A Photographer’s Inspirations
Or I could call this blog, “merely a glance” at my inspirations. They are varied and plentiful. That’s rights, kids – I’m doing another little blog flashback today.
My brain’s slideshow of memories, my new normal (think: I gotta 2 year old in the house!!), my priorities and goals have me feeling contemplative. And the good news is that I’ve been renewed by this thinking about what inspires me and what I love about my crazy life. That’s not a bad place to be. I’d rather feel hopeful, even when I’m exhausted, than joyless. “Did I get it all done today?” NOPE. But, but did my husband and son feel loved? Yes. Did I share a giggle with my mom over the phone? I did. Was I available to give a pep talk to my girlfriend in Asheville? Yup! Days like that when I am productive AND RELATIONAL get marked with an “A” grade and I call it good.
As I’ve mentioned in recent blogs, Ryan and I will be focusing more on relationships and the kind of photography that allows those to thrive: day in the life, family, children, community, and those milestones that may not be first on the list in people’s minds. We’ll be tapering off certain types of photography to make room for the abundance of other work that brings us joy and keeps us sane.
I’ll be sharing more in the weeks ahead, but for now, I want to take a look back at a blog I wrote a while back titled Things I Love to Think About. It still makes me smile.
I hope you all will do the same today. What inspires you? What do you love to think about? Spend a minute in that place in your mind once you’ve identified it…. even a minute. You’ll feel better.
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
Inspirations for 2020
Ryan and I are excited about not only this new year we’ve found ourselves in, but what our shifting goals and priorities are showing us. Some of this is a function of having a business and a two-year old. That’s quite a lot in and of itself. You cannot say yes to everything and when I “Marie Kondo it” and work on projects that spark joy, I’m a happier human.
We are making more time for relationships and people. You’ve heard me say this before, but our long friendships with clients are a trademark of who we are. And YES we are always taking new clients!!
We’re saying yes to photo shoots that allow us to capture people doing life together, just as we are behind the camera. We hope for more A Day in the Life, more maternity and baby photo shoot sessions, more family, more events that allow us to serve our community and more time with our boy.
We want to stay inspired!! A while back, we shared what inspires us and I thought we might revisit those blogs AND in the weeks to come share even more with you all about our priorities and the future of Pixels. NO, we aren’t going anywhere!
What is inspiring you? What parts of your life would you like captured on film in 2020? While you think about this, let’s revisit Ryan’s take on What Inspires and Fuels Us!
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
Valentine’s Day Expressions
This is love.
So is this.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I would just celebrate what love looks like on people’s faces, in their body English, and in their overall gestures because of their connection to each other. It’s not always easy to spot love, especially when you’re trying to capture a variety of images during a scheduled photo session, but I’ve been training my eye for a while now, and sometimes, it’s right in your face.
Couples who are no longer newlyweds really make me smile. You made a commitment and it held, through good and bad. The familiarity has not, as the saying goes, bred contempt. We married couples know each other well and that love has deepened.
Parents with their babies = undeniable love. It spills out and they cannot help it, even with a photographer circling them, lighting them, and getting multiple shots. And the same is true with siblings who snuggle.
There are those quiet, less obvious moments too. Resting in love is soul-restoring.
And there’s friendship. God gave us so many types of love, but one of the greatest is our love for our neighbors, our weird friends, the people who aren’t bound by blood, but who show up to “do life” with us.
We need love for each other now more than ever. Whatever it takes or looks like, I plan to take a moment this week, whether it’s with the Valentines I share a name with, or just someone who makes my life better, and show them a little love. I hope you will too.
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
Tinleigh 6 months portraits in Ruffles and Bows
Tinleigh is the only girl among her siblings and it feels like a blink since she had newborn portraits taken. On this occasion, we turned our studio over to her and her stylist and let her go nuts. For her six month portrait session, with no brothers around, and my stash of dress up options, ribbons, ruffles and pearls, this little light shined. Man, she is cute! And her mom loved seeing her all girly for the photo session.
Although it was hard not to see a little tomboy in her since she’s surrounded by brothers, Tinleigh loves all things girly at the moment. I created a creamy Victorian setting and in a little ruffled onsie she was adorable. We also let her drape herself in a bright pink tulle number, … as one does.
I love the expressions this little girl makes. Her face says a million discerning and hammy little things in micro-seconds. I cannot wait to chat with her when she starts talking.
I typically keep my two year old Finley out of the studio during sessions, but Tinleigh is so accustomed to being entertained by her brothers that when she appeared to be getting bored I allowed my little curly haired Ginger to join us. She loved it and was all eyes and smiles. He perked her right up, something I know from first-hand experience that he’s great at.
I cannot wait to get this little nugget, with or without her older brothers, in front of my lens again. Maybe another outdoor, day in the life session with the whole family……….hmmmmm. I have a phone call to make!
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
Baby Luka’s Six Month Milk Bath
It doesn’t seem possible that just 6 months ago, we were taking little Luka’s newborn baby shots, but the calendar doesn’t lie. He was as snuggly as he could be, but just look at him now. Fresh as a bowl full of summer cream, so to speak.
Luka’s Mom Sierra had some specific ideas in mind for the session and one was that we do something really different. She suggested a possible bubble bath, but I’ve recently discovered during my son Finley’s bath time that bubbles don’t last very long. Add a six month old to the mix and what sounds like a good idea could easily turn into the loss of a day. So I suggested a milk bath instead. These aren’t just for Cleopatra, ya’ll, and it allowed us to incorporate the antique tub his brother was photographed in as well. Win-Win!
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while, but without interest from a client, I just kept it filed away. Once we agreed on this for baby Luka, I experimented with how to keep the temperature just right and the color opaque. A simple white background and some greenery for bit of color were all we needed. And 3 pairs of hands! (God Bless parents who jump in.) Luka was the true centerpiece, literally bathed in white and even when we added some rubber ducks and bubbles to elicit various reactions, he’s the focus. He was comfortable, alert and his parents and I, while a bit tired and covered with milk in the end, are all in love with the final outcome.
Sierra was also keen to have Luka’s 6 month photos coordinate with Conner’s. Connor was captured in an orchard in the height of summer during peach season. We used lots of props and cute outfits for Conner, that July. It’s a tad hard to replicate this in January though, when the temps are barely above freezing, but we stuck the landing with forethought and planning. I was able to coordinate similar colors with Luka’s attire and created a handmade backdrop inside the studio. The 6 month portraits for these brothers are different yet complementary.
Any photo session where the clients feel understood and we’ve succeeded in getting the goals images is a great session. And then there are those where we try something entirely new to great success. This session was both. We love collaborating!
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License