CELEBRATE THE MOMENTS

Senior Reps Are Back!!

Every year we do a senior rep program here at the studio.  We hand-pick a few fabulous juniors to represent Momento in their schools.  We photograph these kids in the spring of their junior year so that they can take their images and show them to their graduating class.  Then in the summer they come back in for the "real" senior portraits.  I am always excited to shoot the sessions for the senior reps because on their first session, it is a chance for me to play and try new things out for the upcoming senior season....and on their second session, we have already gotten to know each other so it is fun to joke around and see what each senior has been up to since the last time they were in.  We appreciate how hard our reps work for us!!!

Here are a few images from our reps second sessions....not all our reps have been in for their second sessions, so the rest will have to come later, but for now...here's Nick, Maddie, Kalle, Brendan, Elizabeth, and Shawn.

       

Joy Loves Shooting Seniors

Here at Momento, we have a great team of girls working for us and both Joy and Kristina are having a blast this year photographing our Back to Basic sessions.  Here are a few of Joy's images from recent senior sessions....

Joy says...

The best part about shooting seniors is having the opportunity to spend a couple hours with inspired people.  Seniors are so excited about their future and I love it.  Here are a few favs of my recent seniors Nick and Jessica.  Thanks for being so fun to photograph!  Best of luck to you guys this year.  (Jessica, send us some love every now and then from Pittsburgh).

More Senior Favorites

Seniors, Seniors, Seniors!  Here are a few of my favorite high school senior images so far this summer.

   

 

A Wine Country Wedding

Over the 4th of July, I got to witness a whole different kind of fireworks when my good friend Adina married her soulmate Mark.  I've known Adina and her family for years and it was truly a gorgeous event and one of most fun weddings I've been to in a very long time.  We spent the day before the wedding wine tasting in Amador County, touring the beautiful vineyards, scoping locations for wedding portraits the next day, and tasting all the fabulous wines.  I spent extra time and made a trip out of the holiday weekend, touring Sacramento and San Fransisco with good friends.  Here are a few images of the beautiful couple.

A little love in the barrel room at Montevina Vineyard....

The beautiful walls of Villa Tuscana Vineyard...

Back to Young's Vineyard where the wedding took place...

Cheers!!!

A dance for Dr. Miller and daddy's little girl....

Congratulations Mark and Adina on a beautiful event and a beautiful life. 

World Traveling - A Rare Opportunity

     A few months ago, a good photography friend of mine, Tom Bagby, called to ask me if I'd like to do some traveling.  Tom makes a mission trip with his church every year to a small orphanage in Guatemala and Miriam, the first girl to ever be taken in at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage was getting married and Tom wanted to do something special for her.  Miriam was the first girl to graduate their program, the first to get married.  The trip was scheduled for a particular busy time of year for me, but is one of those things you just CAN'T say no to.....so of course I said YES!  We had an awesome time at the wedding, and we had the opportuny to travel the countryside as well.  It was such a rare opportunity to see such a beautiful, remote, part of the world.  It certainly gave me a new respect for all the gifts I have in my life.  The people, the surroundings, the culture...it was all such a breathtaking experience. 

     The people who have established the orphanage are a special kind of angel.  For more information on the girl's home itself, check out their website at http://www.shadowofhiswingsorphanage.org/

     Here are a few images of the people and the country...

 

Urban Seniors

Our High School Senior season is definitely upon us!  This year we have added a session called the "Urban Session" and it has quickly become my favorite session to photograph!  For our Urban Sessions, we start with an outfit or two in the studio, and then we head out to an urban location, like downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul, Uptown, or a number of other locations I have scoped out.  I am having so much fun with these sessions because they allow me to get out and do all sorts of fun unique images....graffiti, alleys, little nooks and crannies that just look awesome in images! I love exploring and finding fun new stuff I've never photographed before.  Here are a few images from some recent Urban Sessions.

Miss Annie is getting MARRIED!!!!

Wow.  It has been awhile since I have blogged, but I just couldn't help myself today....I just finished photographing engagement portraits for my good friend Anne and her fiance Josh.  Annie and I have been friends for YEARS now, roommates for a time, and we have both come a long way in our lives!  It was really fun today to get to know Josh better and see how great he is to my friend.  Josh and Anne are really fun to photograph....not only are they into each other, but they are the kind of clients who just say, "Jen, do what you do, we trust you."  Those are always my favorite photo shoots because I get to play and try new things.  We started in the studio and then headed out to Josh's parent's farm to photograph the two of them with some vintage cars that Josh's dad restores.  Congratulations guys....can't WAIT for the WEDDING!!!!

 

New Studio Update....We have BRICK!

Not only do we have brick, we also have paint and some tile!  We are still waiting on our fabulous Faux painting to be done in the front entry, but we are moving fast now!  This is such a whirlwind experience!  I am in LOVE with the doors and the BRICK in my shooting room....WHO GETS TO HAVE BRICK IN THEIR SHOOTING ROOM!?!?!?!?! :)

And my office...

The presentation room....

View of the front reception area from the presentation room...

Front of our new home...

 

Our sign will be making the move with us....it is now over the door of our temporary spot.

It is so exciting to see all our plans come together bit by bit!!!

A Fine Frenzy

We had a great Girls Night Out this past Tuesday.  Kate, Joy, Kristina, JuliAnne, and myself hit the Varsity Theater to see the Fine Frenzy concert.  Kate is my business parter (as well as my partner in crime....aka, my alter-ego). Joy is my fabulous employee who is basically my right hand woman and my brain (because I often misplace my own brain). Kristina is our newest employee and she has quickly become a member of our little Momento family.  JuliAnne Jonker is a really great friend of mine, one of my greatest inspirations, and my adoptive Minnesota mom....check her out at www.jonkerportraitgallery.com ...her work is amazing.  It was so good to hang out with the girls and to see one of our favorite music groups.  A Fine Frenzy has such amazing soulful music.  We have been singing her song "Near to You" for the last year.   We we in the front row, actually LEANING ON THE STAGE!

Here's a few pics.

Just a little SPRING!

I spent last weekend in Kansas City With my good friend Scott enjoying....wait for it....70 degree weather!  After MONTHS of Minnesota cold, it was great to walk around downtown and get out of the house and enjoy some good weather for a change.  Also took a few snaps of Scott's son Reece while he hammed it up in the bathroom....he's such a FLIRT...but he's so cute he gets away with it!!!!

Here's Reece giving me some funny faces...

And just a few from Downtown KC...

   

On the way home, I ran smack into Minnesota/Iowa winter again, driving through rain and ice at 20 MPH for 2 hours!!!  UGH!!!  So much for spring....guess I'll have to wait a while longer for it to get to me up here in the tundra. :)