SoMinn Photography & Design

04/10/2024

04/10/2024

I am the absolute worst at posting my goings-on and other such updates, but after this last weekend's photoshoots, I just have to share samples from this latest body of work.
I spent a long time designing a new lighting setup that would allow me to shoot both in a high-key/light and airy tone for the younger kids, as well as a deeper and more dramatic mood for the older dancers. The switch-over between the two systems takes about ten seconds, and I'm pretty proud of that trick.
Anyway, I think the results speak for themselves.

02/14/2024

Artist's Reception tomorrow evening!
If you're in the area, feel free to stop by the Arts Guild UP Gallery between 6:15pm and 8pm on Thursday, February 15.

Northfield Arts Guild UP Gallery:
304 DIVISION STREET S., NORTHFIELD, MN 55057

Artist's Reception for photographer Kent McInnis presents his newest photo series expanding pastoral landscapes by incorporating modern elements to reflect the complex layers shaping rural environments today.
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This activity is made possible through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council in cooperation with a private foundation.

05/03/2023

I think this means I'm "Northfield Famous" now.

After local photographer Kent McInnis received grant money from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, SEMAC, he had barely deposited the check before blowing it all on a new camera.

03/08/2021

There are so many things in the past year that can leave even the toughest of us feeling frustrated and wondering what, if anything, we can do to help make things better.
For as much work as it is to complete Liberty Hill Foundation's Impact Report every year, I can only feel grateful to have a platform wherein I can use my talents to strive for a better tomorrow.
For those unfamiliar with LHF, they are a non-profit organization that finds, funds and fosters the next generation of non-profit activist organizations throughout Los Angeles. LHF literally puts their money where their mouth is, and fights hard to ensure the injustices we face today don't spoil the promise of a better tomorrow. I've had the pleasure of designing their annual Impact Report for the the past three years, and it is always inspiring to see what they have accomplished.
I've been done with this project for a while now, but haven't been able to post anything until Liberty Hill went live with the work. I've included a few sample spreads below. If you want to learn more about Liberty Hill Foundation, and/or view the entire impact report, check out this link: https://www.libertyhill.org/impact.

03/07/2021

Professional Drive Dental - Staff Portraits
Not only are these the people I trust with my family's dental health, but they are an absurdly photogenic group!
Due to scheduling, we weren't able to do all the photos in just one day. PDD and I worked out a plan that would allow me to take the photos over three morning sessions, while keeping my lighting and backdrop in place for all three days. This allowed the client to save on set-up charges, and helped keep the photos super-consistent.

03/07/2021

Alaimo Family Photo Session
The key to great family photos is to making the session light-hearted and fun!

03/07/2021

Oh yeah, did you know I do product photography, too??

03/07/2021

I recently did individual and group portraits for the attorneys at SODLaw in downtown Northfield. When I entered the space there was no question where the photos should be taken. That wall of books has to be 10'x15', at least...
But the space wasn't without its challenges. While the conference room was beautiful, figuring out how to light it was a real bear. I've included one uncropped (and unretouched) photo in the album below, and you can see the entrance to the room is a choke point which did not allow me to much space to light the subjects in a flattering way. (i.e. - keeping the lights from being positioned head-on.) But the solution to that problem created a second issue: It flooded the whole room with the same light intensity, which would lead to very flat images.
After fiddling with it for a while, I realized the solution was quite simple. I put a "kicker" in the room at a 45 degree angle to the wall of books and pumped the power waaay up. That way, there was so much light hitting the books, the the other light's bleeding in didn't matter so much, and then set my exposure to accommodate those settings. After that, it was a simple matter of massaging the portrait lights in a way that separated the clients from the background.
Of course, the specular highlight on the books' spines created yet another problem! (Usually those sharp points of reflected light ARE the issue, but I thought it was a great texture in this context. But the problem was those little shiny points kept tricking my camera's autofocus to the wrong point, and so I had to wade through a lot of great poses which sadly ended up too soft to use.
In the end, though, I was able to get a strong portfolio of tack-sharp images from which my clients could pick their favorites. I love how the images turned out, and while it didn't seem fun at the time, in retrospect, I really enjoyed the challenge that space provided.

02/20/2020

Psst! It's not just for dancers! Contact me, or just stop by the Northfield Dance Studios during walk-in hours this Sunday!