A SURPRISE Princess Serenity Cosplay Session!

It was 25-degrees, but that didn’t stop Abby and me from surprising Jennifer with a SURPRISE photo session, despite her attempts to accidentally foil our plans! 😉

Abby (who lives in Florida) reached out to me mid-January about setting up a surprise photo session for her girlfriend over the weekend she’d be in town visiting. She was also making her a HANDMADE and GORGEOUS Princess Serenity gown to wear in said session.

We brainstormed and decided to tell Jen I was hosting a Moonie Meetup (for Sailor Moon fans) at Loose Park (there are some beautiful columns there, which would fit the Princess Serenity aesthetic).

Jen was worried about the cold. I was attempting to make it so she didn’t cancel on attending my fake “Moonie Meetup,” so I offered to move the madeup get together to my house since it was “all people I knew anyway.” She agreed. PHEW. Any time Jennifer would say something, Abby would message me in a panic.

The day finally arrived when Jen and Abby showed up at my house. I met them out in the parking lot, a camera casually strapped around my neck. AND THEN ABBY WHIPPED OUT THE SURPRISE! The moment we’d been waiting for!

THEN, we told her there wasn’t actually a Moonie Meetup … this entire thing was for a surprise photo session, all for her! Abby knocked this Valentine’s surprise out of the park!

Now, to the session itself. It was cold. 20-degrees cold. BUT WE ARE CHAMPIONS! Plus, as I told Abby in our chats … cosplayers and photographers are a touch on the crazy side. 20 degrees is child’s play. 😉

I am so happy the surprise and the session were a moontastic success! I have worked with Jen several times, and actually met Abby through photography as well (at this session below, actually)!

Here’s to many more! One of the greatest things about cosplay — the photos will always be different because the characters are! All of these cosplay sessions are the same person (Jen)! I have so much respect for cosplayers, and their infinite creativity bringing characters to life!

Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

And a very Happy Valentine’s Day to Jennifer and Abigail!

Featuring: Scattered Roses Cosplay

Princesses, Sailor Scouts, And Fountains! On Location At Anime St. Louis!

We had the pleasure of attending Anime St. Louis this year at the St. Charles Convention Center. And if there’s one thing everyone loves at this particular convention center — it’s those fountains, baby!

IMG_0154

Everyone brought their A-game for cosplays, and we brought our cameras, of course!

ASL 1

We started booking on-location shoots for ASTL soon after our adventures at Naka-Kon in March, so let’s get to showcasing these lovely cosplayers!

Christine had the first group, The Celestial Soldiers! Of course, we both LOVE Sailor Moon, so this was a treat!

First was Sailor Mercury, or Ally’s Geekery and Cosplay!

IMG_0200.jpg

Heather, or Lucky Eight Cosplay, was the group’s leader, Sailor Moon herself! Christine actually had to ask two strangers to help her out and hold up Usagi’s hair! Thank you, kind strangers!

Moon Prism Power, Make Up!

IMG_0332.jpg

Heather also had her two children with her, who cosplayed as well! Look at these two cuties! Gotta start the fandom young!

IMG_0165IMG_0274

And, Christine’s personal favorite sailor is up next — the senshi of love herself: Sailor Venus!

IMG_0255

We are so excited we were able to photograph this amazing Sailor Moon group! They also asked us to be their personal ASTL photographers from here on out! WE LOVE YOU!

IMG_0352.jpg

Next up are the Twisted Sister Senshis:

Chari 1

Chari Cosplayed an original character! She designed it based on if Usagi and Mamoru from “Sailor Moon” had another daughter. How cool and creative!

Chari 2

Faendina cosplayed as the princess version of Sailor Neptune! They both cosplay together frequently and are die hard moonies like us!

Alyssa, Chibi Rebel Cosplay,  cosplayed a genderbend Hanzo Shimada from “Overwatch.”

Alyssa 1

I told her to put on her best war face and that the camera can sense when you’re not actually screaming. Can you hear her battlecry?!

She made her entire cosplay and bow, and she even had the characters tattoos made into temp tattoos that her best friend helped put into place. Amazing! This was Alyssa’s first cosplay shoot — thank you so much for booking us! <3

 

This next cosplayer made Tatiana super excited because it was from her favorite video game series:

Meaghan 1

Meaghan made a beautiful Aerith cosplay from “Final Fantasy VII.” She doesn’t have a cosplay page yet but, she is super talented! We highly recommend you get one, girl!

Val 1

Vallynn Cosplay went Sunday as “Revolutionary Girl Utena!” She’s had this cosplay finished for about a year, and was finally able to bring it into the spotlight! Everyone at the con was really excited to see this character and we’re sure glad she decided to cosplay her.

We are so happy we were able to meet some amazing St. Louis cosplayers!

IMG_0431

Keep in mind we are in both St. Louis AND Kansas City for all of your photography needs!

And make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

IMG_0415.jpg

Day Two & Three: Naka Kon!

WOW. Saturday was the busiest we’ve ever been at Naka-Kon, thank you everyone for stopping by our booth! We had hundreds of people stop by to get their photos taken. Tatiana and I were busy, busy bees!

We met so many fun people — and from the sounds of it, we’ll see a lot of you again for outside cosplay shoots! We also had someone look into us for a wedding and family shots! It’s just the con that keeps on giving.

We hope we get accepted for next year and will hopefully see you there in 2017! We will have a Canon printer right at the booth next year for faster prints!! I am so excited about it!

Highlights: 

One of the best Serenity cosplays I’ve ever seen, complete with a silver crystal. Getting to hang out with Tatiana all weeked!!! A Kakashi with a sweet sharingan contact. Dabbing. Lots of dabbing. Some of the best handmade props I have ever seen in my life. TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, SEMPAI! Plus, getting to see my regulars every year! I LOVE catching up with everyone and seeing what they’ve been up to!

IF YOU USE ANY OF THESE, LINK US BACK: http://facebook.com/kansascityphotography 

Want prints? It’s not too late! $10 gets you:

2 – 4×6

1-  5×7

Free shipping

Fill out this Contact Us form on our site and we will be in touch!

Naka Kon 2017: Cosplay, Photography, and MomoBunny!

Note: We will have a blog up with a gallery of photos from the con later today!

###

Hey, everyone! This is Tatiana (aka Momo Bunny Cosplay), the newest photographer on the Kansas City Photography team. I was asked to shed some light on my experience at Naka-Kon and my cosplay construction.

IMG_2859

Here I am cosplaying Viktor Nikiforov from the award-winning anime “Yuri on Ice.”

I’ve been attending Naka Kon since 2009, back when it was based in downtown KCMO with 1,500 or less attendees. It’s touching to see the first anime convention I went to grow and evolve as my cosplays have over the years. Now, it is based in Overland Park, KS, and the attendees almost reached 9,500 people! YOW-ZAH!

Some of you may be wondering: “what the heck is cosplay?”

Let me break it down for you!

Here’s the technical definition (thanks, Google):

cos·play
ˈkäzˌplā,ˈkäsˌplā/
noun

a contraction of the words costume play, is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.

IMG_3077

Here is a photo I took at the Kansas City Photography photobooth of Caitlyn Rook cosplaying the White Queen from Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland”.

Cosplay, to me, is an art form. I have unlimited outlets to create (sewing, welding, sculpting, thermoplastic, makeup, wig styling, etc.) — and endless possibilities of characters to choose from! Sometimes, it can be putting an outfit together to create a characters image:

IMG_3196

Above is a photo Christine took of my Prompto cosplay from Final Fantasy XV! Although I purchased all the pieces of this look, I styled the wig, detailed the vest with studs and patches matching the character, and used fabric paint to create the undershirts design.

IMG_3130

Another awesome Prompto cosplayer above!

Each year, there’s always a favorite anime or character that you see EVERYWHERE! Naka was flooded with Prompto’s since the voice actor for him was a guest at the convention (Robbie Daymond). Cons will often have special guests  (voice actors, actors, artists, famous cosplayers, etc.) to draw more people in.

IMG_2931

Oh, look! Another Prompto!

It was amazing being able to meet so many talented and kind people at the booth. This was my first time getting a taste of the vending life at a con, but it was a lot easier to connect with people being in one location vs wandering the halls.

17265071_1445004458904271_2877912837549175529_n

Above: Check out Christine and I from Saturday as Punk versions of Sailor Venus and Chibiusa from the Sailor Moon series! We took concepts from the original character designs, such as Sailor V’s signature red bow and Chibiusa’s buns and pink obsession, and put our own spin on things for a unique costume design!

It’ll take weeks to months — even YEARS — to create a cosplay for an event such as Naka Kon, so I give everyone out there mad props (haha… props) who came to our booth to capture their works of art on camera!

IMG_3186

Above: Featuring Madison Hankins from Akarii Cosplay as Neo from RWBY. She creates all of her cosplays herself! AMAZING!

Naka-Kon is a welcoming, happy place where I feel safe to talk to strangers and connect through the love of all things nerdy! I recommend anyone who feels shy or uneasy about expressing their interests to go and make friends! It’s impossible to NOT to find someone to share your fandom with and create wonderful memories.

IMG_2903

Above: My niece Nya as Vocaloid Miku! Naka is a family-friendly event and I love that so many children have a way to express themselves in a safe, positive way.

Joining Kansas City Photography has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and fun times ahead! The Con season has just begun, and I’m excited to see how my photography and cosplay can inter-loop again.

IMG_3221

A silly photo to end a memorable weekend. Lolita style!

Day One: Naka Kon!

Day one of Naka Kon has come and gone. We met some great cosplayers and are looking forward to today!

Did you come to our booth yesterday? Make sure you come pick up your CD and I’ll show you our print packages!

IMG_2911

One of my favorites was Diane from “Seven Deadly Sins.” She was the only cosplayer from that series I saw. She made the dress in one day!!

IMG_2905

IMG_2908

And of course our own Tatiana was gender bend Yuri. She’s always so gorgeous … and  I LOVE “Yuri On Ice.”

IMG_2860

IMG_2859

I met so many people who made their own props, sewed their own outfits, and even custom made wigs  I’m always so in awe of how talented people are! I can’t even sew. 🙁

IMG_2899IMG_2838

I didn’t see any “Sailor Moon” characters. That makes me sad!! So, any Sailor Moon cosplayers get $2 off if they visit me today!

IMG_2888

Please note, if you use ANY of these photos, link us back! http://Facebook.com/kansascityphotography

The Best Anime Convention in KC

It only happens one weekend every year. Thousands of people get dressed like their favorite anime / comic book characters, and gather together …

It’s Naka Kon!

Kansas City Photography has been a vendor there since 2011, with a break in 2015 since I was pregnant and my youngest daughter’s due date was the weekend of the convention.

That would have been fun — having my water break at the convention. One for the headlines, right?

For anyone that knows me well, they know I’m in big time love with Sailor Moon. I just adore it. Any time I see a Sailor Moon cosplayer (cosplayers are the amazingly fun peeps who dress up), I (not creepily) fawn and ask if I can take their picture. #OkayMaybeALittleCreepyOnAccident

Even Sailor Moon crossovers are in my realm of obsession.

(Here’s the formula. 1 Anime + 1 Different Anime = Crossover)!

Let me give you and example. Below are Sailor Moon / My Little Pony crossovers done by the glorious Momo Bunny Cosplay and AshBear Cosplay at the convention last year!

Many of these cosplayers make their OWN COSPLAYS (like the two above). I am always in awe — this gal doesn’t even know how to sew.

Here are some more crossover shots we took at a separate photoshoot outside of the convention (another great reason to do biz at a con is to meet people to book outside shoots like this!):

Also shout out to Vera Cosplay, who is featured in the far left photo!

BONUS: Here is me and the entire fam at Naka Kon last year. We were a Pokémon family! I was Squirtle, and my husband was the Pokémon trainer Ash. My oldest was Charmander, and my youngest was Pikachu!

img_1334

Planning to go to Naka Kon this year? Make sure to stop by our booth and get your picture taken!

Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/kansascityphotography