Middletown sisters open photography business for kids in Liberty Twp.

Studio located in an old house will focus on children’s portraits.

Sisters Susan Murphy and Kathie Wurtzler have recently opened a new photography studio called Just Kids Photography in Liberty Twp.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Sisters Susan Murphy and Kathie Wurtzler have recently opened a new photography studio called Just Kids Photography in Liberty Twp.

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By Denise Wilson, Staff Writer 11:13 AM Friday, February 24, 2012

LIBERTY TWP. — Two Middletown sisters have opened a new photography studio where the “focus” is solely on young kids and families.

Susan Murphy and Kathie Wurtzler, both Fenwick High School graduates, opened Just Kids Photography in December in an eight-room, 150-year-old house at 6464 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, in downtown Bethany in Liberty Twp.

They remodeled the interior of the two-story, 1,600-square-foot former rental property beginning last May. They plan to take professional portraits of kids, ages newborn to 12, and small families, said Murphy, 50, who is partnering with her photographer sister as a photo stylist in charge of scheduling, greeting customers and going over designer accessories.

“We did a couple with a 1-year-old, but we can’t do a large family. We’re more focused on kids, but we don’t want to turn away a small family,” she said.

They said they looked at locations in Lebanon, Mason, Middletown, Monroe and West Chester Twp. before deciding to locate their business in Liberty Twp., which they call a boutique-style and kid-friendly studio.

“Liberty Twp. is a growing and awesome area. It’s fresh,” said Wurtzler, 52, who also runs a photography business, Wurtzler Photography, with her husband from their home. “Once we saw the house — that was it. It spoke to us,” she said.

The siblings decided to open the business last year to fulfill a lifelong dream of Wurtzler’s of opening a photography business in a farmhouse photographing young kids.

“I knew Susan was very good at design. When I first talked to Susan about it, I said, ‘I can’t do it by myself. I want somebody that thinks like I do.’ I knew that we had similar tastes and that we could share,” said Wurtzler, who has 15 years photo experience and is a graduate of the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology in Dayton.

“We want to be children’s specialists.”

The sisters said they hope their location near the Interstate 75/Ohio 129 interchange will allow them to attract customers from the Greater Cincinnati area.

Caroline McKinney, Liberty Twp.’s economic development director, said, “It’s exactly the type of business we envision in downtown Bethany.”

Susan said they plan to conduct a grand opening celebration in March in conjunction with the West Chester/Liberty Chamber Alliance.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Evening appointments also are available. Their website, justkidsphotography.com, is currently under construction, Kathie said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or Denise.Wilson@coxinc.com.

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