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Paisley’s mermaid themed third birthday

This little blue eyed beauty is Miss P – P for Paisley – and she recently turned three years old in style. She was a brand new baby when we first photographed her with her extensive clan, the Eldridge Family, and we captured her again for her first birthday in the peach orchards. For the celebratory portrait session, and in true form, her family brought tons of props for a mermaid themed extravaganza. It was totally girlie and totally fun.

We hosted this birthday shoot in our Pixels portrait photography studio and really decked it out. I’m always in awe of the creativity our clients bring to the table, and this girl has a palette. The purple and lavender from her orchard session were present again for this birthday shoot.

I love these little milestones, especially during a time when we need to be present with each other and celebrate all the small and beautiful moments life has for us. And I love that my son Finley and little Miss P get along so well. It was fun watching them giggling as we set things up. Happy Birthday, Paisley! We love you.


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Vermeal Family photos

This lovely – and big – family contacted us prior to planning a vacation and birthday celebration for the matriarch Liz. Three generations gathered in Boomer, NC, at a gorgeous rented mountain home. Boomer is a perfect halfway point (pretty much) for this clan that is scattered up North in NY/NJ and all over the South.

Funnily enough, the Reid family from NJ rented this house around this same time last year for a large reunion and we captured those images as well. It’s a beautiful spot with amazing views, most of the time! The Vermeal’s kindly placed Pixels’ contact info in the guest book for others who might want portraits taken. They are a thoughtful bunch!

To that point, we think turn-about is fair play, so we were happy to play concierge and help Liz and her daughter Jessica. The family secretly planned a surprise celebration. We suggested caterers, florists and other services in area in addition to helping them coordinate color schemes for the photos that would look good in this setting.

Even though it was a foggy morning the day of the shoot, everyone looked wonderful, and there was a lot of laughter and levity. We know that not all families or individuals love to have their photos taken, but Ryan makes it so relaxed and fun. He created groups, and clusters of the family members, since there were multiple generations. The grandchildren range in age from 6 months to 16 years and Liz wanted to make sure she had a photo of just them.

I love the way these images turned out and know that the families are keen to have these as keepsakes. The icing was this wonderful note we received from Liz afterwards: “Ryan, thank you so much for all your patience and humor dealing with our family during the photo shoot. We thoroughly enjoyed the process and the photos look great. We are so lucky to have found you both!”

We loved being found, Liz! Thank you for letting us be a part of your special birthday gathering!


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Need a hug?

Anyone? If you’re in need of a little boost today, I’ve put one together for us all: some images of our clients showing adoration and affection for each other and for life. It’s not a chimp eating strawberries, but we do have some babies smooching. Chin up! It’s still summer. Let’s be present for each other. Let’s give hugs to those who need one. What do you say?

Triplett Family Six Month Baby outdoor peach orchard portrait photo
Matthews family outdoor fall portrait Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC photographers photo

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

An Ode to Setting

We photograph people mostly – family portraits, maternity and newborn, baby and children’s photography, big milestones and day in the life images, and of course some commercial photography. For us, the setting means showcasing the subject, but we are particularly blessed with gorgeous settings for our portrait sessions. I’m amazed when I look back through the years and see how many beautiful places we’ve dragged our clients – LOL. But seriously.

Want to see a few favorites?

Triplett family Lenoir NC outdoor maternity portrait photo

Mountain vistas, panoramas, waterfalls, dappled forests, ….. we somehow manage to photograph in the most magical spots.


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Best of Summer …. Part 2

Don’t mind me. I’m still just musing about summer, about how this season spoils us with harvests and makes us dream of cooler temps. It gives us some time with friends and family. Whether you are in an urban setting chatting with neighbors or in the middle of the woods camping, we all have been eager to gather and summer, like Christmas, feels like a roaming party.

Here are some more summer images from our files to share. Feel free to share yours with us on Facebook or share and tag us on Instagram..

York Family Outdoor Spring Peach Orchard Portrait photo
Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC High School Senior Photographers Allena's outdoor senior portrait photography photo
Driver family outdoor six month baby portrait wilkesboro nc photography photo

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.