Aurora Photographer

Baker Family | Motherhood Session in Denver Colorado

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As we all know I love everything about motherhood and I am one to believe that every stage of motherhood should be documented.  I love when mothers reach out to me to photograph this time in their journey.  It is so hard being a mother and finding time to step in front of the camera, especially with your children.  Even for me and I am definitely trying to be better about being present in the images with my children.

 The more I photograph motherhood and I understand that these photos are not for me or you or your husband or sister or mom, they are for your children. I only have a handful of photos with my mother from when I was a child, and even fewer of us just goofing off being silly together.  In the warmer months I plan on offering motherhood sessions outside once a quarter. In the winter, I plan on offering these sessions once a month at an indoor location.

 

 

Jamie L. | Maternity Session in Denver Colorado

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A few weeks ago I was so excited to join several other photographers for a 'Maternity Shoot Out' We had several gorgeous pregnant mamas, and some families there for us to photograph. Each photographer styled their own maternity sessions and we all had about 30 minutes with each beautiful mama/family.  I have never participated in maternity session like this before and to say it was a BLAST would have been an understatement.  I had the opportunity to do a lot of experimenting with these fabulous ladies and I am thrilled with the results.  Here is one of my sessions from that day.. the BEAUTIFUL Jamie who is a fabulous Denver photographer and you can check out her stunning work right HERE

 

Theo B. | Birth in Tucson Arizona

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I am honored to finally share the birth of Theodore B.  His birth story is actually one of my favorites because literally the day before he was born, his mama and I were joking around about me being able to attend.  Cierra never officially 'booked' me for her birth, it was more of a "if I can be there, I'll be there"  type situation.  Well Cierra messaged me the NEXT day saying she was heading to the birth center because she wasn't sure if she was in true labor or not.  I was on standby and I got a text not even 2 hours later saying to head on down.  Little did we all know.. Theo would be born shortly after the text.  I arrived right as he was crowning and was able to spend a few hours with them documenting his first few hours earth side. 

I am booking a small amount of births this year here in Denver and I have a few spots still available.  If you're interested in booking your birth story please email me. 

Theo. T. | NICU Session Tucson Arizona

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I have known Ian for many years.  When he told me that he and his girlfriend Katie were expecting, I couldn't be more thrilled.  Ian and Katie found out when she was around 18 weeks and little did they know that they would be meeting little Theo just a few short weeks after finding out.  Theo is considered a Micro Preemie - Born before 26 weeks or weighing less than 1lb 12oz, Theo fit both of those criteria.  He was born at 24 weeks 4 days and weighed 1lb 10oz.  

 

I was able to visit Theo in the NICU with Ian when he was 2 days old.  Let me tell you.. it takes a special kind of person to be a NICU nurse.  I was in awe of everything that was going on around me. I spent about an hour with Ian and Theo before we headed out to visit Katie who was recovering from her emergency C-Section.  I am so honored that they let me into their very personal space during this crazy emotional time. 

Theodore James was born at 24 Weeks 4 days weighing 1lb 10oz.  Today he is 50 days old and weighs 2lbs 14oz.  From all of the updates I have been getting he is such a strong little fighter.  I can't wait to visit him again when I am back in Tucson in March. 

Photo: Art by Jessica offers free NICU sessions for those families currently in the NICU that would like this time in their lives to be documents.  Please email me for more details. 

Transition

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The past month and a half has been a time of transition for my family as we move from Tucson AZ to Denver CO.  I have been documenting my family through this transition to remember this crazy time in our life. 

 


C. Family | Family Session in Tucson Arizona

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So I have had the honor of photographing this adorable family for 3 years.  I hope I get to photograph them for many more!  They have grown right along with me and they are expecting their 3rd little one early next year!!  We had a beautiful session at Gates Pass in Tucson.  The weather was still a bit warm but they were troopers as I made them hike all over. I cannot lie, these guys are seriously the silliest family I have ever photographed.  Their sessions are always full of laughs and tickle fights. I can't wait to hang out with you guys again when I am back in Tucson for my spring sessions!!

 

 

Ireland Jean | In Home Newborn Session

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Like I have said before, I LOVE everything related to birth photography, including maternity and in home newborn sessions.  I truly love lifestyle newborn sessions.  There is just something magical about those first few days at home with a new little one.  The Randall family invited me into their home two weeks after little Ireland was born, brother and sister are still getting into the swing of having a new sibling and little Ireland was seriously as sweet as could be.  Thank you so much Randall Family for letting me be part of this wonderful time in your lives!

 


Jonea | Maternity in Tucson Arizona

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This is actually the first of two maternity sessions with this amazing woman!  Her husband was out of town for her first session and her second session will be just them without their adorable son!  I can't lie, I was extremely nervous to photograph Jonea..  this girl is literally famous. She was photographed by the AMAZING Jade Beall for The Beautiful Body Project and several of her images have gone viral.  it did take me a while to get over my nervousness and when I finally got comfortable we hit an amazing groove and created some because art together.  I am SO HONORED she asked me to photograph her!  

I have finally decided I am just obsessed with anything about birth and mothering/nurturing.  I love being able to photograph these amazing women who are caring for and nurturing their children.  Now we wait Jonea and Josh's beautiful little girl to grace us with her presence, I can't wait to share their images from their next maternity session with the world!

 


Kiersten | Nursing Session in Tucson Arizona

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I love nursing sessions.. Heck I love feeding sessions in general.  Watching a family member nourish their baby is such an amazing thing.  Kiersten is an amazing mama who is currently nursing her 1 and 3 year old.  We only had about 20 minutes of shooting time in the orchard this evening, the mosquitoes were unbearable, I left the orchard with over 30 bites all over the place.  I am so honored that Kiersten asked me to take these shots for her to commemorate her nursing. She is one client/friend I am going to miss terribly once I move to Colorado.  She has been with me since the very beginning and when I look back on her first set of images I took I can definitely see how much growth there has been within myself and my photography.  I am so proud to have those images to look back on.  We all start somewhere and I am so glad that she has stuck by me through the years.  

To book your feeding session with me please email Hello@photoartbyjessica.com.  I would really enjoy adding a few more sessions to my portfolio.  These sessions are not limited to nursing, I would be honored to photograph you bottle feeding you child or even pumping for your child.  

End of Summer | Personal Images

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“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

Last week my husband went away for work for a week so the day he left we went and cooled off with my aunt and uncle and took advantage of the pool in their neighborhood.  Lilian was working on diving, Aria was working on well... being a toddler in a pool.  We have been working with her on flipping to her back in the water and this day she finally did it!  I was super proud of her!  I really love documenting my family and finding beauty in the everyday things in our lives. It wasn’t until relatively recently where I discovered how much I love documentary photography, and by recently I mean in the past year or so.  I rarely picked up my camera in our home because it was always cluttered or a little bit of a mess and then one day I just did it.  Who care if my house is a mess or I have a pile of laundry on my couch.. this is my life and it is so beautiful!  Now there is rarely a day where I don’t pick up my camera.  I take it everywhere with me.  My kids will definitely have a wonderful story to share with their kids when they grow up.. Speaking of that, do yourself a favor and take some time and print your images from the past year.  I am really excited for our move to Denver Colorado later this year and I will be changing my business to a Full Service, Print and Product based business model. 

  If you're interested in a Documentary Family Session I have some availability before we make our big move!

 


Ireland Jean | Birth Story in Tucson Arizona

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You might remember my GORGEOUS Maternity session from a few weeks ago.. Well Ireland decided to make her debut in the weeeee hours of August 11th, weighing a perfect 7lbs 2oz.  Mom had a pretty intense labor but worked through each and every contraction with the help of her amazing husband and wonderful Doula.  Ashlee worked so hard during her labor, probably walked a mile back and forth at the birth center.  She moved into and out of the birth tub before settling into the bed.  Lynn her doula (https://www.facebook.com/loveandlabor) was with her every second.  When Ashlee was doubting she could do it, Lynn was there to give her positive affirmations, rub her back and hold her when she needed it.  In the end Ashlee had the birth she imagined and had an amazingly supportive birth team,  I can't wait to share her entire birth story with the world!  For now enjoy this preview.  <3

July in Black and White | Personal Images

So here we are.. it's August and soon we will be moving our little family up a little bit north to Denver Colorado.  July was a really wonderful month for our family.  I spent a lot of time experimenting with my Black and White images... I have recently been drawn to dark and moody images. I am really in love with embracing the shadows right now...  it also helps that I rarely can get my children to give me their real genuine smile on camera.  Tomorrow Lilian starts school as a SECOND GRADER!!!  Holy Moly!! Life seems to be going at this extremely rapid pace and keeping up with it can be really draining.  I am happy that this summer has been relatively calm- in terms of client sessions.  It has given me time to really focus and refine who I am as photographer... for now... because it seems that I am always changing and evolving. I can't stay stagnant with my work for long.. I have to be growing and changing.  So here is a little peek of my personal images/personal growth.  

 


W. Family | Military Homecoming in Tucson Arizona

Military Homecomings have a very special place in my heart.  I can honestly say that they are my second favorite type of session (right behind births). This was a huge homecoming where roughly 300 service members were arriving home from one of our base's biggest deployments ever.   Whenever I am at the airport, or on the flight line waiting very impatiently for that plane to arrive, this quote always runs though my head.

 "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." -Love Actually

The amount of love and anticipation in the room is really an adrenaline rush.  No matter who is coming home, my hands get clammy, I get butterflies in my stomach and my mind starts going a million miles a minute.  

The W. Family has been counting down the days for months for this one special moment.  I am so honored that Amber asked me to be there with them.  I got to document this homecoming a bit different than my normal homecomings because Amber also happens to live just 4 houses away from me.  I loved being able to be in their home while they finished their final preparations for Andrew to come home.  It was raining and cool out it was also 10:00pm.  Since this homecoming had so many people arriving home it was held on base which is always amazing.  The news was there, and so many of my photographer friends were there as well.  The happiness in this hanger was radiating well beyond the hanger it's self.  Thank You W. Family for letting me be part of this wonderful moment in your life~

 



I also wanted to put a little PSA here.. I get booked out for homecomings months in advance.  This specific homecoming has been booked since February- it also unfortunately overlapped with another homecoming booked out a few months ago as well and I could only be in one place.  It's is very important to communicate with your photographer and your spouse as much as possible when it gets close to the homecoming.  Please inform your spouse that you have hired someone to be there with you, this could alleviate a lot of confusion. For this specific homecoming I had people calling and messaging me all the way up until 5pm on the day of arrival.  

If you need a homecoming photographer I have two available spots open for the remaining of the year, one in September and one in November.



Ireland Jean | Maternity in Tucson Arizona

I am so excited for the birth of Ireland!  She is expected to bless us with her arrival any time now and I am just waiting for the call!  This session almost didn't happen.  Right now in Tucson it's Monsoon.  Many afternoons we experience lots of rain and wind.  Well the evening of our session we decided to chance it and I am so glad that we did.  When we were walking out the door the rain clouds opened and it down poured on us until literally 5 minutes away from our shooting location.  I was so excited that we got in front of the storm and we wasted no time and got to shooting.  The rain held off for our entire session but on the way home the sky cleared and gave us a gorgeous sunset so of course we had to pull over into the first open field I could find!  It was a pretty adventurous shoot!

 

 

Norah and Owen | In Home Newborn and Family Session | Tucson Arizona

You might remember my last birth back in May, when little Norah graced us with her presence a few weeks early.  She spent about a week in the NICU before she was allowed to come home and ever since then she has been growing like a weed!  She is so sweet and I definitely got my share of baby snuggles in during our in home Newborn and Family Session.  In home Documentary sessions are my favorite type of family session.  I love documenting and telling your story.  

Danielle and Girls | Mommy and Me in Tucson AZ

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.

-Richard Bach

 



Taking a dip in the Pacific | Personal Images

After we went to Disneyland we decided to head down to San Diego for a day of sandy wet fun before we headed back to Tucson.  All 3 girls really love being at the beach and playing in the sand and water.. I however have learned that the adult version of Jessica doesn't enjoy sand AT ALL.  But I did only spend about 15 minutes with my camera and spent the rest of our few hours with my kids and husband.  I am trying to find that special balance of documenting/storytelling and actually being in the moment with my family. It's definitely not as easy as I thought it would be.