Theo. T. | NICU Session Tucson Arizona

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. 

P. Family | Military Homecoming in Tucson AZ

Being a military spouse, military homecomings are very near and dear to me.  I was really excited when Candi messaged me and asked me to come document her husbands homecoming on the flight line.  The weather was gorgeous for us and her husband arrived right on time... which is unheard of!!  I also love being able to document families reuniting.  I am now available for homecomings in the Denver Metro Area.  

R. Family | Family Lifestyle Session on Mt. Lemmon AZ

I met Haylea in a local photography group when I was still living in Tucson.  She and I became fast friends and I consider her one of my best friends!  I really LOVE photographing other photographers, photographer families are just naturals in front of the camera.  I can such minimal directing, if any at all.  I don't really do much directing in my sessions anyway, I kind of just plop people in a field and tell them to interact with each other, but R. Family just made it so easy.  I highly recommend checking out some of Hayley's gorgeous work on her website   I hope when I am in Tucson later this year I can get them in front of my camera again.  

C. Family | Family Session in Tucson Arizona

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!!

September Part One | Personal Images

September was busy!  We started the month off without Luke, and were counting down the days until he was home again.  You can tell in this blog that we had a reoccurring theme in our summer this year.  WATER!! Seriously, water was involved whenever it was possible.  Pools, Splash pads, Sprinklers.. you name it we used it and it was such a blast!  Sorry for the huge share this month.  We also snuck in another trip to Disneyland but that will be a blog on it's own.  

At the beginning of the month we has a BBQ at my step-sisters house.  The girls loved playing and swimming with their cousins.  The next day we went to my aunt and uncles house and swam there.  A few day's later, Lilian's sister Charlotte came over for a visit and we played in the splash pad. So much water!!  It seemed like it rained all the time.. I played with some long exposures and got some "ghost" Arias.  I also found out that I love taking photos of Aria's little tiny feet...   All in all it was a good month.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me when we picked Luke up from the airport, it was a bit anticlimactic anyway.  But they sure were glad to have him home.  Aria didn't leave his side for days.  So here are my images, enough with my rambling.. :)  

E. Family | Family Storytelling in Tucson Arizona

I was graciously inviting in the Emery home.  Kelli is an amazing photographer here in Tucson and she reached out for an in home documentary session because their pup Lulu was going to undergo surgery the following day.  So much of their session was focused on her. This was the very first time a family invited me into their home for a documentary session that didn't involve a newborn- I was really nervous.. not to mention she is an awesome photographer her self and it's always new wracking to photograph another photographer.  

Towards the end of our session Kelli asked for a few 'posed' (and I use that term really lightly) photos on their bed with their family surrounding their pup with love.  E. Family, I know you are surround your sweet pup with love while she recovers from her surgery!  Thank you so much for inviting me into your home!

Jonea | Maternity in Downtown Tucson

I really loved thatI had TWO maternity sessions with the amazing Jonea.  It was really nice to be able to go to two completely different locations and have completely different focuses.  Our first session really focused on the bond she had with her son JJ and her new little addition.  I loved taking her and putting her in the middle of a field and letting her be this gorgeous Goddess that every women is during pregnancy.  Our second session has a completely different feel.  Her husband joined us in one of my most favorite neighborhoods in Tucson.  In fact while we were down there we ran into Kelland and Suela who informed me that after our photowalk in that neightborhood they decided to MOVE there!  They just love their new neighborhood and it's so full of life and color.  

Josh was a great sport with our photos, we tried to make it as quick and painless as possible.  I really think he enjoyed the face that I never made him look directly at the camera.. and if he did that was on him :)

I can't wait for this little girl to be born.  As always good thoughts and prayers (if you pray) are always welcome for this little family!

Kiersten | Nursing Session in Tucson Arizona

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

“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!

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.

Apple Annies Peach Picking | Personal Images

Every year we try to head out to Apple Annies in Willcox Arizona at least once for the Peach Picking Festival.  It's always a lot of fun picking about 20lbs of peaches with the girls.  This year Aria was tall enough to reach some of the lower branches and she was able to get her own sweet peaches.  They encourage you to try the peaches while picking them, especially the soft ripe ones.  Their peaches never disappoint.  This year we froze about 15lbs of peaches and I made peach turnovers and a peach and blueberry cobbler.  

After we picked our peaches we headed down the road to their farm and hit up their veggie patches to get some fresh zucchini, squashes, peppers, egg plant and corn.  We left the farm with a beautiful rainbow of fresh food.  We always encourage our kids (and ourselves) to eat as close to nature as possible.  I have often been asked how I get my kids to eat fresh vegetables, the answer is simple, it's what we eat at home.  It's the food they know. We also help them along by encouraging them to pick their own food so they can see where their food comes from.  Don't get me wrong they eat their fair share of junk and processed foods too but somehow along the way, I believe we found a nice balance.   

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.  

Becca and Sean | In Love | Pecan Orchards in Tucson Arizona

These two.. what can I say?  They squeezed me in last minute before they move across the country.. literally the movers were at their house a hour before we met.  They are seriously some of the sweetest people I have ever met.  I hope you guys have a safe move and enjoy your new home, Arizona will definitely miss you!!

“Love can be so hauntingly beautiful, waking up past selves that have been wandering aimlessly through the corridors of our soul, for far too long. When someone else can take us from the ghost-town of our inner-selves, to exciting new landscapes, it's worth the risk, just to feel reborn.” 
― Jaeda DeWalt

Stan, Rachel and Layla | Family Photo Session | Brandi Fenton Park Tucson AZ

When we move to Denver this is one family I am truly going to miss.  Tucson has been so good to me and I am really excited that I will be able to shoot here several times a year even after our move.  

Happy Birthday Sweet Layla!  I can't wait to get you in front of my camera again!!

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.  

Ramona | Mommy and Me

Mommy and Me Sessions have a really special place in my heart.  As a mom I know I am not in front of the camera enough with my kids.  I am working on it... I swear... I love watching mom's interact with their children and I LOVE documenting that bond.  Moms... GET IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA WITH YOUR KIDS..  and not only that but don't just let these images sit on the web or computer.. PRINT THEM and hang them.  Get in front of the lens...

Melanie and Caleb | Expecting in Tucson

Melanie and Caleb have been great friends for a couple of years. They are the only people we trust with our fur baby Pocket, he loves visiting their house when we go out of town.  Melanie is due in July with their second little one and I am so beyond thrilled for my amazing friends!!