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!

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

Featuring: Scattered Roses Cosplay

It’s A Dog’s World — Meet Tatiana’s Furry Family!

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Hi, everyone! Tatiana here to talk about my beautiful (and stinky) family!

First, let’s start with Eric:

We met in college and there is no one else in the world I would rather share my adventures with.  He loves Minecraft, Warcraft, arts and crafts … Kraft Mac N Cheese — you get the idea!

I am constantly on the go. My mom FORCES ME to take naps at her place because really, who has time for sleep?  I’m always busy with my cosplay, both an art and a business, promoting my brand Momo Bunny Cosplay. I make the world smell good with Scentsy, and make the world look good with photos. I am constantly running around KC for photoshoots (on one end of the camera or another), and editing until my stomach tells me it’s time to stop and eat. Eric supports me through it all! He is the most understanding, optimistic person I know and he is the calm in my chaotic world.

I introduced him to cosplay and now we travel across the country every year, exploring different cities and going to different conventions. We are the perfect team and four years later we own a house together (Christine’s old house, actually)!

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We have very few professional pictures together (we gotta change that!) but I think our “Lady and The Tramp” shoot has some of my favorite pictures of us together!

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We love Disney, and we love dogs. Speaking of which, lets move on to my fur babies!

Meet Lily:

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Lily is a Coonhound I rescued from KC Pet Project about three years ago. I was looking for a doggie to be my companion during hard times and I fell in love with her picture right away! She is my baby girl, my best friend, and she has a deep bark to scare off sinister solicitors. 😉

Her hobbies include sunbathing, chasing critters, and digging.

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Here she is trying to hide one of her holes in the yard with her face. Quite the personality she has!

Next up is Luna:

(Christine and I definitely did NOT plan to name our children the same names. Funny how that works out though, right?).
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Eric saved her after she was chained up in a yard, left behind by her previous owners at an abandoned house (savages!). I suggested we name her Luna after my love for Sailor Moon over the phone when Eric explained she was black. He left out the detail of her being a Chihuahua… now Luna is short for “Lunatic.” She has her sweet moments, but her breed only really bonds with one person, and like Frenchie from Grease explains, “The only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.”

She loves barking, biting, pooping, yapping, more barking, and sacrificing the blood of the innocent to her nethergods… I mean … napping.

Meet Zero:

It has always been my dream to have a basset hound! I was looking around and realized we really couldn’t afford what breeders were asking for and no shelter had any basset’s available. Then, a breeder contacted me asking if I would possibly want one of her pups that has to undergo a minor surgery. Because of his hernia, no one else wanted him no matter the price. As soon as I went to her house to meet him, he jumped around his brothers and sisters right into my lap! He chose me from the beginning.
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He’s about a year old now and I still can’t get over his cuteness! I always say dogs are a lot like toddlers and Zero likes to prove that everyday. He pushes his limits and then gives me those puppy eyes to see how much he can get away with. Boy is spoiled!

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BUT HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THAT FACE?! HOW??

Zero was named after the dog in “Nightmare Before Christmas,” another huge fandom of mine. He enjoys snuggling for hours, chewing on random objects abruptly without warning, and howling. He is currently pursuing a music career in yodeling. He’s really going places.

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I can never get the three in a photo together! This is the best there is! Luna barking Lily away and Zero wondering why his older sister be so cray-cray … and so tiny.

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My babes are crazy, noisy, and hairy (especially Eric), but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

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New Photographer Announcement!

Happy Wednesday! We got hit really hard by thunderstorms last night — I was even contemplating movin’ the family down to the basement during the peak hours of the storm. But there’s always sunshine after the rain — and here’s ours!

We have officially hired a new photographer! World, meet Tatiana!

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She’s the woman behind Momo Bunny Cosplay, and a regular client we have gushed about in a previous blog post!

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We are stoked to bring her creative talent onto the team!

From Tatiana: “My purpose in life is to create art! I am so grateful to be a part of a business that shares the art of photography, and I get to make a difference in so many lives through the lens. I am a Renaissance woman; Drawing, Painting, Fashion Design, Photography, Writing etc. Anything artistic/creative you can think of, I do! You may also recognize me in a lot of KC Photography blogs and photoshoots as Momo Bunny… I’m a cosplayer!”

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“Through cosplay, I have been able to exercise so many mediums and it was actually what led me to both Christine and Dawn, which sparked my inspiration to let my photography skills shine once again! I look forward to working with some amazing clients and get to capture memories of precious moments.”

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Actually, we are so excited, we are going to host a photoshoot giveaway in celebration! But first — admire the new team of three that make up Kansas City Photography! We’re ridiculous.

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Interested in winning a free shoot from Tatiana? CLICK HERE!

An Ode To Momo Bunny Cosplay

Hmmm, where to begin? The beginning, I guess! I met Tatiana, the woman behind Momo Bunny Cosplay, in 2013 when working Naka Kon (an anime convention in Kansas City). She stopped by my photobooth I had set up there. Below is the first shot I ever took of her (she’s Ryuk, on the right. On the left is AshBear Cosplay):

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Later that same year, in the fall, she booked me for her first full-length photoshoot. So, I present to you the second time I ever took photos with her:

To say we’ve both grown as artists would an understatement.

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Both Dawn and myself have worked with Tatiana many times since 2013. Although, I get super jealous because Dawn gets to work with her more. Stop stealing her! Although it’s not her fault … I live across the state! Here’s a shot from Dawn herself:

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Speaking of Dawn, I had her write her own excerpt about Tatiana:

“Tatiana puts so much time and care into her cosplays. Every single one of them is 100% unique and each sets itself apart from the rest. The detail in each one is never short of amazing.”
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“She gives me such a fun and beautiful subject to shoot. And that’s exactly what we have. Fun. She knows her characters and chooses her settings accordingly. We always seem to be on the same page, she always knows what face to make or feeling to portray when I ask her to do something. It makes it so much easier to get that look we are going for.”
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“Not only do I get to spend time with one of the most wonderful people I know, I get to create works of art with her. She inspires me to do so.”
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Everything Dawn said is true — Tatiana is one of the most creative, fun, and caring people I know.
We love you, Tati!
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“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Here’s to many more years of madness!

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