Rising Stars: Meet Adrianne O’Kane

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrianne O’Kane. 

Hi Adrianne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have loved photography for as long as I can remember, even before I realized it. When I was about 10 or so I received a polaroid camera. I took a picture of my parents in bed upside-down thinking it was going to be really cool. A few years later in 8th grade, we had to write up a business model. Mine was a portrait studio. I had fun fashion photoshoots with friends with a point-and-shoot camera as a kid. I always enjoyed the art of photography. Back then everything was film. It was so exciting to take the pictures, drop them off at the local photo lab and wait the 3-4 days to see what we got. In high school, I took my first photography class and really enjoyed the anticipation of how the film would turn out. It was fun to develop my own film and print my own pictures.

My parents always had an updated family portrait of our family displayed in our home. Pictures were something both sides of my family cherished. My grandparents and parents would always buy the biggest portrait package so we would have plenty of pictures to pass around. It was always fun to look at old pictures both my grandmas had in their homes. They would tell me about the relatives in them that lived far away or were no longer with us. It was so much fun to be able to travel back in time and see how different things were . . . simple things like how furniture looked different, hairstyles, fashion, and even toys.

Once it was time for me to go off to college and pick a major of course I picked to major in photography. Since it wasn’t a major that most people picked, I found it a bit challenging to find a school where I could major in photography. There were many schools that offered photojournalism, but writing was not my thing. I wanted to focus on pictures. My parents helped me find Columbia College in Chicago. I went there for 1 semester and truly enjoyed the city and all it had to offer. However, since my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) stayed back in KC I got a little homesick for him and ended up coming back and getting my Associates at Longview Community College. Once I completed my associates I found out that UCM in Warrensburg had a photography program. I was so excited to finally be thrown into the world of photography. UCM at the time was transitioning from film to digital. It was perfect because I got the opportunity to learn both. Having the film background really helps me as a photographer today to truly understand the photography process. I feel fortunate to be in the digital world, however. I love that I can see right away how the images are coming out. There are so many settings you can change when taking pictures, when you are moving along quickly during a family session and the light changes or photographing a busy wedding day going from inside to outside you can easily miss adjusting a setting. So having the ability to double-check your work right away on the back of the camera gives me peace of mind that I can give my clients the best possible product.

After graduating from UCM I was hired by H & H Color Lab in Raytown to do retouching. This was such a great opportunity to get paid to learn to retouch. The lab environment wasn’t where I saw myself so I wasn’t there long before I was hired by a company that did preschool pictures. This was such a fun experience. I loved getting the sweet smiles out of little ones and getting to travel around Kansas and Missouri. Unfortunately, that company went out of business and I was laid off 3 days before my wedding. Lucky for me I had such great support from my new husband, family, and friends. While looking for permanent work I briefly worked at Glamour shots and learned a lot there too. After that, I was hired by Portrait Innovations. Portrait Innovations is no longer in business sadly, but they were a volume studio, doing quick sessions with lots of variety for families. It was here that I was able to utilize the skills I learned while doing the preschool pictures and learned to work quickly and still get great results. I moved up to manage the studio in North Kansas City and quickly realized I do not have the personality to manage others. So, I took a couple of years off from photography and worked in an office setting. Once my daughter was born, I was ready to quit my daytime gig and work on running my own business, giving me the flexibility to spend more time with my two children.

Having my own business has been so full filling. I love watching my clients’ families grow. I love being able to give my best to my clients and having full control over the final product. Being a photographer allows me to have an ever-changing schedule and that gives my life joy. I love going to different locations, being able to work outside, and having the opportunity to photograph families at their best.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
About the time I decided to quit my daytime office job and work on my photography the mom world had found out how easy digital cameras are to use and, on every corner, there was a momtog (mom photographer). Now don’t get me wrong I am all for women working and earning income for their families. But since you can set your camera on auto and you can buy a consumer/less expensive camera and get okay results this has really brought our market down in terms of financially being able to make money as a photographer. Moms were having so much fun and excited to make bring in money doing photography they were charging pennies. Photography all of a sudden plummeted in regards to a way to make a decent living. I followed the trend for a few years. But once I had to replace my camera, a few lenses, my computer, and some lights after so much wear and tear I quickly realized if I wanted to stay in business, I was going to need to raise my prices. I had to make the jump and start charging higher for my sessions. During this process unfortunately I lost a good portion of my clients. No hard feelings I understand everyone has a budget. But thankfully over the years with help from many friends I have learned how to better market myself, give a high-quality product to my clients and grow back my business so I can help contribute to my family finances as well as keep in business with upgrading my gear when need be.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am fortunate to have the ability to work in many facets of photography. I do family photography, high school senior portraits, photograph weddings, headshots, help businesses with branding photography, and even do real estate photography. I photograph everything except births. I also am very confident in my photoshop skills. Having worked at H & H Color Lab in their retouching department and interning at J&M Imagery really set me up for success in being able to make people look their best by slightly altering images. Whether it be removing blemishes, removing unwanted people from the background of a family portrait taken in a busy park, swapping heads to make sure everyone in the family or wedding party looks their best, and even mushing two images together for fun newborn portraits (keeping baby safe and doing the hard work on the computer later). I am very lucky to have a job I love.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
One thing I feel I’ve had the opportunity to learn over the years is posing people. I love to guide a family into a pose and then fine-tune it based on their specific makeup. Paying attention to the little details; hair out of place, give them something to do with their hands, and helping people feel good in front of the camera is something I pride myself on. It’s my hope that after each session my clients feel that the family had fun, felt good in front of the camera, and was confident we got great images.

Contact Info:

• Email: adrianne@zendejasphotography.com
• Website: https://www.zendejasphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zendejasphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zendejasphotography