Posts in Category: Portraits
Winter Outdoor Family Portraits ~ the Graybeals
It didn’t feel like 7 years had passed since we got to hang with Crystal and Adam. The fun, laughs and teasing seemed to pick back up right where we left off. This time we were able to make friends with the new “little Graybeals.” Colton was a little shy upon first meeting us. After a few clicks of the shutter though, Ryan took him on a little exploration adventure through the nature trails, and that kid was shy no more. We were now a part of his entourage. As for wee one Landon, he won us over with his drooling grins and very expressive eye brows.
We love a winter photo shoot and seeing the strength of good couple and their growing family out in it. Much love to burgeoning family units out there and forget the seven year itch! Love that works never gets old.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
A Half Birthday Portrait Session | Sweet Sawyer Dean
Traci Pierce has been standing over her second son Sawyer and apparently holidng a watering can.
He’s growing fast and now at 6 month’s, he has a face that’s moving from baby to boy.
Traci wanted Sawyer’s 6 month photos to be the same as his older brother Holden’s. White cotton, simple and classic. It’s pure and sweet and I love that she wanted that simplicity. It’s a color-scheme that let’s the child shine through. Both Sawyer and his mom were crisply dressed, but gooey together. I loved this shoot!
Traci and her husband Andy have moved into a new house – as if 2 young boys wasn’t enough work. We loved being with them at Christmas for their in home session and the newness of the house was everywhere – and wonderful. A special service Pixels offers is assisting clients with rearranging and redesigning previous wall collections we created for their old home when they transition to the new one.
A few weeks ago I visited their home, took measurements and photos of all the walls where they saw their story being told and where they wanted to show off their family, and I made an inventory of all the photos we’ve printed and framed for them. Back in the office I created new wall collections using their existing photos and made suggestions of how to continue to build upon those layouts with the addition of Sawyer’s photos as well as future family portraits. The monochromatic approach makes this transition a bit easier, because bright white looks elegant in any surrounding. 
We love creating heirlooms for our clients, especially in a culture of selfies and snapshots and we certainly love it when a growing family can recalibrate a wall of photos to accommodate new siblings and new memories. The Pierces are dear to us and we’re excited that even on the busiest day, when there might be chaos in every direction, Traci and Andy can glance at the walls, see those boys in crisp white and think: “Well, THAT happened! At that time they were new and teeny and luscious and perfect.”
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 weddings, brides, 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.
Christmas at Home with the Hollands
Bakers know that the right ingredients will deliver nothing short of heaven when combined according to directions, in the right proportion, using the right tools and cooking for the right amount of time at the right temp. Occasionally altitude is a problem with cakes, but that is not what this blog is about. This blog is about how Christmas – a sacred time for believers and a joyous time for everyone – can accommodate many combinations of elements and still manage to create heaven. 
Welcome to the timber-frame warmth of The Hollands. This family is new to us, but we are already so incredibly grateful for this burgeoning relationship and for the opportunity to get to know this wonderful family that really “gets it.” Both parents, Kevin and Tram are in the military and they moved to Wilkes from Fayetteville, NC with their blended family which includes 3 children still at home: Colton, Ava, & Sophia. When I visited them on December 4th to document their holiday at home, it was cold, dark and rainy. When the door opened, it was like getting a hug. There was so much light, heat and warmth. 
The family used to drive from their home to Ashe county to cut down their tree and this year, they all went together locally do the same. Next year, I hope to go with some of the client families to take photos of the journey, the tree choice, the car with it tied on top or tossed in the truck bed and the little faces looking out the window.
The ingredients that made this “day in the life” session so wonderful were varied and fun, specific and universal. I loved it! To wit: there was an impromptu paper airplane making and flying contest, stories around special decorations, origami ornaments from Tram’s aunt, beloved glass ornaments that were the girls favorites, running around in sock feet, games of checkers on the rug, decorating, coffee and hot chocolate preparations, stolen kisses between the parents. It was family. I was reminded of the other families I’ve done Christmas at Home portraits with and how normal becomes extraordinary when you pay attention. 
There were the posed photos that families want and I enjoy – when everyone is smiling and practicing good posture, but I have to say I love it when we pass that point of formality and people just act like I’m not even there. The Hollands are wonderful and Tram took the time to share that they had a photographer back in Fayetteville who’d been their photographer for years – someone who’d documented big and small occasions in their lives. She understood the importance of building a relationship, where trust and familiarity are combined over the years and that shared knowledge and care make for wonderful photos and memories. We look forward to many, many years of getting to know the Hollands, watching the kids grow and helping them celebrate all aspects of their lives.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
Katie’s Senior Photos | A Bright Star in the making
I love photographing young girls and women, particularly when I can capture them in a way that others see them, in a way that is clear to me – that reveals them, but maybe not in a way they normally see themselves. There’s something about watching the revelation that happens when you show a young woman a photo of herself that is not a selfie – that is not frivolous (no offense to selfies and selfie-lovers) and they see a shade of themselves they’d missed. They see a character arc, another aspect of themselves they’d never noticed before. It’s both surprise and recognition and I love it. The experience of photographing Katie Waddell for her senior pictures was a ratification of this for me. It happened all over again.
Katie is a senior at Wilkes Central High School in Wilkesboro NC and she has completely touched my heart. She is the typical teenage girl – with her particular insecurities – but she doesn’t live in them. This girl manages to make sure that everyone around her feels loved. I’ve watched her make others comfortable, make them laugh and that’s what struck me and endeared her to me immediately.
When she wanted some photos taken for her senior year, I was thrilled to do them. Katie is so lovely, on top of her generous spirit and bright lit personality, she’s a perfect subject!
Katie is an amateur photographer herself and particularly loves black and white photos, so when we found a dead tree trunk we both thought was textural and cool.
We love to create short slideshow videos for clients to watch and share with friends and family. It’s just nice way to pull all of the great images and moments together into a dynamic album.
One thing she wanted help with for her senior portraits was WHAT TO WEAR. Oh……if I had a nickel…
It’s one of those crises women vacillate between loving (so many fun choices) and hating (too many choices). I offered to let her run her ideas and choices by me and one night I got a ton of texts with photos of her favorites under consideration. She, and I, had so much fun and she chose well for the setting she’d selected.
I told Katie to choose a spot that had meaning for her or that she particularly loved being in. Those of us with sand or mountains in our veins tend to gravitate to those locations again and again. Initially she wanted the woods near her house, but there was an overlook she loved as well, so we took photos of her in both.
When Katie and her mom reviewed all of the photos from her day, they both cried. She really SAW herself and I loved being able to give this gift to her. This young lady is just pure potential and I couldn’t be prouder of her or more excited about her future. My money is on you, Katie!!
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 weddings, brides, 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.
best friends | sydney & cherokee’s beach portraits
Friendship, like romantic love, has been celebrated in song lyrics, novels, movies and theatre. It’s been featured in paintings, operas, television shows, you name it. You can buy mugs, cards, plaques and t-shirts that speak to the importance of strong, lasting friendship. We even name our pets and offspring after dear friends. And most of us believe that the person we marry is usually our best friend, or ends up in that role.
I had the pleasure of co-hosting a beach trip with my mom when we took my “baby cousin” Sydney Wooten Chambers and her lifelong best girlfriend Cherokee Church to Crescent Beach in North Myrtle during fall break in October. I promised portraits of them months in advance and it gave them something to look forward to besides being on break at the beach.
Sydney is indeed my cousin, even though I have 20 years on her. She looks like a child of the 60s – free, happy, always showcasing a guileless smile and sweet face, with her long Joni Mitchell hair – and she feels more like a niece than a cousin. Cherokee has the same long hair, but her’s is a killer shade of red. These two have been hitched at the hip and soul sisters through thick and thin their entire lives. In fact, they’ve probably been friends since they could walk. To wit: Sydney had cancer when she was only four years old and Cherokee lost her mother to cancer when she was seven. The two can now look back with empathy and forward with hope – together. They have ridden the waves and at times been wiped out, but they’ve always gotten back on the board to chase the next tide, always by each others side.
The night before we left to return home, around sunset, we all went out and I took shots of them separately and together. These images are something they’ll have to remember their friendship, the trip, their history together and the strength of their bond. Seeing the love between these young women reminded me and my mom of our lifelong friends (my mom happens to be one of my best friends, in fact) and how, regardless of the chapter in your life, regardless of age, turmoil, victories, health, whatever, your best friends hold you close. They lift you up, they ground you, and they remind you that you matter. 
As we approach the holidays, if you have a friend or group of friends you’d like photographed in Christmas garb or if you want portraits taken “just because” – please contact us! We’d love to capture your nearest and dearest with you and create a new and lasting memory.
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 weddings, brides, 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.