We were lucky to catch up with Manda Kar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Manda, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

The initial idea for my thematic portrait and fashion business came simply from landing as a creative person in Orlando. The city is renowned for its theme parks, but it’s locals drawn here to live, to be entertained, or to also create here were really the inspiration behind my individualized services. I’m a born creative visionary, but my first experiences in Orlando heightened the bar of capability for me. Inspecting the details of theme park design, taking in atmospheres that enable people to express themselves, observing people interact with “magical” effects or music played throughout a village as if the everyperson were a movie character along on some grand adventure… These experiences all inspired me to tap into why people feel this way in these places and what that means for people to be able to realize themselves through a lived and felt “cinematic” experience. Shared visibly by so many others who also partake in our fandoms just as loyally seems to allow us to become our full selves along the way. I’m an alternative wedding and portrait photographer, so people realizing their muchness and being their authentic selves is the most important part of creating portraits for me. I enhance and encourage that, enabling many to embrace things about themselves they may once have repressed, may once have forgotten, or may never have known. The world of theme parks lead to the world of cosplay, and the world of cosplay lead to thematic fashion design, which ties back into the first aspiration of self expression and understanding of self. Success isn’t measured by numbers here, it’s measured in experiences. Tying that together with helping individuals keep memories of these times, I created custom book making in addition to fashion and portraiture, none of which is exactly the same experience for each person I create for, all of which end up being so much more than photography, fashion or books.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a photographer, maker and artist specializing in alternative wedding and portrait photography, often with a splash of digital artistry. I’ve been photographing weddings since 2008, and since rebranding to the Imágemária name in 2016 I’ve been working more closely on offbeat and alternative services for people who need something deeper and more authentic than the mainstream. What I’m most proud of which I think sets me apart even from other alternative makers is my keen attention to specifics in really customizing experiences for people, and my emphasis on Quality over Quantity. I give myself the title “Thematic Designer” when I don’t want to be pegged simply as “photographer”, as what I do in planning unique experiences engulfs so much more than a quick set template. I don’t have a case of sameness to recycle, the effects aren’t ever cut-and-pasted, the books are hand made from cover to cover because every element of that is as unique and special as each client. Each gets a designed experience specifically for themselves, resulting in a product or service that is unmatched — or as some of my followers say, “next level”.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Public relations and attending relevant (thematic) events really is my best source of new clients. In Orlando I attend events held at theme parks such as Disney World’s “Dapper Day” and Universal Studios’ various Harry Potter meet ups, and local Renaissance Faires which very often have the types of people who love my work. I often take photos of those in attendance, which brings them back to my social media to check their images for special effects work on their portraits. Additionally, I create styled photo shoots for my fashion designs, so as I search for models and post their imagery, my photo/fashion products and their modeling work gets shared as well.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Know yourself and your own passions. Whatever individually helps you find yourself before you create a business you can be passionate about is what you should accomplish before finding your calling with a creative business. Experiment, meet people, find a social circle, try new things even if you feel the pro already.

Contact Info:

• Website: mandamariephoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imagemariastudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imagemariastudio

Image Credits
Manda Kar, Imágemária