tatiana marie – Kansas City Photography

A Day In The Life Of A Photographer – Come To Work With Me!

January 23, 2018 by Kcityphotography, posted in Photoshoots

Hey, everyone! Tatiana here.

I thought would be nice to do a sort of “take your readers to work” sort of blog! Come with me and I will take you on a magical journey into the life of a full time photographer.

My work station is pretty glamorous, right? I usually edit photos in my living room because it’s the darkest room in the house. Although natural lighting makes for the best photos, I can’t have any glares on my laptop screen while I’m editing! So I shut the blinds and get to workin’.

Depending on the amount of shoots I have to edit, I usually spend 6-8 hours a day editing!

Factoring in potty breaks for both myself and the fur babies, of course!

And then I also have to factor in the spot stealing, which adds more time to the work day. I’m very fortunate to have such a comfortable work space, but I have to maintain a lot of self discipline to get my deadlines completed on time! So my doggos are usually in another room as they can be rather distracting.

During the slow season, I will use my office hours to network on our social media platforms, set up meetings with potential clients, and research new locations to shoot.

I never thought I would be able to visit a haunted winery for work, but that’s all part of my awesome job! This job is also so wonderful because I get to capture monumental and touching memories for my dear friends, as well as the amazing people who book with us!

During the busy season, I usually find myself away from “the office” more often. Here’s an example of a typical week:

I started off June with an elegant engagement shoot at Unity Village with Taylor and Tyler. We usually want to have the teasers and blog completed within 3 days after the shoot so our clients can see the magic as soon as possible!

During this time, I still had another engagement shoot, a 6 hour babyshower event, and Mia’s newborn shoot (shown above) to complete as well as the teasers for the most current shoot.

This is where that self discipline stuff comes in. My job depends greatly on holding myself accountable to get the photos done on time as well as producing teasers for the current client of the day.

Time management is crucial because weekdays mean the weekend is just around the corner. This particular corner in June had three photoshoots — ON THE SAME DAY!

We started off the day at good ol’ Unity to celebrate Clarissa’s graduation.

This gorgeous arced rose bush was truly a lucky wonder because the following week, it was gone! I’m always grateful for the clients who go along with my vision because there’s always a good reason I yell “quick, GET IN THE BUSH!,” which I probably learned from Christine.

After this shoot, I had just enough time to drive to West Bottoms to do another engagement shoot with Sydney and Zane.

West Bottoms is probably our second most requested location, which means I should probably do a separate blog on it soon!

Anyways, after this shoot I had an hour or so wiggle room before my next shoot — BACK AT UNITY VILLAGE!

I’m so happy I was able to meet this awesome girl, although it was due to severe weather keeping Christine in St. Louis that day. Natalie’s dance shoot was almost interrupted by that same storm! Thankfully, it started pouring once the time was up.

No matter how busy the business gets, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Life as a photographer lets me discover new places, meet new people, and most importantly it give me room to have time with my family.

I hope you enjoyed this blog! Going through these older photos has me ready for SPRING! <3

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Crunching Leaves Through A Wilderness Trail: Tatiana & Eric’s Fall Tryst!

November 23, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Odes, Photoshoots

Tatiana and Eric made a quick trip up to visit lil’ ol’ me in St. Louis! We were really wanting to get some cute photos before all of the leaves fell off the trees. We met up at a nearby conservation area that we all love — it even has a scenic lookout!

Since it was freezing, and Tatiana’s sweater dress wasn’t as warm as she thought it was going to be, we didn’t actually make it to the scenic lookout this time around! Eric’s sister also came up to visit with our two lovebirds, so of course we had to snap a family photo.

Aren’t they all so presh?

After walking for a few minutes on the trail, I realized my property was actually still more colorful. Most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees at the conservation area, but there were still some holdin’ out a few miles down the road at my house!

There are some really huge leaves at my home. My mother-in-law told me they’re from the cottonwood trees! You learn something new everyday!

And if you give a Tatiana a huge leaf, she’s gonna want a photo to go along with it! 😉

Tatiana and Eric will have been together 5 years this July! They’re just too cute for words, and I am so happy to be their friend! One day, Eric will finally pop the question — and I can help Tatiana start wedding planning! 😉

*hint, hint, hint*

And since this is Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a moment to talk about how thankful I am that Tatiana came into my life!

We first met at an anime convention. She stopped by my photobooth I had set up in the vendor’s room. After seeing her at a couple conventions, she decided to book me for an outside shoot. She cosplayed as Fluttershy!

The first time we tried to meet, my memory card corrupted halfway through the shoot, and we had to set a new date and take the photos all over! That was her first outside impression of me. Wooooo.

From there, she invited me to an outing at Power & Light. That’s also where I met our fellow photographer friend, Dawn, whom I am also so, so thankful for!

Now, Tatiana is a part of the Kansas City Photography family and I just don’t know what I would do without her! She’s an amazing friend, my confidant, and a good noodle all around! She keeps me sane, and, a feat no one has done before her — organized.

I am also so happy she has Eric! He makes her happy, and he’s a loyal, trusting friend to me. I am working on convincing them to move to St. Louis … but then I’d have to find another Kansas City photographer!

I think my favorite thing about these two is how they can just be themselves around each other. Even if that means being weird.

#specialponies

Thank you all for visiting me!!

Wedding Series: Tips For Brides — The “First Look,” / Bridal Reveal

April 27, 2017 by Kcityphotography, posted in Wedding Series: For Brides

You’re getting married! There’s so much to do, and so many things to get done. Find a caterer, a florist, get the perfect dress, and then make sure you’ve hired the right photographer to capture all of your hard work!

Well, you’ve definitely taken the right step as far as a photographer goes [oh hey, we travel]! 😉

Every Thursday over the next six weeks, I will be doing a piece for our “Wedding Series: Tips For Brides.” It’s going to highlight tips and tricks for the bride when working with a photographer.

Week Two: The “First Look” / Bridal Reveal

One of the first questions I ask at my meetings with brides: “Did you want to do a “first look,” or will walking down the aisle be the first time he sees you?”

Here is a first look we did before the ceremony, below. I was able to get this close and intimate specifically because it wasn’t done during the ceremony. It was a special moment set aside for just the two of them (and me … the third wheel photographer). 🙂

If the bride asks what I prefer — it’s always that we do a special “first look.” It’s where I set the groom up, his back facing away. I bring in the bride. She puts her back against his, or reaches her hand around the corner. There is always so much tension in these shots — the can’t wait to see each other.

From there, I snap the shots and either take the bride back to her room, or … we let the groom turn around.

I prefer this because I can catch the intimate one-on-one response of the groom the first time he sees his bride. It’s special. It isn’t a moment that has to be shared in a crowd. It’s just the two of them.

Now, sometimes I can’t convince the bride and groom otherwise, and that’s ok. It’s your day! I can only speak from a photographer’s standpoint, because after that reveal, we can take the bridal party / bride & groom shots, etc. — all before the ceremony! After the ceremony, we can snap the family photos, and then send the bride and groom off to the reception and not have to keep their friends and family waiting.

That’s not to say we can’t get great photos if the first time the groom sees his bride is when she walks down the aisle.

We definitely can, but if I am ever asked my preference — it’s to have a special first look. So I can get shots like this:

Check back next Thursday for the next post in our “Tips For Brides” series. To read them all, click here.

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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!

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

April 5, 2017April 3, 2018 by Kcityphotography, posted in Our Silly Family

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)!

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!

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

Meet Lily:

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.

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?).

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.

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!

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.

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.

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