family photographer – Kansas City Photography

On-Location In Kansas City: Featuring West Bottoms!

February 1, 2018June 11, 2018 by Kcityphotography, posted in On-Location Series

Today, we’re here to bring you some historical urban jungle goodness!

West Bottoms is one of the oldest areas in Kansas City, located west of the newer downtown. Due to its atmosphere of rich culture and inner city vibes, it’s one of our top 10 favorite locations to shoot!

Whether it’s graffiti or just vibrant brick walls, there are so many epic backdrops to choose from!

It has so many great uses for photography. Especially for solitary photos like Halee’s senior photoshoot.

Halee chose this location for all of the fun pops of color. And it’s always a treat for us photographers because the graffiti is different every time! Seriously. We’ve never seen the same artwork twice!

Pleasing pops of color, exciting artwork, and a surprise at each brick wall you stumble across!

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Around every corner, there are unique doors and entryways. These are perfect for symbolizing your path opening up to the future, like Sydney and Zane wanted to portray with their engagement shoot.

And, of course, we are ALWAYS down for a location that’s pet friendly. <3

The contrast of the brick with the metal rust and pop of color of the gate is a prime example of how unique this locale is!

And we seriously could not do a blog on West Bottoms without featuring the inner-city junkie herself — our former photographer, Dawn!

During Dawn’s family photoshoot, her son Aidan proved that there’s always a new and exciting photo opportunity when he ran over to this random pile of tires!

So, there you have it! West Bottoms is a diverse location fit for pretty much anything! A solitary shoot to showcase some self accomplishments, celebrating an engagement, or exploring with family.

Book with us today and let’s go on an adventure downtown together!

Following ‘Duck-Ducks’ at Bass Pro! A Special Engagement Shoot!

October 19, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

Oh, hi! Tatiana on the blog scene to show you this special engagement shoot for Samantha and Zachary!

Now, I say special because this engagement shoot had a plus one — or rather, 2-year-old Louella! Look at how precious she is!!!

When I met with Sam and Zach for coffee to go over our wedding packages, they wanted to make sure little Louella could be a part of their engagement photos since she is such a huge part of their lives. Of couuuurse! No one could say no to that cute, little face!

Sam and Zach chose Bass Pro Waterfall Park for their location because they really wanted to incorporate a waterfall in their photos, along with the changing leaves of the season.

Unfortunately, Bass Pro was not on the same wave length and although the weather hasn’t quite turned, the waterfall was “turned off” for the winter.

Our walk to the waterfall, however, sparked Louella’s main interest: the “duck-ducks” — which were actually geese … but she was in the right ballpark.

As soon as she saw those little aquatic birdies down in the lake, she had forsaken the rock she was so desperately clinging to the whole shoot and tried to bolt!

Luckily, her parents were on it and swooped her up, just like I was on it to capture the only smile we could get out of her!

Toddlers are hard to please, but she was overjoyed to go down to see the geese.

One day she’ll grow up and realize they’re actually kind of mean, but until then … enjoy those “duck-ducks!”

Of course when she kept trying to dive in, her Aunt, who was on standby, took Louella to the play area.

Now, back to the happy couple!

Zach chose a beautiful ring with an amethyst-like stone as the gorgeous centerpiece.

Since purple is my favorite color, it’s automatically amazing in my book!

Zach proposed to Sam on Valentine’s Day. He was going to propose when he took her out to dinner that evening, but Sam said he got too nervous and instead proposed right there in the kitchen before they left! Isn’t that adorable?!

Sam and Zach met online via “Meet Me.” We have noticed more of our clients are finding true love on the web, like our Free Engagement Shoot winners!

And we just love love! <3

Since then, they’ve created a beautiful family together and have a wonderful wedding ahead of them — which they booked through us! We’re so excited!

See you again on the big day! <3

And we send you the biggest congratulations!

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I Crashed Into This Family’s Car — And Then Booked Their Photoshoot

August 28, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

WHAM!

That was Courtney’s first impression of me. Accidentally ramming into the back of her car with my own.

There I was, driving along Clayton Road in Chesterfield when my oldest, Lily, complained from the backseat: “I’m hottttt!”

I looked down to turn on the A/C. I look back up, and it turns out I missed the memo that everyone was slowing down.

I hit my brakes as hard as I could, buuuut I knew it was gonna happen: CRUNCH!

We pulled over, and Courtney was just the sweetest as I walked toward her apologetically. “They call it an accident for a reason!” she assured me.

But hey, a jumbled Prius turned out to be a blessing in a really ridiculous disguise.

World, meet Courtney — and her adorable family:

Somehow, me rear-ending this complete, but so, so sweet stranger — led to me taking her family photos!

We met this Saturday at Castlewood State Park. Courtney brought her crew — her husband Ryan, her son Chase, and her daughter Ella.

Amazingly, our children are literally the same ages! I foresee playdates in our future!

Ella was such a good smiler! She’s 2 — and loves Skittles. I know because that was her reward when she would give a big ol’ cheeser for the camera!

One trick I always do is ask what the kiddos favorite shows are. If there’s a character that has a name that makes you smile when you say it — welllll, have them say it! Ella loves Minnie Mouse. So, when she was so over me asking her to say “cheeese,” I asked her to say “Miniiiiiie!” It has the same effect, and makes them smile when saying the word!

You said the words out loud, didn’t you? 😉

I’m pretty sure Miss Ella models at home — how perfect is her cute little self?

And then there’s older brother, Chase. He’s 6 and a big ol’ first grader.

Chase is really into sharks and any kind of ocean life. He actually loves to watch ocean documentaries! He also digs race cars and basketball. Actually, the same day as the shoot, the Hubbard family was headin’ to the races that evening!

Chase had this really cool ring he wore on his thumb. I wanted to make sure we showed it off!

And then the lovebirds (and former high school sweethearts) themselves — Courtney and Ryan!

They dated for a little while in high school, and then re-connected a few years later. Can it get cuter?!

As for this photo below — there’s a fun story. We were walking along one of the trails at Castlewood. As soon as you enter (before you even park your car), there are signs that say: “THIS RIVER KILLS! DANGEROUS WATER!”

Then, as we walked farther on a trail that actually led down to the water, there was a big gate that blocked off the beach. The same “IF YOU GO HERE, YOU’RE PROBABLY GONNA DIE” signs were posted in both English and Spanish outside of the gate.

Since we didn’t have any plans on actually swimming in the Meramec River that the fence was guarding, we thought it would be ok to … go around the sign … and the gate.

So, we did.

#outlaws

I knew I liked them.

On our way back up the trail, Chase spotted this huge tree in the picture below. He was pumped, and went right off the gravel and into the grass to get over to it.

We definitely needed to get a shot of him in front of it — he went off-roading to get to it he thought it was so cool!

Toward the end of the shoot, Ella had decided her modeling fee was more than a few Skittles and asking her to say “Minnie Mouse.” But she hung in there for this precious shot with her dad and brother.

I am just tickled pink I was able to connect with this cool family in a much more positive setting. ‘Cause you knoooow, my first impression was … in the back part of their car. A literal impression.

Thanks again, Courtney, for being so chill about everything!

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Lily Is Starting First Grade! NO WAY!

August 14, 2017August 16, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Our Silly Family

Well, it was a rough time emotionally last week. I took a much needed break, but I am back. I am going to blog every day this week (M-F), so hold me accountable!

Today, I’m writing about Lily. Our oldest princess is starting first grade this Wednesday. I just can’t believe it!

Here she is on her first day of Kindergarten:

And here she is today, on her first day of 1st Grade!

Below, Tatiana did a mini photoshoot with Miss Lily right before I did her photos at the same location!

Trading photoshoots is a perk of being a professional photographer! <3

Currently, Lily’s favorite colors are purple and pink. I have been re-finishing a dresser for her in the same purple and pink colors as her room. It’s still in the garage, but hey! I am workin’ on it!

Her favorite food is vanilla ice cream (I just asked her, lol). Her favorite sport gymnastics. Her favorite sports team is the Kansas City Royals (she lived in KC the first 5 years of her life! Sorry, Cardinals!).

She recently went with me to the salon and got some purple streaks put in her hair. Her hair is light enough that my gal Hannah could just put the dye right on her hair, and we didn’t have to do bleach it at all (I probably wouldn’t have let her do it otherwise).

During the shoot, there was some road construction going on. Lily has never been a fan of loud noises, so we got this gem of a picture when a particularly loud drill turned on:

Lily is social, lovable, smart, kind, and spunky. She has the attitude of a 16-year-old, and the wit to back up that sass. Everyone always tells us to get out our shotguns since she’s so beautiful, buuuut … she can hold her own. No guns needed.

If there are any photography-related blog ideas you’ve been wanting, just shoot us a comment below!

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23 People + 105-Degree Weather = 1 Sweaty Photographer!

July 27, 2017July 11, 2018 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

Months ago, Della Miller reached out to me about doing a family photoshoot in my hometown, Lake of the Ozarks. She warned me there would be a lot of people.

I don’t flinch at crowds, especially since I’ve done a loooot of weddings, and I always jump at the chance to go visit home!

Plus, I love visiting with repeat clients and seeing how much their families have grown! The top photo is baby Holden earlier this year, and the second one is him from this Saturday!

This Saturday, Missouri cities broke heat records across the state. And it just so happened to be the Saturday Della and I had planned!

We couldn’t do a morning shoot because there were people traveling in from out of town — so instead we set it as late as we could where we’d still have sunlight, but also before the kiddos bedtimes.

When I arrived, it was 105 degrees. At least it was 2 degrees cooler from that afternoon, but golly! ONE. HUNDRED. FIVE.

But we were all troopers!

Since we met at Della’s home, everyone with kids could stay in the A/C until it was their turn for photos (we broke off into smaller family units after the big group shots)!

I also LOVE how they color coordinated everything!! And it made it easy to say “it’s the purple family’s turn!” Instead of, you know, “Clay, Karen, Eren, Brooklyn — please stand over here!”

I thought it was a family get together, but it turns out everyone drove in just for the family photos! It’s always so great when that happens — and I love it when people make it a priority to have photos with their families!

The best part of it all — like I mentioned earlier, I have worked with some of these families individually before. I love watching the kiddos get bigger & bigger!

Although, some things never change —

Just kidding! We got one of him smiling, too (a little, at least)! Practice makes perfect.

Despite having worked with some of this family on an individual basis, this was the first time I had gotten them all together like this!

Della told me the family added two babies in 2017, and there’s one more on the way for the end of the year. What a great time to be a grandparent! <3

It was great to see them all as a big family unit! I “threatened” no one could go inside until we did one, final silly photo — worked like a charm! Kinda.

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Oh, Brother! – A Tribute to Max

July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Odes

Hey there, shutterbugs and onlookers! Kansas City Photography‘s other half, Tatiana, here for another sentimental blog about family and life!

Meet Maximilian, my baby bro!

Max is a HUGE royals fan(I mean, who isn’t in KCMO? #foreverroyal)! He collects baseballs cards and loves to watch his favorite team win.

With that baseball bat, he looks like he’s ready to hit the field!

He has never been a social butterfly, but once you have the privilege of getting to know him, he is truly an amazing friend who will always have your back!

Here, I told him to pick whatever pose he wanted and he decided to be Superman!

He may not know this about himself, but he truly is a superhero (without the laser vision … or the flying). He inspires everyone around him to be their best selves and achieve their goals. He is extremely special to everyone in his life and uses his own unique character to see the world in ways we cannot. Yeah, I’m doing the sappy big sister thing — I’ll only embarrass him a bit longer. 😉

Recently, he has been a part of a UMKC group called A.C.E.D., which “offers adults the opportunity to attend non-credit classes in an educational and social environment.”

He recently graduated from one of those classes in fishing! My mom, and my boyfriend Eric, also went fishing with him and wanted to say a few words:

“Fishing class was so wonderful with my son! He had such a great time, heightened by the support of the whole family! He even made new friends along the way.”

Sadly, I don’t have any photos of my mom and my brother (cough-cough-read-this-blog- post-cough), but hopefully I will be able to get some soon!

What Eric said was so touching, and hit me right in the feels:

“He’s a very kind and genuine young man! He’s always wanting to learn more and more about his interests, and boy, does he have many! I love being a positive male figure for him.”

Max’s other hobbies include playing pool at our local pool hall, building models, and now, thanks to this class — fishing!

It was so cool to see Eric literally “pass the rod” over to Max when he completed his lessons, since fishing is a big part of Eric’s interests! Through this program, now they have something new to share together (I guess I’ll go out there with them too — once I bathe in bug spray >.< )!

He even got a certificate for his awesome new fisherman skills! I have dropped the ball on framing it for him. But I was busy doing other… big sister… things… erm… LOOK, HE CAUGHT A FISH!

Max has so many talents and he just keeps adding to them, seeing all that life has to offer! I can’t wait to see him conquer all the battles he has yet to face, as well as see more of that pretty smile of his!

OK — deactivating sappy big sister mode now. Where’s my cereal box!? (Inside jokes are fun).

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Stop Chasing Your Future Self — You’re Beautiful NOW

June 30, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Odes

I once had a mother of a bride tell me she wouldn’t be in photos.

Our New Website!

April 25, 2017April 25, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

I tried to log onto the Kansas City Photography webpage last week. I was met with an error message. I may have panicked a little, but I figured it’d be an easy fix. I reached out to my web person — but it was crickets. My face was probably equivalent to Miss Luna’s:

My bells and whistles started going off — and here’s why. This happened one other time, with the same web person. I reached out to him (the same one, I never switched) and he responded saying I needed to pay him to get it back online. I was confused as to why, and he said it was a maintenance fee, and he had to re-build it. I actually lost a potential wedding client over this — they had seen my site, loved my work, and then got concerned when my site suddenly went down.

You’d think I would have learned my lesson then … but, long story short, I stuck with him and he put the site back up (after I paid him again *grumble*), and it has been sunshine and roses since then.

Then, the error (again). And no response.

Instead of waiting around, this time I decided to go ahead and just build it myself. This way I can make changes and add photos any time I want, without having to pay every time I want an update. It was really a long time coming, I should have done it a lot sooner.

Go check it out and tell me what you think! –> http://kansas-city-photography.com

On a side note, I recently tried to get Kansas City Photography published on Wikipedia, but I need some press coverage for that to happen. They have really strict guidelines, and I meet all of them but that one. Stay tuned!

A Creepy Car & Playing Around At West Bottoms: Dawn’s Family Photoshoot!

April 24, 2017April 24, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

Tatiana here! It was a real pleasure to capture one of my dearest friends being so in love with someone who is also so in love with her! It’s been a long time coming and it just warms my heart that she has reached her “relationship goals.”

Dawn’ son, Aidan, was the explorer for sure. He is so full of energy and kept wandering off, climbing on things and I just let him do his thing! He just started jumping on things and I was like, “WELP! Since you’re already there…” *snaps photos*

This one below makes it seem like Lilly and Aidan are about to drop the next hot album in KC. And Aidan plays the drums, so who knows? Maybe this will be a thing!

In this below, I specifically asked them to do a funny pose. I think the quote was, “act like you guys are in a street gang!” This is a perfect depiction of the Vieux clan ready to rumble! And also proof they could never be in an actual street gang.

It took Miss Lilly a little bit to loosen up, but I think she enjoyed the pictures! She really liked the ones of just her, which is great, ’cause I would love to rock a senior shoot with her! Hint, Dawn, hint!

Lilly was just standing on this rock trying to stay away from everyone, but me, being totally impervious just went, “Joke’s on you, ’cause you look cool on that rock!!!” *snaps photo*

This is my favorite picture of Dawn and her kiddos! It also shows off some hidden treasures of this area known as “West Bottoms.” We just happened upon this hobbit door, it was super random!

But you never know what you’re going to run into here, which is why we love this location! It even made it in our Top 10 Photoshoot Locations in KC list!

Although, there was one bizarre incident — there was a black car at the end of the bridge with tinted windows. When we started to take pics, the driver revved the engine and opened the driver’s door … but no one got out! Later, the driver shut the door, and turned the car sideways. This is when I began thinking, “Am I gonna die?!” And Dawn is just like “what poses should we do next?!”

Anyway, no one died … so here we are!

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One Of My Most Important Photography Lessons: Shoot ‘Through’ Things

April 21, 2017September 27, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in "How To" / Tips & Tricks!

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri. Broadcast works a lot with the camera — and one of the most important lessons I ever learned was to shoot “through” things.

It completely changed my perspective behind the lens. It was one of those “ah-ha!” moments. Shoot “through” things. Things other people may not look at — it completely changed how I view the world.

Apply it to photography. See a cool shape? Shoot through it.

A fence or netting? Shoot through it.

A bride’s veil? Shoot through it.

How about a beautiful blooming flower? Find a space between the leaves and shoot through it to the subjects in the background.

And it can be subtle. I was squatting down in some tall grass to get this shot!

It’s not that every shot needs this “shoot through” treatment, but it should be a component to think about at every shoot. If you see your photographer squatting in the grass, or rolling around on the ground … they’re likely using this technique!

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