• studio3z photography {the blog}

    If you have landed here...bless your soul.  Welcome to our little tiny corner of the cyber world, based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Below you will see favorites from our sessions we do professionally, and also loads of personal nonsense that we hope at least will entertain you.  If nothing less, you can keep up on our adorable children.  Really, they are worth the trip back here time and time again in and of itself.

    My name is Jess.  My hubby is Brett.  We are crazy about each other, our 4 babies, and our art.  Welcome to our world.

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Monthly Archives: February 2009

state of mind, and a quick preview.

To say that this week has been a bit chaotic would be an understatement.  We have had kids that were very sick. VERY sick.  We have run ourselves ragged taking care of them, and it has caused our blog and editing to be pushed to the back-burner.  We had to reschedule so many things this week as well, and for those of you that have so graciously worked with us, thank you.  The flu bug is just MEAN.

Times like this make you stop, and really appreciate the simple things.  Last week I was just worried about our daunting “to-do” list before our family leaves for LA March 4th, and this week I have hardly looked at that list, and just find myself praying that we will be well enough to go.  Instead of worrying about whether or not I will be able to get my hair cut before I leave, I am just counting my blessings that my 4-yr. old has the strength to stand up and walk today….I know that sounds so dramatic, but it is completely true.  All of the sudden the little blessings in life are standing out so clearly, and I am thanking God for recovering children and the moments when they are completely healthy.  Good health couldn’t come soon enough, because we have a fantastic wedding this weekend, and a special guest we met here on our blog staying with us, from Germany!  We are really thankful our family is healing.  Now I just have to pick that list back up, dust it off, and bust a serious move!!

Here is a quick preview for E + J.  They came to town from Chicago last weekend for their engagement session, and I can’t wait to post the full preview!!! What a fantastic couple.  We are so happy to be working with them! More coming soon.

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February 27, 2009 - 7:51 pm

Briony - beautiful coloring!

February 27, 2009 - 9:53 pm

bobbi - I love everything EVERYTHIGN about that image. You are a rockstar. Can’t wait to see the full session :)

February 28, 2009 - 9:59 pm

Maya Laurent - I hope everyone is feeling better! That certainly makes you realize how blessed you are when they are healthy.

March 2, 2009 - 12:26 pm

shannon selim - i can’t wait to see the rest of this shoot, and photos from amy’s wedding as well, i assume thats the wedding you meant! glad you guys are feeling better!

March 2, 2009 - 2:24 pm

Alex - What an honor to be this “special guest” ;-) It was one of the best decisions in my life to meeting you! Thanks for having me there! And you guys out there on this blog: You can´t imagine how graceful this family is!!!! Lova ya, Alex from Germany

valerie+kate+sam {family session}

Oh, the power of Facebook!!  If not for the ultra-fab social network that we all so dearly love, I may not have reconnected with Valerie who went to the same small Christian school that Brett and I went to.  After we became “friends” on FB, she saw that we did photography, and soon after asked us about doing a session.  We scheduled the session and she and her 2 beautiful children made a 3 1/2 hr. trip up to see us.  (What an honor!) :)  The best part?  This is a surprise for her husband, so I can’t wait to hear what he thinks! :)

Here is beautiful, happy and energetic, five year old Kate-right out of the car!   I can’t tell you how much I love this photo of her that Brett captured.

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And sweet, precious little Sam.  What a doll.  He is going to be 2 soon. :)

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As you can imagine with a 5 and almost 2 yr. old- we moved around A LOT!!!  Here is Sam playing around with Mommy, Valerie.

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Kate was running around and skipping.  I love her curls!!!

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Still for a split second…and I love this sweet intimate moment.

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Sam was chasing Brett around. :)

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Kate and her Mama had some snuggle time.

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Look at this handsome little man!!

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Can’t you tell that Kate was sooooo camera shy??  I mean, really….very intimidated by a camera. :)

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You guys are gorgeous.

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leg hugs are fantastic.

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I think Sam is going to have 2 women in his life that are always looking out for him.:)

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These photos crack me up.  Kate reminds me so much of my daughter when she was that age.  Kate says to Sam, “Come on Sam, come down here!”  He says, “No.”  She says, “Well fine then….” (as she strikes her pose.) :)

Oh, and don’t you just LOVE her sequined handbag! :)  I love that Valerie let Kate be herself.

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Oh my goodness!!

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As we were leaving, Sam started having a ton of fun jumping off the curb. So they did it again, and again, and again…..

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It made him a VERY happy little guy. :)

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But, nothing compares to his basketball.  Sam LOVES his basketball.

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Happy Babies. :)

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Thanks Valerie for making the trek here to have us take your photos!! We loved meeting your beautiful children, and it really was a lot of fun. :)  Please let me know how the surprise goes…I hope he loves them!

All the best,

Jess + Brett

February 23, 2009 - 9:06 pm

Briony - These are all beautiful…the color is so vibrant.

February 24, 2009 - 12:19 am

Shannon Oscar - Totally unbiased, of course, but these are just the cutest pictures EVER! I LOVE them, Brett and Jessica. Fantastic, like all your work.

February 24, 2009 - 12:35 am

Abra Morris - BEE AH YOU TEE FULL. I know that looks cheesy typed out but it would be exactly the way I would say it. What an amazing job. You really captured how lovely and fun this family is. The Dad would be crazy not to LOVE them and then suggest another photo session with him included. :)

February 24, 2009 - 1:25 am

wrecklessgirl - i ADORE THESE!!! so jazzin’ cute, especially the last one. love. did i mention i love them? stinkin adorable. and all of the above. and stuff.

February 24, 2009 - 11:48 am

Shannon Selim - that little girl is hilarious! it must have been fun!

February 24, 2009 - 2:17 pm

holly rouse - oh my gosh. oh my gosh. family sessions just keep getting better!

February 24, 2009 - 4:48 pm

Amanda - Insanely, ridiculously CUTE. The strike-a-pose shot had me bustin’ a gut…can we say “personality?!” What a fun surprise for the Papa!!!

February 24, 2009 - 7:41 pm

gina@kiwistreetstudios - oh you guys, these are…all of the above comments and more.
and, yes, i have one of those little girls too…
it makes everything you do all that more fun…and interesting!!!

February 24, 2009 - 8:39 pm

mel - your brave to shoot outside in this cold weather!! adorable. i love this girl’s outfit. shes not afraid of color! that quick little intimate shot is going to give that mom the ability to snap back to that moment in time so quick. so cute. perfect.

February 24, 2009 - 10:00 pm

JoJo - I am the proud grandmother(JoJo)of Kate and Sam and I cannot wait to share these beautiful photos with friends and family!!! Too adorable for words!!!

February 25, 2009 - 1:44 pm

Alex - You´re right, the first one is awesome!
But also the others. You had a good connection to the kids.

Hm, I think I have to be more “efficient” with FB ;-)

Best
Alex

February 25, 2009 - 10:14 pm

Maya Laurent - Those shots of him on the step in the back and her in front crack me up!!! Gotta love Facebook for reconnecting with people!

February 27, 2009 - 4:14 pm

Deyla Huss - Love these!! I love that they arent all matchy matchy but all the colors look so beautiful on them and blend so well! Gorgeous shots!

on a personal note.

A few weeks ago I was working on compiling “favorites of 2008″ for our blog contest we were having.  As I was going through our year of photos, I realized all the personal photos that we had sitting there, and started reminiscing on all the memories we were able to capture.  I decided I should do something with them because having them sit around on our hard drive is not very fun.  So I began working on a new slide-show.  I think when I started off I had around 350 photos, and it was about 10 minutes long!  So I narrowed it down to around 210 pictures.   I debated on whether or not to post it on my blog, because frankly, I don’t know if people would really care to see these….they are just our memories from the year.  But, I figured there are so many of you that have followed our lives on here, so to you faithful blog readers, family and friends, I decided to share this little labor of love.  Trying to find a song for the right amount of time was very difficult as well.  I wanted it to have the right vibe for our family, and fit exactly to the amount of photos.  I won’t tell you how long I spent on that one.

I have to make a little disclaimer on here….

***Some of these photos are STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA and are not edited. You heard me right. Some are taken with our point and shoot as well. (All you photographers out there gasping, I apologize.)***

Some things you may see in this video:

Brett’s birthday

Gabe’s 1st birthday, Adin’s 6th birthday, Riah’s 4th birthday, Priya’s 9th birthday

My birthday

Gabe’s first haircut

Kid’s piano recital

First lost teeth

Riah learning to ride a 2-wheeler, and trying rollerblades

Trips and vacations

Home-school activities

Random kitchen dance parties

Many musical shows

Moments spent with friends and family

LOTS and LOTS of Gabriel! (It was kinda his year since he went from 6 mths. to 1 1/2!)

Most importantly, I hope you see a family with an abundance of happiness, and loads of LOVE to spare…..

Here it is!  The photos are in chronological order through the year.

February 20, 2009 - 3:37 pm

lucy - kinda made me teary eyed. i love it.

February 20, 2009 - 5:34 pm

Ange - GOGEOUS!! Beautiful, I going to do the same for my family, love it love it love it. Must admit that I neglect my own family photos, a lot get left on discs and never see the light of day, you’ve inspired me!!!

Big hugs
Ange

February 20, 2009 - 7:10 pm

gina@kiwistreetstudios - pretty darn amazing! it’s a funny thing, these blogs.
i feel like i know your family better than i possibly could.
beautiful and the music was perfect.
i, for one, am so glad you shared;)g

February 21, 2009 - 12:57 am

betsy - AWWWWW! Your family is just so beautiful and precious! Once again, I wish we were neighbors!!!!!

Lots of love to you guys. : )

February 21, 2009 - 2:12 am

Abra Morris - That was great. I simply loved it. Thank you so much for sharing a bit of your life with us.

February 21, 2009 - 3:22 am

Sharon - What a beautiful snapshot of what appears to be a year filled with fun and love. Again, your talent amazes me. Thanks for sharing your year in photos.

February 21, 2009 - 11:41 pm

holly rouse - i sometimes wonder if my future children will be able to be as cool, and amazing, and kind, and beautiful as yours. i hold you all very close to my heart.

February 22, 2009 - 3:39 am

Kylee - looks like a great year! loved all the pics :) p.s. i like that you guys share personal as well as professional!

February 22, 2009 - 11:24 am

Maya Laurent - What a great year for you guys! Your family seems so fun!

February 22, 2009 - 6:13 pm

jess w - so, so precious. love you guys a whole lot!!

February 22, 2009 - 10:33 pm

Ida - Wow, wow, wow! I have goosebumps all over my arms. Love just oozes out of every single one of those photos. I can’t believe you did so many things last year! :) And having four kids looks wonderful and crazy at the same time. We’re going for four here too – but we’re way behind since I’m only pregnant with our second… :)

You have so much talent (and good looks!!!!)

February 23, 2009 - 12:07 am

mateo - could i be smiling any bigger? you guys are the best. i echo lucy being a bit teary, too, – so many blessings this year!
here’s to many more ahead- love you all ::hugs::

February 23, 2009 - 2:10 pm

Eric - Thanks for sharing! Makes me want to get out my camera, roll back the clock and shoot!

February 23, 2009 - 2:18 pm

CTIP - Absolutely makes me want to hug everybody I’ve ever cared about.Beautiful shots and beautiful music.I almost cried…Almost.

February 23, 2009 - 5:30 pm

Ashie - My favorite post by far. You’ve had quite a year my love!

February 23, 2009 - 7:35 pm

mel - omg! i absolutely love all of them. jess, can you take a bad picture?!?!? yer beautiful!! and the rest of the gang is also so adorable!! my favorite are all the sleepy eyes. LOVE the just waking up look. I CANT WAIT TO HAVE MY OWN FAMILY!!! :) how lucky your kids are to have these fantastic pics forever. ahhh. amazing….

February 26, 2009 - 8:19 am

tj - absolutely beautiful…your kids are so blessed to have their memories captured in such a cool way!

March 2, 2009 - 9:51 pm

Laura - That was awesome. :)

July 17, 2009 - 2:05 am

Sandy - That was so wonderful…It made me long for the days when my kids wanted nothing but my time, rather than my car. Really a lovely tribute to your year…life is a blessing and you are fortunate to be so gifted in recording it! God Bless.

SJN

christine {a senior session}

Wooo-hooo!!  Another Senior Session!!   I have to admit, I really loved this session, A LOT.   I had such fun hanging out with pretty lil’ Christine and her friend Matt.  We met up in Newport, KY to do her Senior session, which is where she likes to go to hang out.  Christine is adorable, friendly, and dressed so darn cute. :)  She was so super easy to work with, and her friend Matt was just awesome as well.  We walked all around (and it was FA-reeeeezing!!) and all around some more, and Matt carried Christine’s bag of clothes. :)What a man!

How ADORABLE is this girl!!!!

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I very quickly found out….her “friend” was a little more than a “friend.” :)

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Look at that B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L smile! :)

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Her clothes ROCKED.  She said, “When I saw this shirt I bought it, because I thought, Jess told me to be funky!”  I loved it.

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gorgeous eyes…..

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Cuties.

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As we were walking back to our cars, I saw headlights from a truck on this wall.  AHH!!  I asked the guy to sit there, and did a few more shots.

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And, I am so happy to have this done today because it is Christine’s birthday!!! So, everybody wish her a happy 18th!!!

Christine and Matt, it was a great time hanging out with you two…best of luck on your choices as you go off to college, and Christine, good luck with pre-Med!  You are adorable. :)

February 17, 2009 - 4:49 pm

Christine - thanks so much for the bday wish! and the pics are great as always! :D

February 17, 2009 - 5:46 pm

Briony - i love all her outfits…so cute! great shoot!

February 17, 2009 - 7:44 pm

holly rouse - with each senior session, it’s getting harder and harder to pick favorites. i am just in love with your work. and, also, i am in love with you!

February 17, 2009 - 8:45 pm

Ashie - She is stunning…and these pics are stunning! Seriously, I’m so proud of you! I love that God made you my sister…what a blessing!

February 17, 2009 - 9:15 pm

Kylee - this has to be one of my fave sr. sessions, of yours! very beautiful, great colors!

February 17, 2009 - 11:18 pm

mel - ummmm she looks like 28?? dang, shes gorgeous! she looks like she should be on the cover of a tahiti brochure…exotic look=HOT. great shoot.

February 17, 2009 - 11:21 pm

Maggie - Beautiful! SO absolutely beautiful! Mandee will flip when she sees this session.

February 18, 2009 - 9:36 pm

Abra Morris - Beautiful.

February 19, 2009 - 1:45 pm

Kelly (Daphne Photo Studio) - Gorgeous! I LOVE the headlight shots :)

February 22, 2009 - 11:25 am

Maya Laurent - Totally digging the light in those last two. Way to find the light!