• 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: August 2010

kayla {senior}

We had a great Senior shoot with Kayla who is a natural beauty, and such a fun and spunky girl!  She was very comfortable in front of the camera, so it made our job easy. ;)  Here are a few favorites from our session a couple weeks back.

I was in love with this dress!

Her eyes are just GORGEOUS.

Something about this image below is just so incredibly striking to me….

Thanks Kayla!  It was great meeting you, and we wish you all the best this last year of High School. :)

And now I’m off to school with the kids (our first day back)….

Happy Monday to you all!

August 30, 2010 - 10:02 am

christina - awesome shoot, love the location. Where is it? It looks so antique and small town.

August 30, 2010 - 12:41 pm

Jess W. - Another fantastic Senior shoot! What a beautiful girl- the color and shape of her eyes are stunning. I love the light in these photos.

August 30, 2010 - 12:51 pm

Janica - Oh, how beautiful! I, too, have dress envy over that little grey number. Another amazing session!

August 30, 2010 - 8:43 pm

Angela Strader - I told you she was beautiful. WOW!

August 31, 2010 - 2:39 pm

AmyPunky Photography - She is gorgeous!!!!

August 31, 2010 - 4:59 pm

melanie - kayla is hot. and she looks older than me. :) good work.

August 31, 2010 - 6:53 pm

Sandy Singleton - Thanks Jess and Brett! You did a wonderful job. Of course my baby is a pretty one!

September 2, 2010 - 9:39 pm

Jessica Lynn - GORGEOUS!

our last few months.

I can’t believe the sun is already setting earlier, and my kids have their school supplies all lined up and ready.  We begin our official schooling Monday morning.  I think I am finally coming to grips with reality, and bidding a fond farewell to the 2010 summer.

Back in March I wrote a blog entry that really solidified feelings I had been having and wanting to share.  The response was amazing!  From comments, to emails, and just people talking with me, I felt so much better because so many said they understood where I was coming from.  Since that point, I am happy to say that this year has been going quite smoothly.  We stuck to a plan that we made and things have been much more balanced around here….one major accomplishment being, I didn’t feel like I was going to have an anxiety attack once this summer!  Instead, we just enjoyed it together.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much that when I went to look over photos for this post, I realized we didn’t take many!!  Oh well. Living in the moment, and just simply living was my goal.  Goal accomplished.

Here are some highlights of the past few months.  These things may have been on my “to-do” list on my desk, or the one in my heart:

- had many dear friends over for dinner and laughs (this was put off too long)

- celebrated my three boys birthdays

- celebrated my two sisters’ birthdays

- celebrated another year of life for me

- got new garage doors put on

- had our red house repainted, red of course

- went to LA for a shoot and hang time w/Jason

- went to a fantastic photography workshop, and met amazing new friends

-saw Ashley graduate from Nursing School

- as guests, witnessed two dear friends get married

-took a spring wildflower trip with just my Dad

- ate lots of yummy summer veggies

- had a great 4th of July party with some of my dearest friends

- took my kids swimming much more than last year

- did a complete redo of Priya’s room

- helped my daughter start her own art and food blog

- went on dates with my sweetie, just for fun

- watched lots of movies

- booked our family vacation!

- Brett took Adin on his first father/son camping trip

- went to a couple concerts

- got the car I’ve been dreaming of :)

MOST IMPORTANTLY….did all of this guilt free.  If you own a home based business, you know what I mean!

I have to say, I am a bit nervous for the rest of the year.  I have been soooo relaxed the past couple months that I am going to have to really step it up here beginning Monday.  I plan to share a bit of my/our schedule in the next couple weeks, since I have had so many people curious about the homeschooling/business owning/family raising balance.  I am going to start a new segment on here called BALANCE to hopefully help others, help myself, and just vent through this journey of life.

I would love to hear some fun/great/thrilling things you did or accomplished this summer in the comments below!

August 25, 2010 - 10:36 am

Gail - This is such a fantastic post Jess. I feel like, some weeks I do the balance thing, others (like this one) I SO do not. Thanks for being inspiration in this category and I can’t wait to see what you have to say in what comes next.

PS – I hear you on the shoots too. Taking July off (for me) was SUCH a blessing that now that I’m back into the swing of things, I’m like, WHOA…..

August 25, 2010 - 11:41 am

nate - I simply love this celebration of life. The love you guys are surrounded with is undeniable.

August 25, 2010 - 2:57 pm

Betsy - I miss you!

What did I do this summer? Had a baby. I kind of feel like I did nothing else. ;-)

Oh, did I forget to tell you that I miss you?

PS I REALLY enjoyed bogarting your fabulous dress this summer, though I did feel bad about it. I need to send it back, but find it to be a security blanket, as I know I have no pants that fit yet. ;-)

Love ya!

August 26, 2010 - 6:06 am

Tara E. - This is my first post ever! I have been following you all for about a year and a half and I just love all the photos and life you share! You are all absolutely wonderful! My accomplishment this summer: back in May a friend asked me, “Tara, what do you want to do with your life?” I replied, “That’s kind of a lot to answer, can you break it down?” She said, “Where do you want to be?” “Easy….San Diego.” “Well why aren’t you there?” Fear, anxiety, the unknown, I’ve grown up in Cincy from high school to college to first REAL job. So I decided to look for a job in San Diego. I found one and now anticipate moving in about 2 months! So, my accomplishment was fighting fear and moving 2,000 miles away from family to go discover more life! Thanks so much for this post! I will continue to follow you all out in SD.

August 26, 2010 - 12:44 pm

Donna - I have been following you. I adore your pictures…you got great creativity just like I love my creativity! …wonder how you manage your family time with a demand of your photography business. I have been into my business which is one year now. I have two older children…one is already entering Gallaudet University and other one is a junior at HS. It helps me a lot when they choose to do their own schedule. This summer, I went to Massachusetts to take a plenty of pictures with my dear friend who also likes photography. It was good to be away to both Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. It rejuvenated me and I am ready for more sessions. I must applaud you for your great job especially finding time to be with your family. :)

August 26, 2010 - 6:03 pm

brian rickey - Great Stuff! I finally went to a warm water beach, (drove all the way from St. Louis to South Beach, Miami Florida) and I finally shot a bride and groom on Michighan Ave in Chicago. Those are two things I have been wanting to do for a long time!

August 27, 2010 - 1:47 pm

shannon selim - dude, you got a mini-cooper? lucky!

August 27, 2010 - 8:01 pm

Marla Wertheim - AMEN to needing some time off. I envy you for really doing it. I swear, just the other day I said to myself, “this year is going to be about finding balance”. You’ve inspired me :) Hope to see you around the ‘Nati!

August 29, 2010 - 11:33 am

Eliza - To get myself off a plateau in terms of photography, I did a summer photo project taking one picture every day (although I took many more than that!). Just shooting everyday life taught me so much!!

I would love to see Priya’s blog. What is the URL?

August 30, 2010 - 12:45 pm

Jess W. - Man, did it ever fly by…so sad, but it was a great summer. I enjoyed seeing you as much as I did, and we need to make an effort to continue throughout the busy winter months! Glad you’re finding that “balance” that is so hard to find. Love you.

September 6, 2010 - 8:12 pm

Jenika - I stumbled across your site and this collage of photos really spoke to me. I love collages, and this just seemed like a slice of life. I’m wondering if you compiled it in photoshop this way? Thanks for giving me a peek into your wonderful life. Have a great day.

tracy + shanaka {the wedding}

We were honored to be a part of the lovely wedding of Tracy and Shanaka.  You may remember me mentioning when we did their engagement session, that they don’t think they’re very good in front of the camera, but we have found it to be the exact opposite- they were very natural.

Here are some of our favorites from their day.

While the girls were getting prettied up….

……the guys enjoyed food and sports, but of course.  Shanaka had the guys wear their favorite jerseys.

Then they watched game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Mets (Shanaka’s favorite team) and the Red Sox.

Tracy’s sweet mom helped her tie her sash perfectly.

Stunning bride.

Handsome groom.

First looks…..

Tracy is such a natural beauty. She has to be the most patient and laid-back bride we’ve ever had. 

“A wall that matches you perfectly!!!!!!”

Ahhhhh, you two are ADORABLE together.

Beautiful job on flowers by Courtenay Lambert.

And the view of downtown Cincinnati was beautiful.

Prayer before the ceremony.

I just ADORE the look on this little guy’s face.  :)

Tracy’s brother was the officiant. How cool is that?!

They did a tea ceremony where they served tea to their parents, honoring their two cultures.

Two very beautiful, and proud mamas.  This makes my heart so very happy.

This may be one of my favorite wedding ideas I’ve seen.  This is their “wishing tree” and they asked their guests to sign a note, leave advice, or draw a picture.  I loved watching its transformation over the night into a beautiful and meaningful work of art.

Gorgeous setting, with a very personal twist….Tracy’s mother handmade all of the vases.  They were each a masterpiece!!

They surprised everyone with a “same day edit” by Studio Z Films.  It was FABULOUS!

We were lucky enough to work with a fabulous team of vendors, who all did a wonderful job.

Hair: Jen Nally

Makeup: Jean Folchi

Video: Studio Z Films

Florals: Courtenay Lambert

Venue: Drees Pavilion

Tracy and Shanaka, thank you so much for including us in your beautiful day!  You are a wonderful couple, and we wish you many years of happiness together.

All the best,

Jess and Brett

August 23, 2010 - 11:09 am

Gail - BEAUTIFUL images Jess. THey are a gorgeous couple. I think that purple wall shot with her purple accents is my favorite bridal shot you’ve ever taken!! :)

August 23, 2010 - 5:48 pm

Lisa B. - Fantastic photos, gorgeous couple, super-cool wedding!
The bride’s “matching wall” and “the handsome groom” photos are each my favorite individual shots of them.
I don’t know how you do it, but you make things look more “real” and “there” than they are in real life!

August 23, 2010 - 10:21 pm

Tracy - Thank you so much Jess & Brett! These pics are wonderful! We were able to be so calm & totally just enjoy the day for all that it was, knowing we had excellent photographers capturing all of the greatest moments of our wedding! THANK YOU for bringing us back to our big day & for helping us remember all of the sweet and touching moments. We were just so fortunate to have great vendors all across the board & beautiful weather to boot! And thanks to your blog followers for all their sweet comments :)

August 24, 2010 - 10:32 am

kaila - wow, wow, wow! I love the emotion in these images! I also LOVE all the special touches, what a blessing for years to come!

August 28, 2010 - 11:17 am

Jaimie Dee Photography - These made me teary eyed! LOVED THEM! :) Great work. Also love the HDR type look to some of the earlier indoor shots.

August 30, 2010 - 12:37 pm

Jess W. - These are great shots, you two! The mom pics are great, the pics of them on the P&G premises, the pic of Tracy looking at the camera w/ Shanaka facing her with his eyes closed, Tracy in front of the purple door…don’t know if I could pick a favorite. Tracy’s such a gorgeous bride. I’m sure they’re thrilled with what you captured.

September 4, 2010 - 2:41 pm

meg duerksen - this was so beautiful.
i love her colors. what an awesome spot to get married!

September 27, 2010 - 7:46 am

Roberta Crumplin - Gorgeous pics!Love the very vintage grey on the 8th image. And her sash is such a perfect colour.

September 28, 2010 - 10:17 am

Courtenay Lambert - Wow….gorgeous! You guys do such amazing work, and Tracy and Shanaka look so gorgeous!

our snuggle buddy.

This week I have been a busy bee trying to play catch up on some work, prepping to blog a beautiful wedding, all while getting things in order for my kids school year which is just around the corner.  We home school, and we are making some big changes this year, and adding on some new challenges since my daughter is now going to be a 5th grader  (Help me Lord.)

Of course in the midst of all of this, the kids get sick.  They are feeling a bit better today, but last night I began losing my voice, and by the time I went to bed I sounded just as sexy as Demi Moore- maybe sexier.

Today all I want is to rest, when in the back of my mind I have guilt of work that needs to be done.  But I’m going to take it easy. I’m sitting here holding my sweet little cuddle bug boy, and doing what we do so well together- snuggling (yes, while I type and he critiques my editing).

Here are some photos I took a couple months back.  One of his favorite things to do is act like he is “napping” at the vent below my feet.  I look down from my office chair and see this:

It’s so funny….I remember pushing my first two to grow up, and get out of the “baby” phase.  Now I find I am just savoring my moments with my three year old who still wants to snuggle and suck his fingers.  I am very happy with my baby boy taking his sweet time.  (Yes, I see the whole “baby complex” in the making- and I’m ok with that.)

Here’s to illness passing quickly, and lots of love in the meantime. :)

August 18, 2010 - 10:23 am

Mr. Blonde - That last photo specifically is spectacular!

August 18, 2010 - 11:39 am

Alice - Such precious images! I hope everyone is feeling better soon.

August 18, 2010 - 9:59 pm

Jessica Lynn - awww he is precious!!!

August 19, 2010 - 12:07 am

lucy - i heart this post. i think he may even be cuter when he’s sick…didn’t know that was possible.

August 19, 2010 - 7:31 pm

Jess W. - Tell that squeezable Gabey-baby that “Jeshca” loves him!

August 20, 2010 - 6:17 pm

Maranda - How absolutely sweet and precious…. Such a great feel to these images, they really touched my heart :)