Esther - Personal branding portraits

What makes personal branding sessions different than a traditional headshot?
Great question, I’m so glad you asked.

The short answer is that it’s more. It’s more personality, more lifestyle, more of what you do, and less of just you standing in front of a paper backdrop.
Esther for example (great name by the way) reached out to me for a personal branding session because she was starting off on a new chapter of her professional life, and wanted visual assets to represent and support that. She needed something that was the perfect balance of approachable, authoritative and badass, and she absolutely nailed it.

Anyone with an online presence can benefit from personal branding, whether they’re an entrepreneur, leadership figure, or just want to be more intentional social media.

I hope Esther being a boss makes your day a little better!

Kelsey - Rosé styled portraits

Have you ever been presented with a bottle of Pino Grigio so vibey it prompts an entire styled portrait session?
Same. That’s how we began looking for the perfect summer evening to bring out the wine and Trader Joe’s flower stems, and get shooting.
Kelsey was my model, and the original plan was to photograph primarily in her boyfriend’s beautifully restored vintage boat. In classic “best-laid-plans” fashion however, upon arrival to the location, we found the boat launch area of the lake was covered completely in a thick mysterious layer of green goo (??). We’re all used to being flexible at this point, and we made it work with the props we brought in the sunniest spot we could find, and I will admit the photos still make me want to pour a glass whenever I see them.

Rosé picnic season is right around the corner, but in the meantime, hopefully these photos get you through the last of winter!

Lori - Color theory portraits

I don’t always do passion projects, but when I do, it’s pretty much always with awesome people.

I’ve been wanting to photograph color theory portraits for some time, and I could not have had a more perfect model for the teal/orange theme than Lori. I’ve become kind of obsessed lately with backdrops where they don’t belong in the world, so we met in a big ol’ field at Bow in the Clouds Preserve in Kalamazoo, and had plenty of strange looks from the parking lot as I assembled the setup equivalent of a traffic cone.

Lori is also an incredible photographer, and I’m always honored as heck whenever someone trusts me enough to step to the other side of the camera.

Always remember to take time to experiment!

Em and Bryant - Kalamazoo maternity photography

One of my favorite things about photography is the ability to build friendships and follow people through important stages of their lives.
These two are no exception. I’ve known Em for years, and when she and Bryant got engaged, I had the honor of being the one to follow them around Al Sabo land preserve with a camera and a celebratory bottle of Bell’s Wedding Ale.
Now their family is growing again, and that calls for more following them around the woods with a camera (no beer this time, because…. maternity photos.)
We chose the Kalamazoo Nature center for this March portrait session. Not only is it absolutely full of natural beauty, but it holds a pretty fond spot in the hearts of their whole family. They are people who set such an example of appreciating the outdoors with their little ones, and I’m such a fan.

Congratulations again you two!

Emily - Downtown Kalamazoo editorial portrait photography

This is not the first or the last time Emily Crombez is going to make an appearance on the blog.
I got to know her through mutual connections in the photography world, and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to call her a genuine friend. This chick can absolutely kill a pose (Like, the evidence is below) but is also a mad talented photographer and ambitious entrepreneur. She builds up other women like no one’s business, and I will jump at the chance to create something together, always.

We wanted this shoot to showcase Emily’s more editorial posing, so a classic black and white with loads o’ contrast is exactly where my mind went. Downtown Kalamazoo has no end to great textures and urban landscape, which is important when your model is particularly climb-y.

Thanks for being amazing as always Emily!

Jenna - Kalamazoo senior photographer

“Jenna is hoping for something a little different than the standard downtown senior photos” is absolutely music to my ears.

I have a mental stash of bold, colorful backdrops to match unique personalities, so we did a tour of some of my favorite Kalamazoo locations (KIK pool and Vine neighborhood) before ending with the best golden hour at Asylum Lake Preserve.

Even though it was what could be described as “dramatically breezy” that day, we dragged strobe lighting with us through most of it, and it was so worth it.

Congratulations Jenna, I hope you share your awesome smile everywhere you go!

Annika - Senior portraits

I’ve had the pleasure of shooting Annika several times over the past few years, and it’s an absolute pleasure every time.
This time, it’s because this stunner is graduating! It may not be the senior year she was expecting, but she’s taken everything 2020 has thrown at her and is still smiling.
Annika wanted a mix of urban and natural photos, so we started in downtown Kalamazoo and traced a great walking path of photo locations until we were completely rained out and had to postpone the other half of the portraits for another day.
I’m petty thrilled we did, because the second day was nothing but golden sun and good vibes! I took them over to Bow in the Clouds preserve just a short hop away from downtown, but feels like an entirely different planet.

Thanks for being awesome Annika, keep on shining!

A quarantine birthday party - Kalamazoo studio portraits (and photography giveaway notice)

I think we all know at this point that due to the whole COVID-19 situation we’re in, that quite a few birthdays in spring of 2020 are not exactly what we were expecting them to be.
As a human being that loves people, but typically opts for social distance activities on my April birthday (Hammocking, eating charcuterie, petting dogs, etc.) rather than a big party, I didn’t expect many of my plans to change. But the mood certainly did.
It’s so important to be doing what we can to keep others safe at this time, and staying home and distancing is so appreciated by those who don’t have that choice. That being said, I have missed the absolute heck out of shooting! So, I did what any photographer with a tripod, an indoor studio, and a bottle of wine would do: I hosted by own quarantine birthday party.

First of all, if you want to replicate the vintage party vibes, grab that handy 1/2 pro mist filter, and some iridescent cellophane. If you don’t have the filter, a little Vaseline around the edges of your lens is a classic standby to get those bloomy highlights. I also had some pink and coral gels to compliment the foreground, feel free to mess around with whatever color scheme suits your fancy.

Second of all, this mini self-portrait shoot was exactly what my heart needed, and I cannot wait to get back into the world of documenting lovely people. Which brings me to the fun part…

So many incredible humans have given up their birthday celebration this year to keep others safe, and that’s beautiful and worth recognizing. So here’s the Stay-at-home birthday giveaway!
If you or someone you know had their birthday effected by the pandemic in any way, drop their name on Facebook or Instagram and two people will be randomly chosen to be gifted an entire photo shoot to be redeemed safely at a later date this year. Studio, headshots, stylized, outdoor, whatever. Their choice entirely, and their day to celebrate.
The winners don’t have to be a fan of either page to win, and I’ll be choosing one winner from Facebook and one from Instagram, so feel free to throw the same name out twice! Here are the links that matter:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/entradaphotography

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/entradaphotography

Thanks for being fabulous Michigan, see you soon.

Nicole - Kalamazoo studio portraits

Michigan winter is kind of an odd beast from a photography perspective. On one hand, you can’t feel your feet for several months and the sun might not show itself for three weeks at a time. On the other hand, snowy engagement sessions are amazing, and the frigid weather is the perfect opportunity to utilize cool lighting and indoor locations! Our Kalamazoo studio ends up being my cold weather sanctuary most of the time, and the coffee is always flowing.

Nicole is not only an awesome model, but an incredible person as well. I’ve known her for years, our first shoot together taking place in 2016. Nicole is consistently stunning, and my work has been through quite an evolution since then. She came to me with a portrait concept and then just let me go crazy with experiments and camera tricks. It was a refreshing shoot and a great time featuring gels, shutter drags, and Butter’s the cowboy corgi.