Celebrating Dads | Father’s day photography
For this blog, we chatted with friends who are dads and they shared some of the things that they love most about being fathers. Seemed appropriate to go straight to the source.
I let Ryan kick us off! “Watching Finley’s curiosity with everything he experiences, makes me see things again in a whole new light. And that excites me again about exploring things around me, even the once-mundane things we take/took for granted.”
“Watching my 3 year old develop a sense of humor and timing when trying to get a laugh is one of my favorite things. She’s been working on her dramatic pause with “this little pig went to market” that just kills me. Also when she tells us that she loves us – it is pretty amazing.”
“Watching my kids become kind, compassionate adults.”
“Always being there for them but also strong enough to carry them when they need carrying and wise enough to let them fly when they need to soar.” (His eldest just got married!!)
“What I love most about being a dad (of two young ladies) is the way my children have challenged me to communicate from a place of self awareness and honesty! That and that I LOVE hanging out with them and hearing the many ways they are sorting through life! They are just amazing.”
“Empowering your kids to discover and become who God created them to be. As a dad, you’re not a bystander. You can enable them to really figure out who they are and support that vision.”
Happy Fathers Day to ALL of the Dads out there. We appreciate you so much more than we can ever say.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Orozco family orchard photos & baby news
If you’ve been following our blog for any length of time you’ll remember the beginnings of this lovely family. It was born when Oscar proposed to Ashley and we captured their engagement photos. Then they asked us to be their wedding photographers and we were honored. Since then, they have brought a little human into the world, baby Leo and this kiddo is about as delicious as they come.
We’ve been sharing this year’s crop of orchard portrait sessions and the Orozco family chose that location for Leo’s one year portraits. The day was beautiful and we adore this family and loved watching them all cuddled and playing together. We can’t believe how much little Leo has grown in a year’s time and we are certain he is going to love the role as big brother.
Little did we know until Ashley & Oscar’s arrival that we would also be photographing the announcement that their family is expanding. We were literally the first to know, as they would be using the pics we took to make the surprise announcement to each of their families. Talk about feeling honored and excited!
Ashley was just 7 weeks and still in the shocked stages or her pregnancy. In fact, at the time of our photos she was pregnant with twins. Shortly after around 11 weeks they would lose one of the babies. Ashley shared this about the experience “Although we did not want to hear this news, we know God is in control and we ask prayers for our little baby as he/she grows, and for us as we lean on God through this time! Our other little twin is up in heaven watching over us. We are trusting God. That twin is being better taken care of now than we ever could.” She is expected to deliver in early November 2019.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Mom, Dad, Baby & Blooms
Mirror, mirror….
Why is this gorgeous baby giving me the long stare? And will she steal my beauty?
Little Miss Ava found herself gazing like Narcissus, but instead of water, there was glass and she was rewarded richly. What a glorious little face looking up at the blooms and sky around her. Her sweet parents, Travis and Judy, were eager to photograph in the orchards this year and we loved the opportunity to create images and memories for them.
Judy’s love for tutus and vision of Ava lying on a mirror in the blooms became a creative photography mission for us. With babies it can sometimes be difficult to recreate these visions outside of the studio with so many distracting and unpredictable factors that can come into play. It’s important to preface this to anyone coming to us with Pinterest board expectations. I have to say, though, we pulled it off and this sweet munchkin and her folks look like they belong in the orchards.
There was no Photoshop overlays or green screens used to create these images of Ava and she literally became the vision of a true Southern Belle, wrapped in ribbons and pearls.
Moms and Dads out there: if you have an idea you want to pursue, bring it to us. You KNOW we’ll try to capture it. [Judy LOVES a theme. Check out her maternity shoot and Ava’s newborn photos.] Our only disclaimer is that we can’t control weather and sometimes it takes all hands on deck to distract a wriggling or tired baby. That said, when we match a vision with a palette and beautiful natural landscape, it really does feel like a triumph to see results like these.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Welcome to the World, Baby
This little acorn is proof that prayer, will and love can defeat hopelessness, doubt and even sometimes infertility. Emeliegh Faith Shumate was born to Andy and Amber Shumate on March 29. Fragile but perfect and just over 4 lbs, she was taken to Brenner’s Children’s Hospital where she reached 5 lbs after a couple of weeks, allowing her to go home. Sweet Emeliegh arrived 4 weeks before her due date, but not a minute too soon for her parents. We call that God’s timing. It’s always perfect.
Once released to go home, her mom and dad brought her to our studio just two days later for her newborn photo debut. From the start she has been told that she is “tiny but mighty” and I hope she hears that every day of her life until she believes that her purpose is important. She appears to be living up to that motto so far and her sweet smile says, “I’m happy to finally be here too!”
We photographed her parents engagement and wedding, when they blended their family and celebrated a new beginning filled with hope and a desire to build that family even further. Big Sister Ashlyn is smitten by this tiny bean and so happy for her Dad and her new step-mom Amber. “My heart felt full after she got here – like it was gonna explode in my chest!”
The future continues to be bright for this family and for this mighty new-comer to the world. So much love begets so much love and we’re grateful to have this family in our lives and as part of our extended “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, 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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Overby Family Orchard Portraits
Almost 3 years to the date after we photographed the Overby’s in the orchard their family was a part of planting and starting, Mom Jennifer, Father Josh, Natalie, Eli and their latest addition, Jaden Overby were photographed among the audacious blossoms of the peach trees. This season, the orchard exploded and we were thrilled to see this family for a very special and timely photo session.
Natalie and Eli have grown so much in three years; time will do that, you know, but their personalities have only developed more and they were so sweet with their new little brother, Jaden. Check out the side-by-side images of these two cuties. I especially love how Natalie has moved from “hair bow” to “statement necklace” in three short calendar flips. As the mother of a boy, I love noticing these little shifts.
Jennifer is a descendant of the family who planted the orchard and they also live next to it. Heritage is important to this family, as is legacy and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this session was scheduled around the time that Jennifer’s father became very ill. We offered to reschedule the session so that the family could spend time together, but her father’s wish was to see photos that included Jaden, the youngest of all of his grandchildren.
Only a few days after we showed the family the portraits, Jennifer’s father passed, but not without being able to see the family portraits with his new grandson, and in a place he knew and loved so well.
To end on a happier note, Jaden is a close to perfect baby. Not one tear, not one cry for the entire session. More often than not, this happy little man was grinning and giggling and we love that he is not only a part of this terrific family, but was able to be in the orchard that day and during that time. We send nothing but blessings for the future for this 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, 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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.