Newborn Atticus shines in his Grandfather’s Shadow

Atticus Ford belongs to Micala & Tyler and mom Micala shared with us that this session was particularly special because it was their “first official moment as a family of three.”

Pixels On Paper Photography Atticus Newborn Family Portrait Photo

A great deal of thought and planning went into the theme and backdrop of his session prior to his birth. Micala had a vision and Pinterest board, but her true inspiration was her grandfather, someone she’s incredibly close to. She wanted to dress Atticus in the clothes and surround him with items that would convey the man that she hopes he’ll be some day. His hat was chosen because it’s so like one that his grandfather wears. She found his outfit on Etsy and I had all the props to create the scene. Thank goodness for my love of antiquing, reading and thrifting. Between us, we pulled it all together.

Is Atticus going to be an attorney who shines the light on injustice, even when it’s not easy for him and his family? His name would certainly suggest that. Will he join the ministry and spread the gospel? Or is he a writer of fiction who illuminates the lives of the common man? These pictures make you wonder, but there is no mystery surrounding his parents’ love for him.

For additional images for their home and for giving to others, I stuck with classic neutral / earthy tones and textures to highlight his beautiful dark red hair and coordinate with his nursery. His mom thoughtfully shared their home interior and colors through photos. On the day they came to the studio, we were more than ready.

Atticus was good throughout the entire session. No crying, awake when he needed to be with great eye contact, and asleep when it was picture perfect. I kept taking pictures long after I’d gotten more than we needed.

As wedding clients, the Rash’s took advantage of our packages and received their newborn session free. We also shot their wonderful engagement session when Tyler surprised Micala with a song before proposing. This couple is really about making memories with a purpose and being present during the entire photo process. We encourage others to adopt this attitude and let a pro handle your milestone portraits … hint hint!

Atticus: we love you little man! Cannot wait to see you soon!


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.

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

Newborn Sofia

Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC Photography Sophia Duran Newborn Portrait Photo

This little nugget is Sofia and she telepathically shared with us that shades of purple are her favorite. Ok, she didn’t, but that’s what moms and older sisters and pro photographers are for. We can coordinate.

I tend to request that newborns and parents come to our studio for baby’s first portraits within the first week to 10 days, but little Sofia was delivered by C-section, so her mom brought her in at 3 weeks. She was scrumptious. Accompanied by siblings, she slept peaceful tucked into their arms or lying in warm bundles, and when she was awake she would look into the camera like a rock star.

Sofia’s mom Jessica learned about us, was actually referred to us, by our dear friend and client Lindsey York, who reaped the benefits of our referral program.

In the months ahead, I’m so looking forward to photographing Sofia for her full one year package and we’re already working to design wall collections in her home. We love this sweet family and how they are welcoming Sophia and planning around her addition to their family.

If you would like to learn more about photo sessions for preemies, newborn babies or our referral program, please contact 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 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.

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

All photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

2019 highlights

newborn baby boy Rylie wilkesboro nc portrait studio pixels on paper photographers photo

If this is our 2019 Year in Review, then little Riley above has perfectly summed up how we felt at the end of the year. Contented and tired! We did it! I wanted to share the visual breadth and depth of what our year looked like, but that would be volumes… volumes of images, stories, back-stories, comedy segments, prayers and all of the rewards that come with this gig. It’s a full life.

So instead: enjoy some of the highlights. There are plenty more, but here’s a sampling of people and places we had in our lens last year!

Above: on the commercial side – we took headshots for Krusch Divorce Resolution – a wonderful firm out of Charlotte. The cozy plaid, attic bedroom was captured to promote a real estate project from Kathryn Lily of Kathryn Lily Interiors in Cornelius.

Below: Spring in the orchard, included prom portraits, the Overby family’s return to the orchard, baby Ava checking herself out in a mirror, the expecting Orozco family of 3 about-to-be-4, and finally little Miss Paisley in a fabulous tulle skirt. The blooms and trees provided the backdrop, but the people made the experience and results perfect.

Late spring, early summer is the mix we always hope it will be.
Below: senior portraits (gorgeous McKenzie on the left), several delicious babies, kids and pets, some commercial work for the Wilkesboro Town Council and, of course, Merlefest!!

Above: more commercial photo sessions for MBI Builders, Wilkes Community College’s new Culinary Building, architectural exteriors and real estate projects, the chef and owner of the elegant Craft Bistro in West Jefferson, and a special trip to the Touch-a-Truck event.

Below: more prom images of high school besties dressed “to the nines,” and the full-on summer portraits of families with new babies, those expecting babies, family reunions at mountain homes, and a couple getting married at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

And finally, a round-up of faces we’ve known and watch grow for years, some very, very new faces, a celebration of high school and college grads and a destination wedding at The Biltmore Estate.

It seems fitting to start and end with babies. They are our symbols of hope, our reminder that life keeps moving no matter what and, let’s face it, they are cute as heck. Again, we want to thank the families and businesses we worked with last year. What a blast and a privilege and your commitment to working with professional does not go unnoticed. We’re looking forward to seeing all the highlights that 2020 is going to bring.


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.

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.

Finley turned two

And just like that, ….. he was headed for college.

Good Lord, can you imagine? Me sitting here typing through tears!! Wash that image away. Finley is two and THAT went by in a flash of sorts. More hair – red and curly and wild like the little scamp who sports it. More activities and racing around and more kiddie power tools. This boy is full on living his best life. Happy Birthday, Sweet Finley.

We’ve had a ritual these last couple of years that we loved continuing: we bring treats to the staff at North Wilkesboro Wake Forest Medical Center where Finley was born. They were indispensable to say the least in bringing him into this world, and we love hugging their necks and letting them see how big our boy has grown.

Finley has received an assortment of tools and he is keen to use them every chance he gets. For his birthday, he made use of his chainsaw in between helping with the baking. We spent the days around his birthday making memories, spending time with him and our families and letting him celebrate as only a two year old can.

And of course, Ryan’s parents and mine joined us for group portraits in our studio. Parents of young kids: we don’t just preach it, we live it. Get professional portraits of your clan every year. Not only is it a way to make and capture memories, but you can celebrate those relationships in more casual settings. Our Day in the Life style sessions are popular for this reason and will be a big focus for us in 2020. I promise you will not regret making annual photo sessions a tradition.

I cannot thank Joy Davis enough for capturing even more photos for us so that we could not only be in them and fully present, but enjoy Finley on his birthday. All of the images that follow are copyright Joy Davis Photography.

We love this boy and are already throwing ourselves into 2020 and his next trip around the sun – OUR trip around the sun as a family. So let’s do this!! Do you have a milestone or celebration to capture? Is there a season you love as a family or a special place you go as a couple or a family where a documentary style photo session would be perfect? Contact us and let’s discuss making it happen this year!


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.

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.

Architectural, Real Estate and Interior Design Photography

As commercial photographers, we love the opportunity to capture architectural images for builders and interior designers who want to showcase their work. Part of doing that is getting the various choices they make in terms of shape, space, materials and form. An indoor pool is just an indoor pool until you get it from the perspective of the person who has just decided to open it up for use. Then the room is about potential….. and memories.

blowing rock nc real estate photography kathryn lily interiors design commercial architectural photo
blowing rock nc real estate photography kathryn lily interiors design commercial architectural photo

We love so many things about shooting these types of photographs – and Ryan is masterful at it, by the way. More than anything it is seeing textures in materials, a palette come together, fixtures and lighting that give a room a sense of place and a feeling of home or comfort or luxury.

Pixels On Paper Charlotte NC Mountains Architectural Photographers MBI Builders Rockabill Lane Photo

Interiors and exteriors from MBI Builders are particularly wonderful to shoot because they create such beautiful custom homes and commercial spaces. Every fixture is especially chosen. We’ve shot at the Blue Ridge Mountain Club multiple times, Lake Norman and helped Kathryn Lily Interiors add to their portfolio of cleverly decorated interiors.

Pixels On Paper Charlotte NC Mountains Architectural Photographers MBI Builders Rockabill Lane Photo
nc real estate photography interior and exterior photos commercial architectural photo

MBI was also responsible for the ProCor office space in Cornelius, NC. The furnishings and style are clean, modern and elegant with lots of open spaces and natural light. Ryan wanted to capture all of this in the images he took for MBI’s portfolio.

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

We work with architects, builders and interior designs as well as real estate agents. If you would like to see more of this work, you can!

Milfoil Court from MBI Builders
Home on Lake Norman
Kathryn Lily Interiors – Blue Ridge Mountain Club Home
MBI for Blue Ridge Mountain Club – Real Estate images

ProCor Industrial Offices
More exciting for us … if you’re interested in having us photograph your work, please contact us. We would love to get your work and vision at its best!


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 ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.