy to do business with such a great company and it gives us even greater comfort that they are based in Michigan and everything they produce is made from stuff made in the USA.  This is not by accident - we have always made a point of using local vendors for the business wherever possible and most of our vendors - our framer, our printer, our canvas folks and many others are based in Michigan.

So, I suppose if I had to give myself a grade with an "A" representing a full commitment to spending as many of my dollars as possible with local businesses (within reason), and being conscious of it whenever I make my choices of what to purchase, I would probably give myself a "B".  I can do better.  What about you?

Samira's Baking Journey

We've had the good fortune to be called upon for some very interesting photo shoots over the years and we thought it would be fun to share some "frameable things" - not just faces...  

So cue the music - "These are a few of our frameable things....."

You've probably seen or heard us gushing about Samira Cholagh and her cookbooks, one of which (Treasured Middle Eastern Cookbook) is available at our studio here in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield.  We met Samira in 2009 as she was working extremely hard on her third book, and she needed someone to photograph the dishes she was going to feature.  A special friendship was born (Believe that - Doug and food?  Do you know Doug?) as we spent a good chunk of that summer at Samira's home photographing and eating.  It was incredible - this book focuses mostly on baking so we were eating pies, tarts, pastries, and cookies pretty much daily.....  oy.   Samira is the genuine article - sweet, generous, full of life, and her recipes are fantastic.  We think the Food Network needs to discover her and have a show that focuses on middle eastern cuisine.  Indeed, her show Samira's Kitchen can be seen on MEA TV & Radio every Thursday at 7:00 PM and you can go to her YouTube channel or Middle Eastern American TV & Radio for more details.

We were very excited to see Samira on Detroit's Fox 2 News again yesterday morning doing a cooking demonstration and promoting the new book A Baking Journey, and you can watch the clip from the show right HERE from the myFOXdetroit website!

Meanwhile here are 4 photographs we took which appear in Samira's book!

Yes - this is what we did with our summer that year....

Pineapple and coconut - one of Doug's favorites from the book...

Beautiful - and yummy... 

The fig pie is incredible - Doug's other favorite - we just made this one ourselves a few weeks ago...

Blogging Revisited

So.....  we had a meeting with my friend and new guru Melissa Brodsky this morning and I am very excited!  You see, Missy is an incredible and very accomplished writer and blogger and she knows her way around social media.  I've mentioned her blog www.rockanddrool.com before and if you don't follow it then you can't be my friend anymore.  Okay maybe that was a little strong.  But you really should check it out - it's fantabulous.

As most of you know I spend a lot of time updating our facebook pages and scouring the web for cool content that I think y'all will enjoy and get some use from.  I tweet, I set us up with a page on LinkedIn and connect with people there, I've got Frameable Faces going on Foursquare, Yelp, YouTube......

It's now time to revisit and take our blog seriously.

Little by little our online presence has morphed and grown quite a bit and this blog will once again become an important piece to the puzzle that should allow us a more robust platform and outlet for our creative energies (read - Doug can write and post more stuff), help us expand our reach, and help tie the strategy together.

All of those details might not mean a ton to all of you, but I know there are a decent number of frameables who are into this subject and regardless we just like to let you know what we're doing and why.  The blog gives us some additional flexibility and another way to build relationships online.  We will continue to post on facebook and we will let you know when there is something to see here (which will be often) and we will ask you to continue to leave your comments, feedback, questions and come along for the ride!  Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!  The frameables are the reason we are here and we look forward to giving back to you!

Elements by Frameable Faces Photography

Frameable Faces is excited and proud to introduce Elements by Frameable Faces! Elements are perfect for your photographic needs “in between” the milestones. With Elements you will work with Miss Angela Bell, the newest member of the Frameable Faces family. Angela is a young and talented photographer with a superb eye and a sweet personality. You will love her, and you can watch an interview with Angela at www.youtube.com/frameablefaces! With Elements you can have a basic session - one outfit, one backdrop, minimal time investment, and a small but complete portfolio of prints or digital images sized 8x10 or smaller. Basic Elements, wonderful results, memories captured in the way you have come to expect from Frameable Faces Photography.

Frameable Food at Zoe's House of Pancakes!

Anyone who has spent considerable time at Frameable Faces knows that we are total foodies and it's not uncommon for there to be food in the studio - lots of food. So when we had the opportunity to photograph the new menu items at Zoe's House Of Pancakes here at The Orchard Mall we salivated at the opportunity (pun intended). What a morning that was - photographing and feasting for hours until we couldn't move. Flash forward a few months and the new menu is official with our images gracing the cover and the back! As for the food, I truly believe Zoe's has elevated their game significantly with the new items. Zoe's has always been a very good breakfast joint with a really good whole wheat pancake option, some yummy specialty items like pumpkin pancakes, the chicken pomodoro omelete and they've always had good lunch too. However in my opinion they have become the premier breakfast option on the block with the new items they have added. My favorite is the Chilaquiles - tortillas, chicken, and salsa verde on top of hash browns and cheese with scrambled eggs on top - soooo good. The Huevos Rancheros is great too - love the latin flavor choices! As for the pancakes - Red Velvet Pancakes!!! They are quite delectable and I've never seen these anywhere before. The carrot cake pancakes are unique too, and the very berry cream cheese stuffed french toast is out of this world. Yes I've tried all of these already - all in one morning actually.... (oy). This morning we went there and I ordered the Chilaquiles since that was the one I remembered being the most excited about and it was as good as I remembered. Meanwhile I'm always on the lookout for a good Maurice salad for lunch and they have now added that as well. It's very exciting for me to be able to walk down the hall and get one - haven't tried that yet but I will report back once I do! Conclusion: Eat at Zoe's - and then come by and say hello after you do!

- Doug

Google gets "image conscious" - Here's a fun game - wanna play?

Google recently updated the Google "images" search engine, and since I spend a decent amount of time on the Internet researching new ideas for Frameable Faces Photography, checking out blogs, and yes - finding artwork to fill in my cover flow blanks in my iTunes using Google images, it occurred to me that while I don't think I love the new "images" format so much it could make for a very fun game to pass around...

Go to google, click on images in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and google yourself. The game is to find out 1) how many images show up in the results before you actually see a picture of yourself, 2) what is the picture of you a picture from, and 3) what is the most ridiculous image or images that appear in the results before you actually show up? This could be fun to do on facebook and feel free to tag 5 friends to see what their results are... In Frameable Faces terminology I guess you could say that this is Google's search engine measure of how Frameable you are? I showed up in the 38th image in a picture from my 20th high school reunion with Julie (Garczynski) Lewis and Amy (Meneilley) Bloom. No idea how that showed up as the best result of me on the web - quite random... although I could have done much worse than being displayed with two beautiful girls! Oh and there was a picture of Gollum from Lord Of The Rings and one of Dick Cheney before they actually got to me.... Yeah yeah I know - I look a little like Gollum I'm sure. Save your comments... :-)

Have fun!!!!

- Doug

Frameable Faces - What's In A Name?

For some time Ally went by "Allyson Cohen Photography" before changing the name to Frameable Faces Photography. At the risk of sounding a little corny, Frameable Faces for us genuinely means many things and we thought we would share...

Community

It's not just about Ally which is one of the reasons the change was made in the first place. Frameable Faces is a place - it's a physical studio and a business true, but it only works because it's more than that. It is really a community - all of you! The smiling and frameable faces of the people who pass in front of Ally's lens make up Frameable Faces Photography. You are all a part of it and it wouldn't exist without you. You ARE the frameable faces.

Lifestyle

Sure we take pictures and capture memories here, but we try to promote the idea that being "frameable" is an attitude and even a lifestyle. People are here because they live life to the fullest - otherwise they wouldn't be looking to have it photographed. Sometimes people walk through our doors hesitantly - they don't think they are photogenic. Those people deserve a lot of credit for overcoming their doubts and getting in front of the camera, and they end up discovering how frameable they really are. Is your attitude, your family, your life, your smile, your face worth displaying on a wall (or on a purse or in an album)?

Fun

We think the name is fun. It makes us smile, and taking pictures should be fun. We even think our little flower in the logo is fun (don't ask us how it evolved into our little trademark symbol because we're not really sure - but it seems to fit). We enjoy meeting so many wonderful people and getting to know our peeps, staying in touch, watching their children grow and celebrating life's milestones. Sometimes it's downright hilarious (like when a newborn baby poops on Ally).

So there you have it. Yep - it's sugary sweet but it is what it is!

Top 6 things I've learned about facebook (mostly in the past week)

So it's social right? Demented and sad, but social. Okay so it's not really demented and sad, but I watched The Breakfast Club twice in the last week and I just needed an excuse to use that line - maybe my next post will be my top 10 favorite lines from that movie...but I digress... The topic for this blog post is facebook - the most popular social media site on the Internet. Actually it's the most popular site period - overtaking Google last week for the number one spot.

You have probably noticed that we launched a new facebook page this week, and there are many reasons for that. I've been doing a lot of research and and I thought I would share a list of 6 important tidbits I've picked up in my research that we've applied to our own web presence:

1. There is a HUGE difference between a facebook group and a facebook page (or public profile depending on what they are calling it this week). Bottom line - a page is best for your small business if you are a business owner and/or are authorized to create a page for your employer as the facebook administrator. NOT a group.

2. Pages are searchable outside of facebook. Groups are not. That's just one of many reasons to stick with the page.

3. Every page you manage can have its own facebook URL. It's simple - just go to www.facebook.com/username and choose "Set a user name for your pages". The rest is self explanatory. Ours is www.facebook.com/frameablefaces. Please become a fan and suggest the page to your friends (especially if you live in the Metro Detroit area)!

4. App developers charge more than I expected for facebook page design.

5. www.allfacebook.com is a great blog for all things facebook

6. Most "social media experts" will tell you that having a social media presence is critical and that facebook is probably not enough, but trying to have a presence on every single social media site is too much and to "just make sure you are where your customers are". I agree with them on all counts. We stick to facebook, twitter, YouTube, the blog you are reading now, and our official website.

This barely scratches the surface. Part of the genius of facebook is that it's a platform that everyone can use - from the Internet and computer novice to the most advanced developer, and it's constantly changing - they are tweaking features (many of which the average person won't notice) on a daily basis. It's incredibly powerful, incredibly complex, and yet incredibly simple to use all at the same time. You can gain much on a personal level and you cannot afford not to use it for your business - end of story. If you are a small business and don't have a social media presence you will likely be left in the dust...