• 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: April 2009

letter to gabriel.

To my baby boy…Gabriel Eliah.

The other day I heard you wake up from your nap.  Happy, as usual, you begin to call to me in your cute little sing-song voice.  Typically you don’t cry, but call out, “Maaaaaama,  Baaaaaaaba,  Maaaaaama,” until someone shows up at your door.  Today I decided to grab my camera before heading up to get you.  I am very glad I did.

There you sat cute as could be.  You showed me your blankie, pointed out the window saying, “Doggie!” When I asked you about the bird I heard, you made a cute expression as you looked around your room like it was getting ready to pop out and surprise us.

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And then one of my most favorite things in the world….you lean down because you habitually HAVE to give kisses through your cribs bars.

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One of your favorite games is to take your blankie and throw it out over your crib on top of my head, and then I throw it back up and do the same thing to you.

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After you got out of bed, you got dressed.  I just adore your sweet little puny arms.  And your eyelashes are going to melt the heart of the ladies someday…I am afraid.

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Books are your life right now- all shapes, all sizes, all colors, all types of stories….but your current favorite that has to be read and reread again and again is “Green Eggs and Ham.”

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You are such a big boy…and the thought that my “baby” is not going to be a baby much longer makes me sad.  I can’t believe you will be 2 yrs. old in just a couple months.

This may sound completely selfish, but I am kinda happy you have taken your sweet time growing and developing.  Each kid is different, and I know you will get there in your own time, but I am enjoying these days with you small and in my arms.

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It is no secret that I want to {and do} eat your face quite often.  How could I possibly help myself?

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And yes, you look like you father, but with your Mama’s brown eyes.  I am still in shock that I have a blond headed baby, but I love it.

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Sweet little boy….I will savor these last few days before your terrible twos arrive.  With you sweet and pretty calm nature, I don’t imagine that they would be very terrible.  But we will have to wait and see.  You may just surprise me and give me a run for my money. :)

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Love you little goose.

~Mama

April 28, 2009 - 5:02 pm

Erin - So cute!! Lovely photos.

April 28, 2009 - 5:09 pm

Nathan Walker - My little boy (our first baby) is due in 2 months… I can’t wait to feel the bond a parent has with their child – thanks for sharing :)

April 28, 2009 - 6:18 pm

mel - i loooove how you wrote that. its funny because i was going to do a simaliar thing. great minds think alike!! :)

April 28, 2009 - 6:26 pm

Gail - Exquisite.

April 28, 2009 - 7:00 pm

wrecklessgirl - i adore these, and your little letter. so darling. it’s like i’m there, too.

April 28, 2009 - 7:31 pm

gina@kiwistreetstudios - ahh, jess, so sweet;)

April 28, 2009 - 7:39 pm

lucy - omg. i love him. he’s such the perfect baby boy…so cute and precious…espcially when he’s screaming…SHUT UP!

April 28, 2009 - 9:25 pm

betsy - Oh what a sweet pumpkin!!!!!! Love this. : )

April 29, 2009 - 8:58 am

Briony - these are adorable…what a sweet lil model :) i love love love pretty much all of the black and whites. you always teach me so much about perspective!

April 29, 2009 - 1:38 pm

holly - he will love you even more for this little note someday.

April 29, 2009 - 2:11 pm

Lindsey Joy - what an adorable post, he is precious!!

April 30, 2009 - 10:20 am

Stephanie Cantin - These. Are. Fabulous. Gorgeous tones and a stunning little boy. The last one is my favorite!

April 30, 2009 - 5:55 pm

Lauren - Who wouldn’t love these pics? They are just too cute! He’s so handsome and he knows it :) As always… I really enjoy your style of photography! FYI…I added you on my favorite blogs list on my blog! Thanks for the inspiration!

May 1, 2009 - 2:09 am

Katelyn - I love how you are so good about documenting your own life and your children. It’s quite inspiring. It inspires me to be this good at photographing my own children when I have them someday. Your photos are so beautiful.

May 1, 2009 - 2:45 pm

Jen - Jess — that was just precious.

May 8, 2009 - 3:21 pm

Alex - Yeah… he is soooo sweet… as honey!

May 24, 2009 - 2:59 pm

Maya Laurent - Love this Jess! He such a sweetie!!!

addy. {two years}

I have been putting off writing this all day because I seem to be having a bit of writers block…but here we go.  Part of my issue is that frankly, I am not a writer.  I am a photographer, I am an artist, I am a wife and a mother-but I am just a “wanna-be” writer.  One of the biggest things I struggle with when it comes to writing is trying to find the appropriate words to relay my thoughts and feelings when something is extremely meaningful to me.  The task seems nearly impossible….so typically I do what a lot of people do-I just give up.  Perfect example: Brett and I celebrated our 10 yr. anniversary in December….BUT I never blogged about it because I couldn’t even TRY to figure out where to begin??!  I mean really?? So I didn’t even mention it and I know-It is so completely lame…..

Today I find myself in the same situation.  I just did a shoot last week that was so very important to me, a big part being I know how important it is to my pal, Becky.  Becky and I have been best friends since 9th grade.  We are completely, totally, 100% the yin to the yang with one another. I was always the quiet one, she was the loud one….I was timid, she was outgoing…..I was a realist, she was a dreamer…I always made the plans, she went along with whatever I told her we were doing…..You get the idea.:)  Becky has always been the one to push me out on the dance floor, make me wear the funky dress, and she always, always, ALWAYS sees the bright side of every situation.  When I got pregnant with my 4th just a couple weeks after she announced her pregnancy with her 2nd child, we were both super excited!!!  While she thought about all the exercising we would do together (remember-she is the dreamer??!), I was making meal charts, and assigning books for her to read. :)  We had a blast, and our due dates were mid-late May of 2007, about 2-3 wks. apart.

In early April of 07 I got a call from Becky’s husband….something had gone very wrong.  An ambulance had come and taken Becky to the hospital.  Becky had a stroke.  In the hospital they found that she had blood pressure that was dangerously high, for her and the baby.  Even though she had a month and a half left, they began talking about taking the baby.  The next few days were completely surreal.  Just a week before we had been experiencing our happy pregnancies together, and now my dear friend lay in the hospital and we were not sure what was going on.  Over the next few days were more strokes.  There were Doctors, testing, theories, and the answer seemed to point to an underlying genetic disease being the cause.  This realization was very painful but Becky handled it better than anyone possibly could.  She put her faith in God.  Finally things calmed down and she was stable. The doctors gave her the choice for her C-section of Saturday or Monday, and she choose Monday the 16th of April.  Monday morning quickly arrived, and I set my alarm so that I could be on my knees in prayer during her surgery.

Little Adeline arrived at a whopping 4 lbs.:)  She was precious as could be.  She was tiny, but she was strong.

I went to see her the day she was born and then took the photos below when she was one day old.  Becky didn’t get to see her as much as she wanted those first few days, and it was so painful knowing my friend wanted her child close, but couldn’t have her.  It felt wrong that I could hold her, while Becky lay 2 rooms down.  My heart was broken for my dear friend.  I will never forget when I held Addy for the first time….I remember how tiny she was, and that the baby inside of my big belly kicked and kicked when I held Addy close.  I just knew they would be friends.:)

Look how small and sweet she was…In the last photo they are trying to give her milk.

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And NOW look at her!!!!

I’ve taken so many photos of this precious girl…so precious to all of us….but never as precious as she is to her Mama.

Beck, I hope you love these photos of your baby girl.

She is growing up right before our eyes.

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Oh how I love those little lips!!!

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Eyelashes, Eyelashes.

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I LOVE her.

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Beautiful smile. :)

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We caught her Beck!

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Girl likes to EAT!

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She looks so innocent….but I promise people, it’s all an act…..she is her mother’s child.  ;)

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tongue.

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getting SASSY.

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ahhhhh…she makes me want a girl to put pink chucks on.

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Picking Aunt Jesse’s flowers. :)

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Happy birthday to my little buddy Addy!!! :)  The Z family loves you so much, now and always!

Love you too Beck.  You are the best Momma around, and I adore you for reasons I couldn’t begin to number.

~jess

April 22, 2009 - 10:35 pm

rebecky - Your words make me cry, Jess. You are an amazing person and I am so happy God put you in my life. Our Family is so lucky to have such wonderful friends by our side. A true, blue friend–that is my Jess. The pictures of Addy are beyond beautiful. I love them. Thank you. I can’t believe how incrediable these turned out. I know you are an out of this world photographer but my Addy so crazy. Priya- thanks for all your help(you are tops in my book)….wormfarm, thank you for the 15 minutes of torture you endured.

April 22, 2009 - 11:23 pm

Ashie - I could barely see the pics because my eyes are filled with tears! That was absolutely beautiful. Addy is gorgeous! Beck- you really are an amazing mama! Love you all!

April 22, 2009 - 11:50 pm

lucy - what a precious post. addy truly is a gorgeous baby with all kinds of spunk! happy bday addy! and um jess, by the way, you do have a little girl who would L-O-V-E for you to dress her in pretty pink chucks!!!

April 23, 2009 - 8:47 am

Briony - these are wonderful….i love the processing on the sassy one…looks like it was taken decades ago! beautiful job :)

April 23, 2009 - 8:48 am

holly - Your words made me cry, and I don’t even know this family. You are an amazing writer. Usually, when reading photographers’ blogs, I used to skip all of the writing and go straight for the pictures, but when I came across your blog (way back in the day), it made me realize that maybe the words are important–because yours always are. I really and truly think this post is beautiful. All of it. Every single word and image. And I think you’re beautiful, too.

April 23, 2009 - 10:49 am

michelle - What do you mean you are a ‘wanna be writer’? This post had me in tears. I would say you are not only an amazing photographer, but one heck of a writer! Happy Birthday to sweet Addy.

April 23, 2009 - 11:36 am

Mamaw Patty - Oh Jess … you ruin me! When I read your words and remember the day I watched Becky being taken away in the ambulance and then look at the photos of the precious little gift God gave to our family, I stand in awe of him. Becky was his gift to me and now the babies are his gift to my girl … HE IS SO GOOD! Thank you for capturing this little Becky-replica for us! I’m hooked.

April 23, 2009 - 12:45 pm

Kelly (Daphne Photo Studio) - These pictures amazing…and so are your words :)

April 23, 2009 - 12:57 pm

Renee - How precious….

April 23, 2009 - 3:10 pm

Ronni - What a beautiful post. I really see that it comes from the heart. These are wonderful pictures and I think every mother should have something so special of their children. You are awesome.

April 23, 2009 - 3:12 pm

tracy - thanks for posting that story jess…i’m sending my love for becky, you and the birthday girl…

April 23, 2009 - 4:29 pm

Maggie - And you thought you weren’t a writer! I’m crying like a little baby…

April 23, 2009 - 7:09 pm

Kylee - Aww, how cute is she?? And i thought you wrote that all very well!

April 23, 2009 - 11:35 pm

Sharon - Jessica- that was so beautiful. I had seen pics of Becky and her kids on your website before, but I had no idea of the medical struggles she has had. What a miracle they both are! And what a perfect picture of the 2 of you. How blessed she is to have you as a friend. One can only hope that everyone can have a friendship like the 2 of you have. Again- your photography is breathtaking. You capture people in pictures and it makes us feel like we know them somehow. You have truly been blessed with an amazing God-given talent.

April 24, 2009 - 1:17 am

Konul - I remember first time seeing baby Addy in the hospital as if it was yesterday. Now she is 2 years old!!! Happy birthday Addy!

Pictures are great, Jesse! And the way you presented them with your words is just an icing on a cake! Some self-proclaimed writers who pop up everywehere like mushrooms after the rain should be very embarrased if they ever read your blog. Your work is just simply AMAZING!!!

April 24, 2009 - 9:11 am

Bonnie - You have me in tears over here! Beautiful post. Thanks for sharing.

April 24, 2009 - 12:09 pm

Susan Solo - You’re not a wanna-be writer…you ARE a writer! Just because it takes you a little longer to get your thoughts on paper/screen, doesn’t take away from the fact that you can write. The story is simply beautiful, and of course, so are the images. Adeline is just so sweet!

April 24, 2009 - 12:15 pm

Jessica Schmidt - Ok, I’m sitting at work and started getting teary eyed. LOVE these. Jess – you did a great job. Becky and Troy- great genes, she is beautiful!

April 24, 2009 - 7:22 pm

jess w - Ok, the tears are flowing… Beck- this brings back all the memories of the fear we felt during that scary time…look at you and Addy now!! God really is so good. I love you and think that you are an incredible, beautiful person – thru & thru.
Great post, Jess. Addy is one precious little girl! And, could she be any more of a spitting image of her mama??

April 25, 2009 - 9:35 pm

gina@kiwistreetstudios - i don’t think i can say how i feel…a truly amazing tribute to your friendship and ending with incredible pictures (art) of beautiful little ‘addy.’ blessings all around for sure.

April 25, 2009 - 9:51 pm

esther - you said it beautifully! she’s adorable!

July 10, 2009 - 8:36 pm

a beautiful family. {who is close to my heart} » studio3z photography - [...] with us.  It’s not the first time….here is the most recent session of her baby girl Addy…….. and I had to look back a little, but here is the last family session I did of them.  :)    I was [...]

heather + rodney {in love}

Meet Heather and Rodney!  Brett and I have known Rodney for years because he went to the same small private high school that we went to.  Heather is a very good friend of one of our favoritest brides ever, Julia:)

Funny story….after they got engaged they were hanging out with some family and friends.  One friend was Julia, (our past bride I mentioned) and Rodney’s Mom was there as well.  They were discussing who to use for the upcoming wedding and when photography came up, Julia said, “I have the PERFECT photographer for you guys!!”  Then Rodney’s Mom said to Rodney, “I’ve heard that some people you went to school with have a good photography business….”  After they both took turns discussing why THEIR choice for a photographer was better, they finally figured out they were talking about the same people- US. :)

For their session we decided to shoot around Newport on the Levee, which has special meaning to them- we love that!

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They met here.:)

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They are SOOO adorable.

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This is our, “sit like a girl, and sit like a dude” series.

These are so them.

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We had gorgeous light that evening….

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Love the light….love them!

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Her hair blowing in the wind was just perfect…..

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The first few shots we did were in a small alleyway.  Brett, AKA “spiderman” scaled this wall to stand on a ledge (one foot) and piping (other foot).  I swear he does this just to freak me out.

(Bobbi, this one’s for you, because I know you love Brett’s antics.)

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Rodney and Heather….you guys were troopers.  Thanks for dealing with having your photos taken.  Not SOOOO bad right? :)

We are super excited for your upcoming June wedding!!  It will be so much FUN!!!!

April 20, 2009 - 4:13 pm

lucy - very cool. these photos had to be cheesy easy with such a cute couple. you make cincy/newport look so cool. i’m almost happy to live here.

April 20, 2009 - 4:29 pm

Julia - YES! You know i have been waiting for this post, and here it is :-) Where to begin…. as always, you guys did an amazing job, in fact every time i check the blog, your work just gets better – if that’s even possible! These are two of my favorite people in the whole world, and i think you pegged their personalities to a T. I love the sepia tone shot with the big “Jefferson” in the background; the girl and guy poses are cracking me up; the one where they are sitting on the ground with her head on his shoulder is priceless; The series of shots with the bridge and sunset in the background are steamy – ow! ow! and i must say my favorite fave of the session has to be heather’s hair blowing… how gorgeous is that girl?! Jess and Brett, can’t wait to see you guys at their wedding in June :-)

April 20, 2009 - 4:51 pm

adam - stellar shoot.
nice to see bretts monkeying around as usual.
cant wait till my hand better so i can join him….haha

April 20, 2009 - 5:07 pm

Nathan Walker - i love this session – this couple looks like a ton of fun!! you caught some great moments here :)

April 20, 2009 - 5:24 pm

Rodney - Thank God for talented photographers and the most amazing and beautiful fiance… almost makes up for my awkwardness… almost. Brett and Jessica… you guys are truly the best! Love seeing that homegrown CCHS talent in action! The wedding will be a blast…
Hay Mae… you’re breathtaking.

April 20, 2009 - 6:09 pm

Amy - Heather and Rodney- Beautiful pictures of a beautiful couple! Absolutely GORGEOUS!

April 20, 2009 - 6:23 pm

Mary Ann - Adorable!! LOVE the romantic close-up with the bridge in the background as well as the one of you guys leaning against the building where Heather is laughing! Love to see you guys making each other so happy! Congrats!!

April 20, 2009 - 8:21 pm

Briony - these are awesome! i love the bridge ones and the ones showing you all in action :)

April 20, 2009 - 11:26 pm

Heather - Jessica and Brett… as much as Rod and I hate getting our picture taken, these are just amazing photographs! You guys are awesome and fabulous, I could not say enough thanks! .. I can’t even pick a favorite! June 6th will be here before we know it, and its such a good feeling knowing already that we’re going to love the pictures afterward! Love them!:)

April 21, 2009 - 12:23 am

gina@kiwistreetstudios - you’re right, the light was golden and i love how it played up all the textures…great locations, great shots, great couple!
but…where’s the picts that brett took while he was climbing all over the place?????? ;) g

April 21, 2009 - 3:23 am

d@urbanvisionstudios - Jessica and Bret- I frequent your blog– and I think that image #13 (vertical shot with bridge in the background at sunset) might be my favorite that you’ve ever posted. You inspire me to no end!

April 21, 2009 - 8:11 am

bobbi - AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Great session!!!!! However, my FAVORITE is the shot of Brett in the alleyway :) Brett, you’re flipping awesome :D Thanks for the shoutout, you both rock rock rock!

April 21, 2009 - 6:17 pm

Erica - I’ve been blogstalking you two since I found your site a month ago through prophotoblogs, which I now have, :) Love the shots of Brett scaling the wall – but I want to see the resulting photos! Love your work!

April 21, 2009 - 11:39 pm

rebecca-linh - best action shot EVER!

April 23, 2009 - 10:56 am

Alex - Absolutely beautiful!!!!! It´s really “big tennis” ;-) Great locations, perfect play with light and a Spiderman in action! Best from Germany, Alex… the Alex *sing*

April 23, 2009 - 8:48 pm

Last Forty Percent - Big fan of the third photo and so many others. Really great work.

June 23, 2009 - 4:29 pm

heather + rodney {are married!!} » studio3z photography - [...] may remember Heather and Rodney from there fun engagement session HERE.  Brett and I went to school with Rodney, and one of our past brides is one of Heather’s [...]

College of Mt. St. Joseph’s {Presidential Inauguration}

Something a little different today for the celebration of our 200th blog post!

In mid-March a local college called, “The College of Mt. St. Joseph” held the inauguration of their 6th college president,  Dr. Anthony J. Aretz, Ph.D.  It was a big ordeal, and we were very honored to have a part in the celebration.

We don’t normally show much of our commercial and editorial work we do, but I thought this would be something fun to show.  Our work made it on the cover of “The Mount News,” (the college’s magazine) and it went out in the mail this week, so I thought this was the perfect time to post.

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They had many alumni come back, with a representative for almost each graduating class all the way back to the class of 1938!  Here are the alums getting their appropriate years.

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Here are some of the ladies from the earliest graduating classes represented.

This is also the photo that was chosen for the cover of the college’s magazine. :)  I think it is cute.

Agnes Devaney Fogarty, (left) is 91 years young, and has witnessed all 6 presidents at The Mount.

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Then the delegates marched over to the auditorium for the ceremony.

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Their were many family, friends, alumni, and of course current students in attendance.  This is The Mount’s football team.

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And this is the new president, Dr. Tony Aretz.

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These are current teachers and faculty.

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A few shots outdoors afterwords….

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Probably one of my favorite shots of the day.

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Best wishes to Dr. Tony Aretz, and to everyone at The Mount.  Thank you for your kindness.  It was truely a pleasure to work with you!

April 17, 2009 - 8:53 pm

Gail - These are great Jess – I hope I look that fantabulous at 91!

April 18, 2009 - 10:47 pm

mel - by the way. i forgot to ask you yesterday..umm the msj magazine is BIG and larger than a typical manila envelope. how the heck do you want me to mail this?! lol

April 19, 2009 - 12:49 am

Kylee - This is actually really cool! Thanks for sharing :)