Posts in Category: Commercial

merlefest 2019

Another year in the books and we returned with more great memories, stats and gratitude that being Official Merlefest photographers is a part of our business profile.

Merlefest 2019 Pixels On Paper music festival photographers photo

At this year’s festival, Ryan and I shot approximately 30 bands and performers. We’re always amazed by the talent… never surprised, but amazed, you know? I get why there are so many television shows dedicated to singing, songwriting, finding musicians with talent and the like. They are everywhere. Each year the line up is diverse, but 2019 seemed more so than ever before. It was incredibly inspiring to see and hear bands of all different cultures, races and genres. Traditional bluegrass, Americana, Afro funk, Celtic, blues, country, Indy rock, etc. 

A portion of the MerleFest photography team members. Photo by: Hilda Smith

Merlefest is a little bit like going to camp. You get there and remember the things you love about your time spent and see faces you love that you’ve missed all year. I realized how much I missed the work itself, and how much I love the crew we work with throughout the event. Seeing them only once a year feels like being cheated, but it makes it more special when we’re all together again.

For Ryan’s part, he missed the atmosphere of live music and live performances. Like me, he can get lost in the sounds on stage while capturing both performers and ambient crowd fun. He also said he missed the late night editing sessions when he and other official photogs would process and laugh and swap stories.

I also felt a bit of remorse for how “out-of-focus” I was last year while juggling being a new mom to Finley. There’s some negotiating when trying to breastfeed between photographing stages, getting the work done but then wanting to make it home to tuck the little guy in by bedtime. Whoa it was hard! This year held much less pressure and felt normal again. 

The kid is legit… a Merlefest fan from the get-go!

And on that front: Finley is no longer content riding on my back in the carrier for 10-12 hours. He attended the fest on Thursday with Grandma KeKe. He spent the majority of his day on the playground, in the kids area sand box and playing with rocks in the VIP seating. What we became even more aware of because of this kid is just how incredibly family-friendly the fest is. With an entire kids area, activities and even stages of entertainment specifically for children, it’s a huge draw for families.

Another revelation was realizing that I was approaching an A-list performer with a pre-conceived notion only to have that perception completely changed for the better after watching, listening and meeting that artist. I love those personal shifts that come with professional growth.

For Ryan – it was about being up close and personal, on stage even with musical talents and feeding off their energy during a performance. That’s what turns him on.  

MerleFest photography team members. Photo by Hilda Smith

Each year, the fest challenges our photography skills and takes them to a level of creativity and demand that’s unlike anything we do all year. We love how much our relationship with other photogs on the team has grown. It’s fun to be in the upload room together throughout the event comparing our work, sharing experiences, laughs, and exhaustion. It truly feels like summer camp. 


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, engagements and weddingsbrides, and 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.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

MBI Builders & PROCOR Industrial | Commercial Project & Photography

Pixels On Paper photographers MBI Builders PROCOR Industrial Architectural Commercial Photography Photos Charlotte NC

Pixels has been asked to shoot images for MBI Builders many times and we always love the challenge of architectural photography, with the angles, light and focus on the purpose of each shot. For these projects, our marketing minds kick in and we need to keep the target audience in mind. With weddings, family or baby portraits, we know the audience. With commercial photography, we get to really sit and have a brand, business and promotional materials conversation. These are conversations we love!
Ryan took this gig (he nails the commercial work, you guys) and he created some lovely images for MBI of the space they designed and executed for PROCOR Industrial.

PROCOR Industrial is located in Cornelius, NC and signed MBI Builders for a recent project. The office spaces and group areas created allow individuals and teams at PROCOR to be more productive, feel more connected, and enable employees to accomplish both segmented and team-driven projects.

MBI shared this with us: “The PROCOR project was indeed unique. It is not necessarily a new endeavor, as commercial work is becoming one of our primary areas of focus, but this was a very modern job. Our main goal is always to build value with each and every client, and we believe we achieved this with our designs for PROCOR.”

These images will be used in MBI’s portfolio and marketing collateral and we loved being a part of their marketing team to make this happen.


We love graphic design and commercial photography whether logo design, brochure design, head shot photos, architectural photography or product shots. At Pixels On Paper we pride ourselves in listening to a broad range of clients and customizing our photography and graphic design services to meet each individual request. Our skills, styles, and visions come together to be a permanent record that either reflects an identity or delivers a message that speaks to thousands. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your business needs. Email us at mail@pixelsonpaper.net or call 336.990.0080 to learn more, receive a quote or to let us know how we can put our skills to work for you.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Wilkesboro Town Council

Business is business and when we were hired by the Town of Wilkesboro to photograph the 2018-2019 Town Council, we said of course. We handle commercial and architectural photography and especially love meeting people in our community. Photographing local public servants was an easy “yes.”

Pixels On Paper photography Wilkesboro NC Town Council 2018-2019 photo

Ryan took these images and, like any corporate setting, there were group and headshots that can be used for advertising and other promotions. We will be printing and framing these so that they can be placed in the Wilkesboro Town Hall. We take a special pride in photographing this session for our local government.


We love graphic design and commercial photography whether logo design, brochure design, head shot photos, architectural photography or product shots. At Pixels On Paper we pride ourselves in listening to a broad range of clients and customizing our photography and graphic design services to meet each individual request. Our skills, styles, and visions come together to be a permanent record that either reflects an identity or delivers a message that speaks to thousands. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your business needs. Email us at mail@pixelsonpaper.net or call 336.990.0080 to learn more, receive a quote or to let us know how we can put our skills to work for you.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Merlefest 2019 | Outdoor Concerts, Music Heaven

Let’s just start with the details, shall we? > Dates: Thursday, April 25 – Sunday, Apri 28 > Location: Wilkes Community College, 1328 S. Collegiate Drive, Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697 – more here. > This year’s line-up: ya’llllllllll…….. gonna be so good, AGAIN, this year. > Things to do between listening to and watching the bands? Check it out. > A little history about why this is such a blast and such a favorite music event. Learn more and you’ll want to go. > Tickets! Gotta have them, especially after seeing the line-up.
Merlefest 2018
A taste of the line-up, for those of you wondering… – The Avett Brothers – Amos Lee – Brandi Carlile – Wynonna and the Big Noise – The Earls of Leicester – Sam Bush Band – Steep Canyon Rangers – Molly Tuttle – Scythian – Sean McConnell – The Waybacks and more more more.
Scythian Merlefest 2017
Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photo
Steep Canyon Rangers
Avett Brothers Band Merlefest 2017
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 April Verch photo

April Verch 2017

Merlefest 2018 music festival photos
Peter Rowan
Merlefest 2018
pixels on paper merlefest 2015 photo
Honey Dewdrops 2017
James Taylor
Interested in a camp, family getaway? Music or not, this is a festival and families have a ball here. We love watching people wandering and enjoying all the other things that Merlefest has to offer.
Merlefest 2018 music festival photos
Merlefest 2018 music festival photos
Want to volunteer? Here’s how!
Find your camp chairs, call your pals, buy your tickets and we’ll see you there. As official Merlefest photographers, Ryan and I will be there capturing images of stages, bands, sweet crowd moments and all the fun of this event! We’ll see you there!
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, engagements and weddingsbrides, and 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.
88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Pixels Creates Updated Branding for Local Bakery – Indulge

Logo with pastry bag at top and Indulge name with 3 small cupcakes along bottom

Just as when your life changes, when your business changes, it’s time for a new look… and in the world of marketing, we call that rebranding. Pixels is asked to help businesses rebrand with new logo treatments and visual vocabularies all the time, but it’s particularly fun when it’s someone you know and respect. Enter Haylee Greene.

Haylee is a baker and the owner of Indulge Specialty Cakes & Baked Goods. We created her original branded logo, and businesses cards too, back in 2015. We had a blast because 1) she’s a dynamo and has been such a wonderful friend, and 2) we happen to have in common the fact that Indulge and Pixels are specialty vendors who work events like weddings. In other words, we often run in the same circles.

Haylee stepped away from the baking business for a season (and got married!) and when she decided to come back to the business, she wanted a refresh and we were happy to help.

Original business card and logo for Indulge Bakery designed in 2015:

As we do with all branding clients, we started with a conversation about what she wanted from the logo in this new world and asked for inspiration and examples of what she found attractive. Haylee shared a desire for something more earthy in terms of palette and more handmade – even hand-drawn in look and feel (like her gorgeous baked creations) and provided us with some parameters. It was an overhaul and we enjoyed the challenge of making the look different, but still indicative of who she is, what her business does and appealing to the eye.

Her response from the first round of logos: “You have outdone yourself!! Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to choose! You definitely nailed exactly what my vision was.”

First round of concepts for the updated Indulge Specialty Cakes & Baked Goods:

After some tweaking, we sent along a second set and she reviewed those as well. When she found the winner, she wrote us to say, “Thank you for working so hard. It seems even more important to me this time for many reasons. I love that you are so willing to help me make it perfect.”

Final logo design for Indulge Specialty Cakes & Baked Goods:

Logo with pastry bag at top and Indulge name with 3 small cupcakes along bottom

Rebranded final business card design for Indulge:

The business card design was just as fun and gave Ryan the chance to throw out some wild card ideas to see where Haylee was with thoughts on taking the branding beyond the logo. In the end, she opted for a mix of traditional and earthy, which suits Haylee as a person and how she wants to market the business.

[By the way, and not for nothing, Haylee and Indulge make crazy good cakes and cupcakes, plus AH-MAZING whoopee pies!!]


We love graphic design and commercial photography whether logo design, brochure design, head shot photos, architectural photography or product shots. At Pixels On Paper we pride ourselves in listening to a broad range of clients and customizing our photography and graphic design services to meet each individual request. Our skills, styles, and visions come together to be a permanent record that either reflects an identity or delivers a message that speaks to thousands. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your business needs. Email us at mail@pixelsonpaper.net or call 336.990.0080 to learn more, receive a quote or to let us know how we can put our skills to work for you.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.