Michelle's Blog Board Preview | Kansas City Maternity & Baby Bump Photographer

I just got these really cool blog board templates from Birdesign and I was dying to see how they looked on here. They are really easy to use! So, I thought I throw together a blog board out of pure excitement. I'm using some photos from the gorgeous Michelle's maternity session-Yay for baby T! What do you guys think?

love love love,

h i l a r y  h o p e 

Melly | Kansas City Lifestyle & Pinup Photographer

A sneak peak of the gorgeous Melly from Monday's Session!

xoxo,

h i l a r y  h o p e 

Photography: It's about who we photograph

Photography: It's about who we photograph. 

Our job as photographers is to help narrate the events that happen all around us. We are story tellers. We are time stoppers. We are life's moment collectors, appointed with this task of loving people with our lens! Photography has never been about me as the photographer.

I see posts all the time that say that photography is about the photographer. It gets me frustrated, because I have never thought once that my job is about me. It kind of sells us all out to say that! It's always been about who I'm photographing; who I'm trying to love on and make feel special. It's about those moments we capture; when we are so excited we can't help but smile because we KNOW we caught the beautiful person's personality in front of us. At least that's what I think. So I made this. ;)

Feel free to share and pin away if you agree!

Love,

h i l a r y h o p e 

Happy October! from Foxy Pinups' Calendar Girls | Kansas City Pinup + Boudoir Photographer

Meghan makes a gorgeous Miss October! 
Click to enlarge

xoxo,

h i l a r y  h o p e

The Hatfield Family & Adoption Event: Living Tree Jamboree | Kansas City Lifestyle & Pinup Photographer

Being a new mom has brought a whole new perspective to my life. Boogers are now interesting and funny. I look at poop in ways I never knew were possible. Sleep is a relative term and my day hinges on the smile of a 7 week old baby boy. Having my baby has changed everything. Loving him and caring for him has brought a depth to my life that I never knew existed! I can't imagine the world without him and I can't even fathom the idea of him being unloved by anyone. We are blessed to be able to have our little man and he is blessed to be in a family that loves him so much (extended family included!) It breaks my heart to know that there are children out there that aren't so lucky and loving families out there waiting years to hold these little ones in their arms.

Meet the Hatfield's. There is Tabatha, or as her friends call her, Tabby. A loving wife & mother, amazing crafter and fantastic friend. I met her through our small group at Restore Community Church. I remember thinking as I walked in her front door that she and her husband would have to be amazingly sweet to let 16 strangers in to talk about their lives and Jesus in her living room. Not to mention, she is beyond generous, with EVERYTHING she has. Look around our living room and you'll see at least three items that once belonged to her son Colby (including a freakin' sweet baby swing-Emmett's fave). Then there's Jeremy-a strong father and a great listener and encourager! Everywhere I see Colby, his daddy is next to him, or should I say under him, while Colby sits on top of his daddy's shoulders. And of course, there is the adorable Colby, who is sweet in every way-a reflection of his amazing parents.

Why are you meeting the Hatfields? And what does this have to do with children and parenthood? Well, the Hatfield family is growing by one more member and they're adding this child through adoption. Tabby and Jeremy have been on a waiting list since September of 2011 to bring home a child from Russia into their loving family. To quote Tabby,

"It is such a long process and it is hard to digest that when all you want is to love a child and you know there are thousands that are just waiting patiently for someone to come get them. " 

I can barely stand waiting in the grocery store checkout line. I cannot imagine being at the mercy of an adoption agency waiting to see if your little one is ready for all the love that you have to give them.

 "The biggest challenge with adoption, whether it be domestic or international is the financial barriers."

When Tabby told me she was holding an event for their adoption funds, I immediately responded with "let me do something!" Now, I don't have many skills in terms of event planning nor am I an awesome crafter. I can barely hold scissors correctly (note the scar in between my thumb and index finger). But the one thing I can absolutely do is... come on now... use a camera. ;)

I wasn't exactly sure how to utilize this skill for Tabby's Adoption Event, called The Living Tree Jamboree, which takes place THIS THURSDAY August 23rd at the Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO. But after talking to Tabby, we figured it out. I will have both a Foxy Pinup Session and a Creative Lifestyle Session in her silent auction and I took the photos they will have displayed at their event-some of which are displayed in this blog post.

"For those of you wondering how much adoption cost, you can just look at a price tag of a brand new sedan at any local dealership.  This is a ballpark figure without travel expenses or medical coverage that is sometimes requested to be paid by the adoptive families."

The Living Tree Jamboree is an event open to everyone and anyone that has a heart for adoption. Tickets are only $25 and absolutely all proceeds go to the Hatfield's Adoption Fund. The Event schedule is as follows:

Belvoir Winery, Liberty MO
H’orderves, Doorprizes, Full cash bar, Belvoir wine tasting, fun photo booth style portraits, silent auction, and live music!Social Hour 7-8
Live Music Featuring: Run With It 8-930
Silent Auction Ends at 830.

Alan, Emmett and I will be there. You'll catch us dancing to Run With It and loving on the fact that our night of fun and ticket purchase has gone to such a great cause.

I also wanted to do something else for the Hatfield's to help raise funds. They are looking to get 75 people in to this event! Anyone that purchases a ticket after reading this blog post (you can purchase a ticket by clicking here) will receive a $50 Gift Certificate to Hilary Hope Photography. Just let me know you purchased it after reading this!

Yes, blog readers. Make a $25 donation to the Hatfield's Adoption Fund by purchasing a ticket to the Living Tree Jamboree, receive a $50 credit with me. To use on Whatever You Want. :)

"There is not a price tag in the world that should try to stop the heart of an adoptive parent."

Together we CAN make a difference in the lives of one another. We can make a difference in the life of an orphaned child that we have never met! 

Let's bring the Hatfield's home a Child 

From Russia With Love! 

For more of the Hatfield's Story, please check out their Living Tree Jamboree event page.

all the love in the world,

h i l a r y  h o p e

The Masters Family, St. Joseph MO | Kansas City Area Lifestyle + Pinup Photographer

Kara is one of the sweetest gals I've ever had the pleasure of photographing! I was so excited when I saw that she was the winner our February Giveaway. That means she won this whole session, for free! (Follow us on Facebook for your chance to win free sessions!) Kara chose to have a Creative Lifestyle Session and brought the whole wonderful Masters Crew with to her session, including Addilyn, her GORGEOUS niece. I fell in love with her at first sight!

The Masters Family is just as sweet as Kara (that must be where she got it from). They include wonderful mom Mindy, dad Dick, brothers Guy & Jesse, Kara and her charming boyfriend Ray, and Guy's beautiful fiancee, Beth & gorgeous Addilyn! I was greeted with their warm smiles at the beautiful Krug Park in St. Joseph, MO. Everyone was so kind and welcoming. The family held some of my bags and even helped me walk across some rocky terrain. This was definitely reassuring as an 8-months-pregnant photographer. It was very easy to photograph this laid back group of sweethearts! I especially loved the photos we took by the castle and I can't get enough of Addilyn's beautiful smile.

Feel free to take a listen to this song as you view the Masters' Family Photos. 

Click on a photo to activate the slideshow option!

 

Love,

h i l a r y h o p e 

We're Moving!!! | Kansas City Lifestyle & Pinup Photographer

We are moving this month! Our new address will be:

1144 NW Vivion Rd

Kansas City, MO 64118

To Celebrate our Move, we wanted to extend a special offer to you! 

25% off ALL of our sessions!

That includes any of the sessions posted under the "investment" tab on this website (including Foxy Pinups, Creative Lifestyle Sessions or Wedding Packages!) Your session doesn't have to be scheduled for the month of April to receive the discount, just purchased this month during our move. Share our sale information with two friends that book with us, save an additional 25% off your session fee (Half Off Session for you!)

Sale Ends on April 30th!

Questions? Visit our contact page, email hilary@hilaryhopephoto.com or call 708.498.HOPE!

Sunday Bloggin' Funday | In the Life of a Kansas City Photographer

I saw a ton of people hashtag #sundayfunday on twitter, so I figured I'd use it in my blog post today.

Also, I really like fun days. I try to make every event as fun as possible.

So does my husband, especially when we get our pictures taken.

I haven't done a personal post on here in a very long time-since I started this blog last summer. That's lame. I know that I should be writing on here about interesting things happening in my life, my business's life, and about all the different topics you guys voted on through Facebook! Especially since that was in my New Year's Resolution. 

It is with this realization that I deem Sundays to be Bloggin' Fundays! 

Yes, yes. Indeed.

On Sundays, I will tell you something neat I did, a cool thing happening in KC I attended, or ridiculous adventure I had over the weekend with friends, family or strangers that became friends.

So, since I didn't prepare this Sunday with appropriate photography of said weekend, I don't have much to report. This is what I have pictures of, though!

Amanda Adams changed my hair color from a faded red (5 inches of roots people!!) to a really pretty red with blonde highlights. I love it! 

My husband Alan baked me an apple pie as well-his first apple pie in the history of his life. 

Pretty cool!

(That's our dog Harley behind him. I know tons of you were praying for our puppy! Thank you so so much for the love. Harley just got over a 4 day stay at Crest Animal Hospital and is doing SUPER great!)

It might seem hard to believe, but we DID have a more eventful weekend then this. I just don't have pictures of it. Next week, next week... 

I will definitely have something interesting to tell you and I wont forget to take pictures!

And with that, I bid thee goodnight.

Lots and lots of love,

h i l a r y h o p e 

Brian + Brie Holst: Facebook Giveaway Winners! | Kansas City Lifestyle Photographer in Westport

Brie and Brian are the winners from our 1,000 Likes Facebook Contest Giveaway! In case you didn't see what we gave away and how we did it, feel free to give this youtube video a look:

This was Brie's entry in to the contest:

Because my husband and I will be married for two years in September. We had a immediate family only ceremony in our dining room. We have never had any pictures taken and even put off our honeymoon until I graduate next summer. This would be an awesome anniversary celebration.

I am so happy it was these two that won the contest. What a FUN couple! I mean really-they are super fun! They brought mustaches with to their session and chest bumped in a couple of frames. They even clicked heels for the camera! I smiled through their whole session right along with them :)

We started off in Westport walking down Pennsylvania, making sure to stop inside the photo booth next to the Dark Horse bar. As we rounded the corner of Westport Road, I couldn't help but stop inside of all the beautiful alleyways and doorways for a quick snap of the shutter. Westport is so historic, colorful, and lively! It matched Brie and Brian's personalities perfectly.

I absolutely LOVED the time of day we choose for the session. The sunsetting is so gorgeous! I feel like all our backlighting photos turned out great. The sun coming through trees in the alleyway is one of my all time favorite pictures! I also love the photos I deemed "the notebook" worthy. Those are the ones where Brian is holding up Brie at the waist and the sun is just shining so brightly behind them. The mustache pictures also made it onto my list of all time favorites! So much personality these two have. I am honored to have captured a little of who they are!

Feel free to listen to this while enjoying a little bit of Brie and Brian's Session. You guys are absolutely beautiful together!

Briana + Steve | Kansas City, MO River Market + City Market Photographer

Talk about an absolutely wonderful couple's shoot! Briana and Steve are the winners from our Facebook giveaway contest we held in May. They won this whole shoot and an 8 x 10 for free! (If you don't "like" us on Facebook-you should! We do contests all the time and you can win stuff too!)

Our session started in Steve and Briana's beautiful River Market Apartment. I loved the exposed brick wall, giant windows, and fantastic furniture! They had the most amazing low back couch that worked great for formal shots (and for funny-serious ones too). I even got to take photos of the most adorable cats in the world, Murs and Hegel! Hegel is the fluffy guy and Murs is the orange and agile one. It was interesting to see the differences with Hegel and Murs' personalities. Hegel was all about lounging whereas Murs was all action. Murs was so funny, actually! In the window he kept on switching up his poses. I got tons of favorites of the cats.

After formals and family shots were done in the apartment, we moved outside to the beautiful City Market/River Market area, where what Steve called the "Neighborhood Garage Sale" was going on. Whatever it was, it was cool. There were so many people moving back and forth. I thought it was the perfect backdrop for Briana and Steve! My all time favorite shot is one of the ones below, where Steve and Briana are just looking at each other and smiling with KC as the backdrop. Their love is such a fantastic and beautiful one! I am honored to have been able to photograph such amazing people.

I chose "Home" as a song to listen to while flipping through this sneak peak. It's always on the radio here in KC, and I know that Briana and Steve just moved back here from Milwaukee, so I thought it was a good fit :) Feel free to listen while reviewing Briana and Steve's session!