Stephanie and Danny | Expecting in Tucson

This family was such a dream to work with. When Stephanie contacted me, I was so excited for this session.  She is a labor and delivery nurse here at the Birth Center.  She has attended a few of the births I have photographed!  She is expecting her new one (they will find out the sex when he/she is born) in just a few weeks.  I can't wait to work with them again!!!

Rachel and Stan | In Love in Tucson

I have photographed Rachel and Stan a few times before.  I did their lovely engagement photos a few years ago and followed up with some Maternity and Documentary photos a couple years later.  

This session was such an amazing experience for me.  Their session is the start of my new path.  They have trusted me from the very beginning and now I am hoping they love their gallery as much as I do!

You've got to focus on what you love

Hi everyone.  It seems like I have tried to write this blog post over and over and over again and every time I delete it.  Well here we are and now it's March and in 2014 I promised so many changes with my business.  I am here now to explain a bit of those changes and they are some changes I am extremely excited about.

Last year, I worked and worked and worked, I worked so hard and I loved it but I found my self drained, and not excited about my sessions.  That non-excitement really showed in my work and I found myself in a work slump/depression of sorts.  I wanted to keep shooting, but I really had no clue WHAT and HOW.  So in December and January I took some time off and tried to really focus on ME and PhotoArt By Jessica..  I found out that I have been drawn to a few very specific types of photography.  Right now this is where my heart is and I am really excited about working again.

The biggest change of 2015 was a pretty big price increase.  I've gotten a lot of private criticism about my price jump and some of the words were extremely hurtful.  Running a business is HARD guys.. there is so much more to this than owning a "fancy" camera and having software.. Did you know that for every single session I do I spend no less than 10 HOURS working and now If I am doing a wedding, at least 48 complete hours go into that.  If I was keeping my prices where they were I was making less than $1.50 an hour.. GUYS.. $1.50 an hour!!!  I was slaving away and getting little to no money in return.  I decided that I am worth more than 1.50 an hour.  So yes, I decided it was time for an increase.. If that meant less clients- so be it.  But at the same time I didn't want to alienate those wonderful people that have been with me from the very very beginning.. THANK YOU for letting me grow with you! For those clients that have booked with me before the start of 2015, I will be offering sessions every 2 months or so at my old price- JUST FOR YOU! (Thanks Audria Abney Photography for helping me and giving me great ideas!!! You ROCK LADY) You guys deserve it.  Be on the lookout for my first announcement of these sessions in the next couple of weeks. 

The next change is well, I am taking  A LOT of different types of sessions off my plate and I am focusing on just a few.  Yes that mean I am turning away clients... don't worry I have a nice little list of amazing local photographers that I can refer you to.  I have found that if my heart isn't in it.. it SHOWS IN MY WORK and I want you to have the best photography experience possible- even if that's not with me.  

So with that being said, I am only taking the following types of sessions:

Birth and Birth related sessions (Maternity, Babymoon and Documentary Lifestyle Newborn)

Couples- I want to show the world your love.  

Documentary Family Sessions (WHAT IS THIS??>@>  You might be asking.)  These sessions are 2-3 hours in length, have ZERO posing and is just us hanging out together while I document your life, just how it is.. because it deserves to be documented.  I want to be able to help you remember your sticky floors, and brownie batter covered faces, snuggles and bath time.  

Military Homecomings- Because our men and women in uniform and their spouses deserve to have these wonderful memories preserved.

And a select few SMALL, unique weddings...

And possibly throughout the year Mommy and Me or Daddy and Me sessions... I am still on the fence about this...

and THATS IT!  

I am not taking posed family sessions, milestone sessions, cake smash sessions, children only sessions, themed mini sessions, in studio sessions, big events, big weddings and whatever else you can think of.  Maybe in 6 months my heart will take me in a new direction, maybe not.  

If you read all this, THANK YOU for sticking with me.  I am so excited about this new direction and I hope some of you are too.

Escaping [Lilian]

Seriously Lilian loves the beach.  If we lived near the water she would be in it everyday even if it's freezing out.  I took a beautiful set of photos in the water while we were on our trip.

Escaping Part Two

The beach.  Our girls LOVE the beach.  I am sure they all three would have just been happy to stay there our entire weekend. 

Escaping Part One

Sometimes you have to escape to find the beauty in a situation.  This is Part One of my multi post blog.

These Hands

These hands belong to the man I love.  He holds my whole heart.  These hands are strong, they build amazing things.  They hold me and carry our children. They hold the groceries and fold the laundry.  They change the diapers and take out the trash. These hands help people and guide them to safety, they fix wounds of the injured and these hands travel around the world. 

I am in love with these strong hands. 

These hands are miracles and I can watch them for hours.

Valentines Day

So around our house Valentines day has never been a big deal.  Luke and I try our best to show each other very often how much we love and appreciate each other so we feel we don't really need a day to tell us to do so..  This year however- with having Jule in our home and Lilian "getting it" we decided to go all out.  In the morning I made pink and purple heart shaped pancakes and we went on a simple picnic where we made flower crowns and played in a field of dead tall grass for a couple of hours.  It was simply splendid and I think we have a wonderful new tradition to look forward to.  Our crowns were far from perfect but I thought they were wonderful.  We even had extra flowers that we gave to some hikers to brighten their day a little bit.  

Zane [Lifestyle Newborn]

For a long time I struggled with photographing newborns..  In my head I always thought I had to have a studio, special lighting, props and provide these images of your baby perfectly posed.  I quickly learned that I didn't have the drive for that type of work but I wanted to be able to photograph newborns.  I figured why would I have to go about photographing newborns any differently than I would any other subject.  I am always so honored when families invite me into their homes just days after they've added a new baby.  I absolutely adore spending an hour or two watching these families interact and love on their new one.  

The Westbrook family has let me photograph them several times over the past year and they recently welcomed me into their home when they brought baby Zane home.  Big sister Stella was home and loved on me for almost the entire two hours I was there.  Zane is absolutely precious and I hope I get to photograph him as he grows up!

Sarah [Maternity]

This was such a beautiful nontraditional maternity session.  It's a session I will be offering to all of my home birth clients in the future too.  It was definitely remarkable working so closely with such an amazing and inspiring group of women.  

Sarah was nearing her due date and had her sweet kiddos with her, they have attended her appointments before, they knew the drill.  C. knew where all the puzzles were and he took a seat and worked on them diligently while mama got her vitals and measurements taken. Little H. was super excited to be right in the middle of all the action.  Both little ones had the chance to hear their little brother using the Fetoscope. Mama and baby were both doing great.  After everything was checked we sat around and talked about her upcoming birth.  Amy, one of her midwives, was so amazing and patient.  She answered all of Sarah's questions and even talked about things Sarah hadn't even thought about.. like making sure everyone that attends her birth had a specific job.  I have never been to such a relaxed prenatal appointment ever, even mine at the birth center weren't this relaxed.  Sarah gave birth at home just couple weeks after this session to a healthy beautiful little boy.

I would love to work with you if you have your own idea's for an untraditional maternity session!

For more information about Amy Zenizo and her midwifes please visit http://www.amyzenizo.com

Calista [Birth]

I have so much to say about this beautiful birth.  I'm not even sure I will be able to articulate it here.  Jovanna invited me to her birth a few months before her due date, the first time we met I noticed how quiet and composed she was even when she was obviously uncomfortable during the last trimester of her pregnancy.  The day she went into labor she was messaging me just like most of my clients do and I had plenty of time to prepare for the long night ahead.  At 9:00pm we arrived at the Birth Center and I instantly thought to myself that this was going to be a long labor and I should have waited until the midwife checked her to see where her cervix was before I headed out.  I have had a history of my births happening very quickly so at this point I would rather show up and go home instead of missing it all together because I chose to wait. 

Jovanna was so quiet during labor I thought to myself there was NO WAY she was in active labor.  She was literally silent and focused with an occasional small moan.  Between her contractions the room was filled with smiles and laughter.  Jovanna entered her birthing tub a little after 10:00pm.

At about 11:20 things started picking up and Jovanna said she was wanting to push a little, after a series of small pushes to relieve pressure her water broke. Two contractions later Calista was welcomed Earthside to a room filled with so much love.  She was silent and focused just like her mama.  She didn't cry once the entire night, not even when she got a vitamin K shot.  

Calista's three older siblings came to meet her when she was about 20 minutes old and they were all smitten the minute they met her.  

This birth holds a very special place in my heart because this is the same room our sweet Aria was born in.  In that same exact tub with the same exact nurse and Jovanna and I had very similar labors (except I was definitely not as quiet as she was.)

No Power.. No Problem

Today we had a planned electrical outage at our house while a transformer down the road was being fixed. I vowed to just document our day today with minimal distractions.  We had a lot of fun.. but I am not going to lie.. I really did enjoy it when the power came back on.. ;)

Who I am

There are so many things I could put here... I am a Wife, Mother, Military Spouse, Dog Owner, Hiker, Photographer, International Exchange Student Host Mom, Seeker of Light and Real Life Images.. But really only a few of those things DEFINE who I am.  First of all I am a Mother to two (Three until May) AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL little girls.  They are my light, and my happiest of happy places.  Don't get me wrong there are times when I lock myself in the bathroom and play candy crush for 10 minutes just for the silence...

I am a Photographer- or rather I am the keeper of memories. My goal as a photographer is to document memories for people while they are still in the making.  I am a seeker of light, love and real life images.  I can't capture memories if I spend my entire session directing and posing.  Instead I prefer to just be there, stand back and let my clients do what they do.  I follow my kids around and snap away during the day.  I don't clean my house before I start shooting do frequently my photos are messy and cluttered.  You will almost always see a HUGE pile of laundry somewhere in my photos... and they are always crumbs on the floor.  I hope someday my children will see all of these photos documenting their childhood and know how much I love them and how I never want to forget a single detail.  

I am going to do a personal family share now.. A collection of photos of my family 
 

2014 Year in Review

Wow!  I can't believe 2014 is over!  What a whirlwind amazing adventure this year was!  I am going to spend a little time and share some of my favorite images, business and personal with everyone.  A lot has changed this past year, everything from my style, to the way I edit my images.. even my entire take on my business completely.  Next year will be filled with more births, and less family sessions. 

Thank You EVERYONE that has made this past year the year it was.  It was AMAZING and WONDERFUL and I can't wait to work with all of my clients, new and old , in 2015!!

THANK YOU everyone for making this year the best year ever!  I can't wait to see what 2015 brings!!!!

Jule

I have previously mentioned Jule, She is our German Exchange student who is living with us until May.  This girl is amazing.  We seriously picked the winner of all winners when it came to choosing our student!  Don't get me wrong, she loves sleeping until noon if we let her and she would spend the entire day playing Minecraft but she loves our girls like she has been here her entire life.  We have had long talks about nothing and she has made us remember that we really aren't as old as we feel.  These photos of Jule are a few months old.  They were taken in August, about 4 weeks after her initial arrival.  I will be taking her out reallllly soon to do some more.  Until then, enjoy these from our little mini downtown photo walk!

Lillianna [Birth]

I have known Hartini for a little over a year.  She is the amazing person that talked us into hosting an exchange student this year.  She has provided us an amazing experience with Jule and we are forever grateful for this opportunity.  She was on the fence for a long time about having a birth photographer and actually hired me before even talking her husband into it!!  Lillianna is her 4th child and Like my previous birth Hartini warned me that she has had some pretty quick labors.  

Hartini messaged me during the afternoon, letting me know she was having some intense but really irregular contractions.  I went about my day not really thinking too much about it.  My bag was already packed so I was ready if this was "it."  Around 8:00pm Hartini messaged me again to let me know she was going to pack up and head to the hospital, so I made a pot of coffee and filled my thermos so I would be prepared for the night.  

We got to the hospital around 8:30 or so and when the nurse checked her she was only at 3cm.  They said if she made progress at 11 then her doctor would admit her.  The catch was since she had a previous C-section she had to be continuously monitored and they wouldn't let her leave her little triage area.  For those of you who have been in labor, you would know that it's really hard to progress when you're stuck in a bed.  We asked for a yoga ball but they hospital only had ONE and it was in use.  I only live about 10 minutes from the hospital so I offered to run home and grab my ball and some fresh coffee.  I left around 9:30 and I was back before 10:00.  Hartini spent the next hour or so on the ball and sneaking off to the bathroom to get a break from being monitored.  When 11:00 rolled around the nurse checked her and she was at 6cm!  What a huge change!  We had to wait for a little while for a labor and delivery room to become available for her and finally got put in a room around 12:30am.

Hartini had two really good contractions on the way to her room so it took us a few minutes to make the walk.  By the time we got to the room the nurses were there in full force (I counted 12 of them at one time).  She was hooked up to her IV and had the monitors strapped back on.  Her contractions were coming on top of each other and I could tell she was getting close.  I remember her head nurse asking for her Doctor, who had just stepped out to the atrium for her break.  Hartini's body was pushing want her doctor walked in and didn't even have time to put on gloves!  She pulled her hands into the sleeves of her gown and caught sweet Lillianna less than a minute after she walked into the room.  

I have to admit watching a hospital birth was so crazy.  I had never experienced a hospital birth from an outside perspective.  Being able to provide these images for Hartini is so amazing for me since she has been able to provide us with such an awesome experience with our sweet Jule. 

Weston [Birth]

I was so honored when Olivia asked me to be part of her birth.  When she hired me she warned me that she has fast labors and man she wasn't kidding.  I wish I had this long beautiful birth story to put with this blog post but the actually story goes something like this.  Olivia called me at 2:00pm and told me she was heading to the Birth Center, her contractions were getting stronger and she wanted to be there with time to spare before she delivered her new baby.  She arrived at the Birth Center less than 5 minutes before I did and I arrived at 2:34pm.  They had already begun filling her birthing tub so it was 3/4 of the way full when we got there.  Fran was her midwife and she had Olivia lay down so she could check her cervix she was at an 8!!  Olivia promptly entered her birth tub, she extremely focused and spent some time talking to Weston, she told him it was time and that she was so excited to meet him. Lynn, Olivia's doula was such an amazing support person for her.  20 minutes after arriving at the Birth Center, Weston made his way earth side.  He was born at 2:54pm.  I spent the next few hours with them, and watching mom and dad bond with their new son.  It was such an amazing experience and I was so honored that I got to be part of it.