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

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.

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!

I know it's only the middle of February

But it's time to start thinking about Mother's Day! Yeah, yeah, I know Valentine's Day was just yesterday, but it's never too early to start thinking of Mom.

You know, that awesome lady that went through countless hours of painstakingly difficult labor? The one who kissed your boo-boos, let you sleep in her bed when you had a bad dream and rubbed your back when you were up puking in the middle of the night. And even kissed you afterwards! Yeah, that one.

She's a pretty special lady...and we're totally honoring her this year at Frameable Faces. What mom wouldn't love something so special that it was designed completely for her??? I'm talking super great, over the top THANK-YOU-SO-MUCH-YOU'RE-MY-FAVORITE-CHILD-OH-MY-GOSH-YOU-SHOULDN'T-HAVE good.

We've decided to offer our Gina Alexander custom handbags to you, our amazing clients (and clients-to-be) at a 15% discount for Mother's Day. Book your photo session early since these bags are truly custom made and can take up to 8-10 weeks to create.

This promotion will only be running until Mother's Day, which is May 9, 2010. So, if you want the gift that will really keep on giving, book soon for delivery before Mother's Day.

Until next time,
Ally

HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!

So, I thought this posted late last week, but I guess it didn't! Things that make you go hmmmmm....!!!

So, I'm all about getting into the holiday spirit and I figure that there are probably a bunch of people who are just like me and are procrastinators when it comes to purchasing holiday gifts. So, in honor of those people, I'm happy to announce that Frameable Faces will be offering gift certificates as a holiday special! How are gift certificates special??? Well, I'm so glad you asked!

Until December 24 at 3 pm, for each $100 you purchase, we'll give you an additional $50! So you say you need to buy a gift for your mom who's only been asking you for 2 years for new pictures of your kids. Spend $100 on a gift certificate and we'll make it out for $150! Want to spend $200? Great! We'll make out a gift certificate for you for $300! Get it?

This is the best time to cash in on getting a photo session for you, your kids, grand kids, etc! And for all you ladies out there who have no idea of what to get that special someone in your life, how about purchasing a gift certificate for yourself, and booking an intimate, yet tastful, session for a little black book? Who wouldn't like THAT???

What are you waiting for??? Give us a call and get in on this one quickly! We'll post another fun special sometime before Christmas Eve, so make sure you check back in!

Until next time,
Ally