Posts Tagged: baby mountain family photographers

sawyer’s first birthday portraits and cake smash photos at Pixels On Paper portrait studio

If you feel like the clock is doing that Salvador Dali thing of melting slooooooowly, … first, I admire your knowledge of surrealism. Secondly, though, it’s not slowly melting. It’s moving faster than any of us can comprehend. I get it: 7 days a week, 60 seconds in a minute, 24 hours a day and that doesn’t change, but I swear this child’s older sibling was just born. And now HERE HE IS celebrating his own first birthday. This is sweet Sawyer and he’s made his first trip around the sun.Sawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer: “These are my hands” (above). “The tops of them you can see on the left and on the right, my palms! Pretty cool, huh?”Sawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photo

Sawyer Dean Pierce turned one on June 9, 2017 and we photographed his one year portrait and cake smash photo session on that very day. We had fun designing his nautical beach themed backdrop in the Pixels On Paper photography portrait studio, but he seemed less than thrilled with diving into a cake. Some kids do and some kids don’t. This one couldn’t care less about the sweets (at least on this day). What he is into is playing outside, hanging with his big brother Holden, dancing, swinging on swings and growing those curls. We love photographing the Pierce family and have been their photographers for more than a few milestones. Sawyer’s growth needs to slow down, but it’s not going to happen, I’m afraid. He is definitely giving his big brother Holden a run for his money in size and stature.

Sawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer Dean Pierce One Year portrait photography and Cake Smash photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, family photographers photoSawyer’s newborn and 6 month portrait photography sessions are a testament to how quickly the time will fly by.
Contact us if you want to set up portrait sessions for your newborn, 6 month, one month or family portraits. We love the babies!

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Matthew’s one year birthday and family portrait session | Wilkesboro NC child and family photographers

There is love and there’s love and then there’s the Minick family. You can say the name Minick and my heart fills up. We have the best history with this family and our love for them runs deep. We’ve photographed just about every milestone of their adult lives. On May 17th, Matthew (“Matt Matt”) celebrated his first birthday and we photographed his celebratory portrait session 10 days after. We decided to make this session a family affair and snagged some photos with parents Rachel & Ryan and with his big sis Amelia.

One year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photo

One year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photo

Matthew (May 2017) and big sister Amelia (October 2013) photographed in the same family heirloom high chair.

One year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoOne year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoOne year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoOne year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photo

We’ve been photographing the Minicks for so long, including their engagement and wedding, Christmas photos, maternity and Amelia’s one year portraits and Matthew’s newborn portraits. They are absolutely family. Matthew had a Little Blue Truck themed birthday party and photo shoot as well. We love seeing these kids and family grow and especially watching the little ones develop their own personalities. No two are alike!

One year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoOne year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoOne year portrait and outdoor family portrait photographers Wilkesboro NC child portrait photoRachel, Ryan, Amelia and Matthew: we love you to pieces. We love how open you are in your lives, how you invite us in to share and how your amazing family is growing in size and in love. We look forward to the next milestone and another chance to hang out and do life.

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Love Your Mama! | Celebrating Motherhood

No matter what it looks like, motherhood is profound. Mothers declare – with this first amazing act of carrying a child and then giving birth to it – that they will forever share their food, put their immediate needs aside, hold their child’s head above the rising water, look for sacred lost things, and provide comfort, perspective, structure, laughter, physical and emotional affection, joy and support till the very end.

Minick Outdoor Maternity Portrait Photography

Pixels On Paper wedding photographers. Biltmore Estate engagement portrait Asheville NC photo

I’ve heard that a mother’s job is to be a witness to whoever your child is and turns out to be. They are not you, just of you. Kahil Gibran, said that right? You are the bow and your child is the arrow being shot out into a world ready to be discovered. What gets them out there into that wide world armed with humility, confidence and strength is steady mother love.
Pixels on Paper Photography Outdoor Portrait garden photoMadelyn McGuire Family and Child Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there. If your mom is still with us, call her, take her to brunch, go for a walk with her, invite her over and cook her a meal. But most importantly, tell her thank you.
Morning Song
Love set you going like a fat gold watch.
The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry
Took its place among the elements.
Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.
In a drafty museum, your nakedness
Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.
I’m no more your mother
Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow
Effacement at the wind’s hand.
All night your moth-breath
Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:
A far sea moves in my ear.
One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral
In my Victorian nightgown.
Your mouth opens clean as a cat’s. The window square
Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try
Your handful of notes;
The clear vowels rise like balloons.
– Sylvia Plath
Hatfield Photography, Family portrait photography by Wilkesboro NC Photographers Pixels On Paper photo

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I Wish | 10 Reasons Why You Should Schedule Family Portraits

I am not angling for a beat down by bringing this up, although I may be inviting one (“she said while ducking…”). I hate a guilt trip almost as much as I hate a warning. So, I’ll just type this without guile, like the sweet photography maven you know and love. Ok? Ok.
As family photographers, Ryan and I hear – sadly, way too often and with zero joy – how people wish they had more family portraits when everyone is gathered and happy and still around to enjoy it. You think you’ll do it and then you don’t. Children are born and you share their early photos. Then jobs scatter family members, siblings call and text, the babies grow up too quickly. There are soccer championships, swim meets, proms, braces on, braces off, sledding in winter, camping in summer, graduation and marriage and on and on and at some point you think: “we should have been taking more photos of the WHOLE family together.” The time will fly. We hear this all the time.
Now don’t they look happy? They probably had barbecue after.

In all seriousness, we’ve taken so many family portraits because one member decided to coordinate dates, get everyone gathered and then contact us to get a photo or two. Here are some great examples of that in case you missed it.

https://www.pixelsonpaperblog.com/mountains-nc-family-vacation-destination-portraits-pixels-on-paper/

So on that note, I’m going to do a David Letterman style Top 10 List (remember dear, hilarious, tormented and snarky Letterman?…… man I miss him!) Here goes!
The Top 10 Reasons you should hire us to take your family vacation portraits this summer:
#10 – Coordinating outfits. C’mon – you know you’ve wanted to try to manage this task at least once.

#9 – Fun locales! Not there this is anything wrong with your own front porch – or our portrait garden. But if you don’t live around here and you’re visiting, take your pick! We have scenic vistas, quaint downtown squares, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Biltmore House, miles of mountains and forest overlooks and trails, arboretums, you name it. And if you want us to meet you at a special location that is meaningful to your family – even better. We’ve shot in Banner Elk, Charleston, Roaring Gap, at family farms and heritage properties.

Hoben family reunion on family property

#8 – Watching the generations intermingle. “I remember the Moon landing” meets “You can have the iPad when the baby is done with it.”

#7 – The conversations that happen between shots. So much recollecting, so much sharing, so much comparing notes and correcting history. It’s a chance for us to get to know you too and we relish the chatter during family photo shoots.
Styers Family Outdoor Portrait Photography photo

#6 – It’s an heirloom. How hard is it to get a single nuclear family around a dinner table on a Wednesday? Multiply that by the number of grown siblings, aunts and uncles, the number of cities of residence, distance, vacation schedules and you know that these moments don’t happen. They simply don’t. So create a memory that other family members decades from now – those you may never meet – will look at one day with curiosity and affection.

#5 – You WILL learn something about your family during the vacation and we manage to capture that “old newness,” if that makes sense. It may be one trivial item about a talent your cousin has, or a card trick your mom somehow never found the time to show you, or something magical about your grandparents’ love story, but I can promise you that family portrait sessions bring out the ability to observe yourselves as we observe you. It’s crazy but it’s true.
Meade Outdoor Family Portrait Photography#4 – Little intimate moments happen. There are photos of the whole gang, but we also capture individual components of each family if you want, right down to siblings. These are often un-posed and ridiculously sweet. We are documentarians as well as portrait photographers.

#3 – The laughter. There is a closeness that is remarkable and specific to each family we photograph and then an edge when two strangers meet up with you holding cameras and gear and start telling you where and how to stand. But Ryan and I are light. We get it. We work to make you comfortable, we’ve been told we blend in with the membership and we encourage smiles and silliness. You’ll have the photos to remember the day, but you’ll also have the laughs.
#2 – You will never be this age, in this time, with these people, ever again. And you know what I mean, so I’ll stop there.

And the number 1 reason you should have us come take your family reunion portraits, your family gathered in one place (if you’re not the reunion type), your vacation or family’s summer getaway is ………..DRUMROLL PLEASE……………..!!!

You won’t regret it. We receive more thank yous from individuals and families who decided to coordinate a shoot, meet us and let us capture them all together in a special spot during a special time. And honestly, that can be any place or any time you are all gathered as a family. I promise. Do it. You’ll be glad you did for the rest of your days.
Poland Outdoor Family Portrait Photography photop.s. I’ll be giving this sermon again at Christmas.
Thanks. We look forward to seeing you and coordinating.
Love you guys!

 

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a photography workshop shines a light in the dark places

Toward the end of March, I struck out on my own and took a leap outside of my comfort zone to attend a photography workshop and retreat. I love perfecting my craft, learning new techniques, comparing notes, etc., and we all need professional renewal, regardless of what we do. The invitation promised a focus on wedding photography, mastering and using lighting and exposure, and connecting with both your clients and your own desires in life. Tricks of the trade meets self-help meets community and introspection. I’d made excuses for not going in the past and this had an extra element of trepidation – spending 4 days in a house with 9 other women, all strangers. But what’s growth without a bit of surrendering to the unknown?Exposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperThis retreat was hosted by Elly’s Photography and I’ve been a fan of her work for years… another incentive: meet a fellow traveler, working photographer, wife, business woman. As it turns out, Elly’s really a life coach in addition to wonderful photographer and I found that my need to stretch was more important than my fears of hanging with strangers – without Ryan – in a house for 4 days. I needed it more than I knew. Exposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperBoth before and during the retreat, Elly and I spoke for hours so that I’d get the most out of my retreat. She asked questions about what I wanted to learn, what I wanted to see change in our business, how I wanted to connect with our clients. But then there were even harder questions. What are you really passionate about, what drives you, where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 15 years, what is your impact? I did work in “Clearing,” “Dream Casting,” and communication exercises. Photography is easy for me, the personal stuff can be really hard and at times very emotional.

I needed someone to ask me the hard questions. I needed my creativity to be reawakened, to have a new perspective. I needed to have more tools in my tool box to offer our clients. I needed to be surrounded by 9 other creative people that felt the same as me. I ended up having a blast and learning a lot about myself.Exposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperExposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperThe best part is that, through all of the personal aspects of the retreat, it was mixed with learning new ways of using my camera and seeing both natural and artificial light differently. Over the past 8 years I’ve become very comfortable with using artificial lighting for photography. I can manipulate light to be what I need it to be in almost any situation. This is a good thing. In fact, Ryan often jokes that I always wish I had one more light to add to the scene no matter how many I have. But what I found during the first half of our workshop is that I had stopped looking at natural light the same way. Natural light can be manipulated. It can be found in sources and locations I have ignored. All of the portrait photos in this blog use natural light and it’s not necessarily sunlight. The dark dramatic head shot photos for example were taken in a bathroom stall with a single overhead light on. The photos are not altered or changed in Photoshop at all. They’re straight out of my camera. I am newly empowered and so excited about using what I’ve learned during portrait photography, weddings, events, day in the life shoots and elsewhere. Exposed Photography Workshop and Styled Photoshoot Photos by Misty McGuire Case of Pixels On PaperThe next blog will be a continuance of this one, so stay tuned!

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.

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