Ryan, Finley and I got a break from world-weariness and responsibilities to hang out with our dear friends and clients, the Senters. Mom Judy, Dad Travis and little Ava who is two met up with us at an orchard in Morganton we’d recently visited.
Even though this orchard was no longer yielding apples and picking was over, we loved the trials so much from our last visit that we returned to let the kids play and wander, while we enjoyed the sunshine. It was a gorgeous fall day.
Seeing how big Ava has gotten was a joy and she and Finley had fun together climbing and playing. We’ve been photographing this little monkey since before she was born. Judy’s maternity portraits are favorites, Ava’s newborn, 6 month and one year photos were taken by us and our friendship with them has just continued to grow.
After our time in the orchard, we shifted to a more adult theme and headed to a vineyard, also in Morganton.
We spent a good part of the day with the Senters, which means that along with wardrobe changes for the shoot, there was a real sense of relaxation and chill. We don’t have to ask these guys to “hold your daughter and smile” for photos. These three are such a playful unit and it was just our job to have fingers on shutters.
I don’t know what I love most about the photo just above: the fairytale princess gown paired with mussed hair, the wistful stare into the mid-horizon or that all three of these sweethearts are in the frame.
Here’s to friendship. Here’s to family and here’s to getting away for a day of play, rambling, conversation and escape to the great outdoors.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Wrapping up a full year baby package meant that we got to see little Miss Sofia again just a few weeks ago. I cannot believe these newborns I welcome to our studio are now no longer new earthlings. I understand the concept of time and who DOESN’T want this year to be over but still…… you cannot stop a baby from just doing its thing and growing!
We photographed Sofia’s newborn sessions with her siblings and 6 month “Milk Bath” portraits in our studio and this one was in our portrait garden. This may be a first – hosting the family and baby each time in our Pixels space vs. meeting the family at another location.
Mom Jessica is a nurse and did not want a cake smash but definitely wanted to be outside, and that worked for us, because that’s how we roll during Covid-19. Sofia got new outfits for this day due to unseasonably warm weather. She was absolutely adorable and even mom got into a few of the shots.
I had already been hoarding fall and Halloween props, so I set up the portrait garden with pumpkins we grew in our pumpkin patch, mums and other little props, and off we went.
We will be creating a one year photo album for this family and I am really looking forward to it. Sofia: take your time with the growing up bit, please.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Let’s be nimble.
Small businesses have been saying this for ages and when circumstances beyond your control (a global epidemic and crazy weather, for instance) shift your working life and schedule, you do a few backbends. The Graybeal family and Pixels had to do a few contortions recently, but the results were worth it. Fall family portraits with a view of Stone Mountain Park? Yes, please!
The last time we shot portraits of this family was the winter of 2017, but we’ve been photographing them for years.
Crystal, Adam and their boys – Colton and Landon – met up with us at Stone Mountain Park for their fall family portrait session. We were camping nearby and thought it would be a great place for the shoot. But despite our planning and pre-planning, we got there to find that the park was full to capacity.
NO problem (although, I’m a girl who loves a plan). We ended up driving to an overlook which turned out to be positively stunning. We let the kids play in the woods and ended up walking to where the overlook was actually a fabulous view of Stone Mountain Park itself.
Of course, it was wonderful seeing our friends, but I’m also happy about how these images turned out. I love the colors and textures of these photos, their clothing, the trees, the tall grass and the sunlight. God is good and we are so happy that we found the right day and the right time to reunite with this wonderful family.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Finally, we got to gather in the family orchard to see little Liam Tevepaugh. This was his 6 month portrait session and the day was outstanding. This baby boy was born during Covid to first time parents Cody and Courtney.
Due to the pandemic, I was unable to photograph his newborn session, but I did send my camera and instructions about the lenses and lighting to Courtney so that she could capture his newborn photos herself. We try to provide service, folks! Six months later, off to the family orchards we went.
This was the peak season for getting everyone together. Dad Cody is a twin and his brother Casey’s little boy, Connor came along to make sure that his new first cousin had a playmate and some help learning the landscape. I even captured a few shots of Connor with his father Casey, who tends to run from the camera and is more interested in helping us with crates, ladders and set ups.
My own boy Finley had a blast running around on this day as well. Liam’s mom along with Courtney’s mom and sister also came and there were plenty of adults to help jump up and down trying to get kids to laugh, take turns holding the little ones and generally enjoying being together. These are members of my family, so it was the best being able to see them all on such a gorgeous day outdoors to celebrate the newest Tevepaugh.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
This beautiful family just takes my breath away. I know I say this a lot, but it is a point of pride: so many of our ongoing clients have become true friends. The Holland family falls squarely into that category and even a pandemic and wacky schedules didn’t keep us from seeing them for portraits this year.
Mom Tram, Dad Kevin, son Colten, and daughters Ava and Sophia are a blended family so on top of the pandemic and teens and other sets of parents, their schedule is formidable.
For outdoor fall portraits this year, we had 24 hours notice to pull together the portrait session. Sophia, the eldest, was in Raleigh for part of quarantine, so once we had a plan, we went to their gorgeous property where they have built a cabin to shoot images in the stunning fall surroundings.
This place has loads of acreage, tractors (Finley loved being able to run around with Colten and making the girls giggle) and at 8:30 am, we had The. Best. Light. Morning light is a photographer’s dream, so it all came together.
Tram (rhymes with “mom” which makes perfect sense if you know her) has become a friend of mine and we share the same love of gardening (often trading from our personal bounties), share the same love of the outdoors, and she is fun and affectionate with kids, so having Finley present and ready to roam and run around was only a “plus” in her eyes.
There was a lot of laughing, with their dog Pearl stealing the show, and plenty of playing and giggling with Finley so the smiles in these shots aren’t faked.
We’ve photographed this crew at Christmas and each time (2016 and 2019), it has been at their home and is themed of course. Families who hire us for Christmas portraits don’t normally order prints for hanging since they are seasonal, but Tram ordered all of these photos and they are going to hang them in the cabin.
We love, LOVE the Hollands and cannot wait to return to this enchanted spot with them again soon.
FUN ASIDE: All photos below are Finley’s “behind the scenes” shots taken with his Sony Cybershot camera while with us on location at the Holland’s. He came to play and work… Love my boy.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.