Jan Kentala Photography

Baby Wyatt

Molly Broman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:06:27 +0000

I’ve known Abbi and Cory for years. Back in junior high, Abbi being a Kenner and me being a Kentala, we were always seated right next to each other in classes. Cory I met in high school through my then-boyfriend’s group of friends, and he came to the studio senior year for our prom group’s photo shoot before the big dance. Imagine my delight when years later, Cory emails me to tell me they’re expecting and they want me to photograph their newborn baby!

I had the day penciled in on my calendar for quite some time, but as is the case with many first-born babies, Wyatt was days late. I stalked both Abbi and Cory’s Facebook pages, eagerly awaiting the news. Finally, he arrived the evening of January 8 and we quickly scheduled a photo shoot for the following week.

We got some fabulous shots of baby Wyatt, as well as some great ones with the new mom and dad, too. Throughout the entire photo shoot, Wyatt was happy as a clam, never crying once, even after outfit change after outfit change. What a champ! You know, I think someone has a career in modeling ahead of them…

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Molly Broman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:17:34 +0000

I met Liz Orenstein during my first week in the dorm at the University of Minnesota. Little did I know that we would become best friends, roommates for 3 years and–eventually–the maid of honor at each other’s wedding!

Liz as my maid of honor at my May 2009 wedding

A job transfer took Liz to the east coast in 2009. She met Corey Cohen the next year, a New Jersey native. They recently moved to Morganville, New Jersey, which is about an hour commute from New York City. Their wedding and reception next June wil be held at The Palace at Somerset Park.

Last week, I spent four days visiting with Liz and Corey, doing some intensive wedding activities/planning. We visited the Palace, which I was very interested to see because besides being the matron of honor, I will also be her photographer along with my mom! Wow–what a gorgeous venue for a wedding. My mom and I are always happy wedding photographers when we have the bonus of an incredible site to photograph in!

The Palace at Somerset Park

The foyer where Liz and Corey's ceremony will take place

Their gorgeous reception room

Liz and Corey were back in Minnesota in August, a perfect time of year for outdoor engagement photos in the gardens at the studio. My mom remarked that they were quite the happy, blissful couple which is what makes engagement photography so much fun!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you both next June!

Autumn Engagement Session

Jan Kentala — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:09:27 +0000

When Sarah first emailed me and requested an outdoor engagement session on November 5th or 12, I thought “no way will it still be nice outdoors”. Wrong! Last Saturday was very windy but it was a beautiful sunny mild day. True, many of the trees had already shed their leaves, but there are always a few stragglers with some remaining color. And, this fall season has lasted longer than usual.

So off we went to Alimagnet Park in Burnsville with Sarah and Mike and their dog Kodiak , a beautiful 3 year old golden retriever that they’ve had since “ Kodi” was an 8 week old puppy. Kodi was instrumental in Mike’s proposal: Mike attached the ring box to Kodi’s collar AND Kodi is going to be their ring bearer next year!

Sarah and Mike grew up in lower Michigan and are getting married there next fall. In fact, Mike graduated from Michigan Tech – the same college my husband Mike and I got our bachelors degrees from! Sarah graduated from Northern Michigan University. When they get married next fall, they will have been dating for 9 years! Yes – they started dating in high school

Personalize Your Photo Shoot

Jan Kentala — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:17:16 +0000

We are always encouraging seniors to bring personalized items to their photo shoot. A good senior session should include photos that tell us something about their life: hobbies, talents, pets, interests, activities, etc. Another great add on is to go to a “custom location”: a cool spot that hopefully no one else has discovered or used for their senior pictures. Last week, I went to Aaron’s home on the lake out in Prior Lake. We went out on the lake and took some photos with his boat and wakeboard. (Yes, I tried to encourage him to get in the water, but we were doing their family photo immediately after and he didn’t want to be “all wet”. Plus, that was the day with 50 mph wind gusts!)

If you are a junior reading this and will be here next year for senior pictures, I challenge you now to keep an eye out for a custom location that will add a special meaning or memory to your photos. Yes, there is a location fee, but the one-of-a kind photos are worth the added cost. One senior girl wanted a photo with her horse in a field and, near that field, there was an old rusted abandonned car that ended up being equally photo worthy.

Here are some of the personalized photos we’ve taken this year for the Class of 2012. My favorite has got to be the wildflower field!

what bees?

Spencer's tap shoes

cutest dog award

her helmet is signed by Brett! I tried trading for some photos.... no deal

a fun assignment for me - I got to go boating

we love it when girls bring their gorgeous prom dresses

we bring cars down to the pond park on our street

Cody strings lacrosse racquets for a job

Mike and Emily’s engagement session

Jan Kentala — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:37:47 +0000

I have known Mike since he was in elementary school – in the same grade and on the same sports teams as my son, Jack. And I met Emily when she came to our studio for her senior pictures.
Mike and Emily were “high school sweethearts” at Burnsville High School and have dated for 9 years. I will be photographing their wedding next July, 2012. It is really amazing to me how many couples’ weddings we photograph who have been together since high school. It is about one third of our weddings!
I really enjoy engagement sessions: it gives me alot of information about how the couple interacts and what type of photographs suit them. Mike and Emily laughed throughout their entire session – it was nearly impossible to do a “serious” pose! The CD they will receive with all their session images features many, many laughing and goofing around shots
Here is a sample of their session, and I even included the ONE serious and ONE traditional pose…. It will be alot of fun photographing this couples’ wedding!

Basketball Challenge

Jan Kentala — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:49:02 +0000

Tyler plays basketball for Lakeville North, but has played all around the country in the past few years. When he came for senior pictures, his mom said they really wanted to emphasize the basketball photos. They brought some examples of shots they found on the internet. I always love it when people bring different ideas: we can add them to our repertoire if we like them! These, added to our favorite poses, gave Tyler quite a collection to choose from (and these are not all of them!)

Tyler has a “seven foot wingspan”. Whoa! When you add the two basketballs, we needed to use our widest 10 foot background!

Here are some of my favorite shots from his session. Jack and I used several different Photoshop effects to add contrast, depth, and “attitude”.

Alecia and Richard 08.06.11

Jan Kentala — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:35:37 +0000

The storms that were predicted for Saturday did not occur, which was a lucky thing for Alecia and Richard’s outdoor ceremony at the Eagan Community Center. However, the occasional ominous clouds provided a pretty backdrop for some of the photos!

The temps were in the high 80′s with a dewpoint in the 70′s. The guys in their black tuxes were really good sports about taking all the outdoor photos – we kept them mostly in the shade! The ceremony was a different story…. But it only made it that much more enjoyable when everyone got to go inside to the 20 degree cooler air conditioned reception. yaay.

Richard and Alecia, who met 4 years ago while working at Hollister, were the happiest, cutest couple! This was evident at the “checklist” meeting the previous Tuesday where they both excitedly shared all the details about their upcoming wedding. I took their engagement photos a year ago, and they were very happy that the wedding date was finally upon us!

Alecia’s primary goal was to have beautiful wedding photos and a custom designed Italian album. With both Molly and I shooting the “stills” and Jack shooting video, they will ALSO have a fabulous “fusion” slideshow that will blend the photos and video. Look for a “sneak peek” slideshow on this site in about two weeks.

Richard with his three brothers. Christopher was his best man and the two youngest were the ring bearers.

this is my "must have" shot at every wedding!

Happy Baby

Jan Kentala — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:11:34 +0000

I have been photographing the Harrod family (with FIVE sisters) for many years, including the three youngest girls’ senior pictures. There is a new addition to the family – a BOY! His mom and dad just recently moved from Shanghai to the Bahamas and they were in town for a quick visit. So it was time for an updated family photo with new baby/nephew/grandson Jonas.

I have NEVER photographed an 8 month old who smiled for the entire time he was photographed! (Well, he actually slept the first half hour). His mom told me that he LOVES being photographed and would smile and I thought, “hmmm, right. We’ll see about that”. Seriously, the moment I picked up the camera after arranging the group, Jonas began SMILING! And he didn’t stop! All I had to do was squeak his toy giraffe or call his name and his adorable face was wreathed in smiles. He is the cutest baby I have ever seen!

I would set up shop as a full-time baby photographer if they were all this happy!

My favorite photos are Jonas surrounded by his mom and 4 aunts (I called it the Jonas Sandwich) and also the one where he was gazing at his grandfather. (I was told he was a little intimidated by men with beards, but – though he didn’t smile – he did NOT cry).

my favorite: a "Jonas Sandwich" !

awwww!

“Trash the Dress” Session

Jan Kentala — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:45:10 +0000

Oh my gosh – I’ve been wanting to do a “trash the dress” photo shoot FOREVER. Somehow, all my brides are reluctant to do this! So I was estatic when Olivia showed up for her outdoor session with her prom dress in tow and told me “I don’t care what happens to it now”.

“Are you willing to sit on the waterfall with it?”, I asked her. Beter than this, she said she would go IN the pond with it!

When she got out of the water, I cautiously eyed all the tuilling to make sure there weren’t any fish caught in it. Whew – safe.

I love all these shots. And had fun doing some different Photoshop effects on them. Thanks for being the best sport, Olivia!

Friends Forever

Jan Kentala — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:40:43 +0000

Trey and his friends go way back. They’ve been on many basketball, football, and hockey teams together. They wanted to have a special photo shoot to commemorate their friendship as they are all now seniors playing together for probably their last year. Trying to find a date when these eight guys were available was quite the challenge! Then Trey’s mom had a great idea: what if the moms came and we did a group photo? We all know how much time, love, encouragement, and enthusiasm the moms have spent watching their sons’ games over the years. (Oh yeah – and driving!) As a former “hockey mom”, I also can identify with the bittersweet emotions you go through during their last year playing a sport. You realize how much you are going to miss the camaraderie and social life that is an extension of your child playing on a team.

So it was fitting that we made this photo session happen. Afterwards, I joked that they all should go out to dinner dressed alike. “Oh no”, Sheila (Trey’s mom) said, “the dads are barbequeing for us tonight”. Fun!