Posts Tagged: baby mountain family photographers

5 Reasons to Have Professional Portraits

We know that you guys are busy. Believe me – we’re right there with you. You have a million things to do, so a lot of those “things” end up happening quickly and less deliberately. We’re running around constantly.

Boar’s Head – the premium deli meat purveyors – have created a tagline to get us to think about how we have to thread the needle of decision making: Compromise Elsewhere. It’s a good one, huh? And, sadly or not, it’s necessary in a busy, noisy world.

“Choose your battles.” “Spend your time wisely,” etc. and it’s true. So I would like to co-opt this idea of compromising elsewhere with regard to keeping your biggest moments in life, those things that matter and will someday become the heirlooms on film and not stuck in your phone or in a cloud. For that you need professional photography and a little bit of planning.

So here are my 5 reasons why hiring a professional photographer – ie someone who is seasoned, great at it and loves it – to capture the most important moments in life.
5 – If you make the time, the results are worth it. The quality is better and Ryan and I have worked for well over a decade to make this is true.

4 – It’s more fun than you think it will be. Seriously. People make appointments thinking it’s a box to tick because they need good photos of milestone (AND YOU DO!!), but our clients come back again and again for sessions, because there is a vibe and flow and a lot of laughter. We’re easy like Sunday morning, as the song goes, and the vast majority become our dear friends. We try to make shoots fun no matter where we are or who we’re with because who wants a job that stinks? And honestly – WE DO HAVE FUN. We are real people who are married with a baby and who love music, craft beer, gardening, hockey, family, travel and capturing portraits.

3 – Proper portraits, shot by professional photographers, are of the best quality. It’s just true. Your social media “story” or travel snapshots provide a sense of a moment and some narrative, but professionals portraits do not have to be stuffy. They are real AND turn out better than something shot on the most expensive smart phone or personal point and click digital camera. Part of this is our equipment. We use only the best cameras, lens, and lighting and then the best technology for clarity, cropping, processing and retouch. And then part of it is our experience. We don’t take photos as part of a holiday. It’s how we make our living. Enough on that. You get it. The last part is our passion. We know what we’re doing, do it with the very best equipment and software and we absolutely LOVE IT.

Madelyn McGuire Family and Child Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo

2 – Professional portraits make amazing gifts. We’ve all seen the sort of “great, but blurry” or pixelated framed images and while the sentiment is there – the quality isn’t. If you’re going to give a gift, give a nice one. Whether it’s framed for your own home, made into calendar or used for some fun type of gift, your friends and family will appreciate it if it doesn’t look like it was created on someone’s lunch break in an alley.

The number ONE reason to have professional portraits taken is because the time will indeed pass quickly and when the moment is gone it is indeed actually gone. Kids grow up, the wedding day comes and goes, the beautiful bride goes back to her life and job or career path, the family disburses to the 4 corners of the earth and getting that minute back is just impossible.

Consider where you are in your life right now, what big events, milestones or celebrations are on the horizon during the next few months or even year and give us a call. We’d love to be the ones to create those heirlooms for you.


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.

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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Babies and Props – because those photos are just too fun

We love a prop. We love a baby in a hat… a baby holding something they may not even recognize. Parents have that prerogative, you know? Want to put a fake mustache on your newborn – go for it. We are willing accomplices and more than happy to capture it all for posterity.
Want to see some favorites as you may be planning your own newborn or kid photo session? We thought you’d never ask.

Wilkesboro, Boone, Blowing Rock, NC Newborn Photographers Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo

Aaron Schlinsog Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo
Aaron Schlinsog Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography

Pixels on Paper newborn photo of Berklee Arnold photo

Bridal tiaras, baseball equipment, Disney characters, knitted aviation gear, whatever you’ve got, we love props and ways of showing off the cuteness of your kids. We also have spaces at our outdoor portrait garden that are perfect for set-ups and play.
Amelia turns one. First Birthday. Child photography, children photo


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.

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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Day in the Life photography

We love the real real. Not the online consignment enterprise, although I know it’s fab – but rather, the sense that life is not airbrushed. Our Day in the Life sessions were born from that desire to capture families doing what they do without unnecessary makeup and wardrobe changes. We just blogged about how much we’re diving into this part of our business and how much we love living the real and photographing the real. Here are a few of our favorites.

Keeping it Real! Meet this little goof-ball who joined our tribe last year. Mercurial? Yup!
Here’s the baby of one of our favorite families just enjoying the tree most of us haven’t for decades.

Our photographer pals and peers, the Guerrants with their kiddos hanging out in a park was another favorite day. There was no major holiday – no one got married (pretty sure…. the kids are still under age) and they just fished and picnic’d and spent time together.

We’ve loved holiday portraits sessions, especially when kids are jazzed about Christmas.

Day in the Life and documentary style photo shoots are something to consider if you want to capture images of your family, but not worry about the posing or any stress some may feel around a portrait session. This is just fun – with photo reminders that don’t look dumb. Repeat that to yourself and call 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.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Exploring Family in Photos

Ryan and I love being parents and so much has shifted in our brains, lives and focus since the day our son arrived. It started earlier than that of course, when we knew we were pregnant, but the amount of time and effort needed to be present definitely caused a pivot – and it has been a beautiful one. We’ve always thought of our clients in totality – seen them in chapters once we’ve gotten to know them. They fall in love and become engaged, they marry, some start families and at each juncture, we hope to be there with our cameras.Pixels On Paper newborn photographers. Wilkesboro NC portrait studio baby and harrison family portrait photo

More recently, we’re seeing The Cycle of Family, as I’m calling it today, with more clarity and joy, and the result is that we would like to spend even more time capturing YOUR FAMILY on film. Not just special monumental occasions, but doing life. We want to focus more on the babies and dogs together, the outdoor play, family in casual settings, you guys in the middle of being together, raising kids, enjoying the community of family and friends – cradle to retirement and everything in between.

99.2% of life is not set-up, well-lit and complete with wardrobe changes and while I totally made up that statistic, I feel pretty good about it. Life isn’t always getting to wear the new shoes or have your hair cut and curled. It’s just life and what we love so much about that fact is that daily life is actually gorgeous. Maybe not the oil changes or diaper changes, but I promise that if you spend it with those you love, the results on film will speak for themselves.
One option – bring your family together for a reunion.
Plan a Day in the Life session or two.
Invite us to your home during the holidays.
More than anything, we’re finding that the details, the fun little off moments are what make the stories. And what goes better with stories than pictures.
Consider a “just because” or Day in the Life photo session this year. We’d love to make it happen for you!


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.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

baby, baby, baby ~ professional portraits of those first, sweetest moments

“The Angel that presided o’er my birth
Said, ‘Little creature, form’d of Joy and Mirth
‘Go love without the help of any Thing on Earth.'” – William Blake 

Baby, baby, babies. They are awesome, and noisy, and smell great, and then stink up a diaper. They can make you feel like you won the lottery and make you want to yank your hair out – in between naps – and feedings and trying to find your way back to normal with a new human around. There are so many important milestones in a life, but the entry of a new person is one of the biggest. We always encourage new parents to consider getting portraits made of their newborns. We know you’re tired and we know there is some effort involved, but here are some things to think about:

  1. We’re good at it. We’ve been doing this for well over a decade (nearly 2) and we have the props, places to nurse in private, a changing room…. we’re ready for you.
  2. You’ll never be able to capture these moments from the first 10 days again. When they are over, they’re over. There will be other moments, but not during these first, fresh, tender few days.
  3. You’re tired and need a hug. Let us get Little Miss or Little Mister photographed while you rest, even for a moment. If you need to feed, no problem. If you need to change him or her, no worries. If you need that hug and an understanding nod, we have those in spades. You’re not alone. We can make it fun.

“When you were born, beloved, was your soul
New made by God to match your body’s flower,
And were they both at one same percious hour
Sent forth from heaven as a perfect whole?
Or had your soul since dim creation burned,
A star in some still region of the sky,
That leaping earthward, left its place on high
And to your little new-born body yearned?
No words can tell in what celestial hour
God made your soul and gave it mortal birth,
Nor in the disarray of all the stars
Is any place so sweet that such a flower
Might linger there until thro’ heaven’s bars,
It heard God’s voice that bade it down to earth.” – Sara Teasdale
Aaron Schlinsog Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography

Anya Parry Newborn Portrait Photography photos

These little miracles will be smashing their first birthday cakes after a single trip around the sun. Then they’ll walk, if they aren’t already and talk, and start reading and you’ll find them upside down in a hamper or wanting to jump off the front porch barefooted or flushing something valuable down the throne…… and suddenly, it’s their first day of kindergarten and then senior prom.

Do yourself a favor if you are expecting and think about newborn portraits and photo shoots for your soon-to-be-born baby. If you hired Pixels for your engagement and wedding portraits, then you may have already chosen to have us capture newborn photos when the time comes. We do have a package that many of our clients have taken advantage of. Regardless, you’ll love these images. We’ve designed walls around children and family portraits and would love to do the same for you.

See this little princess wrapped in pink below? That’s Berklee. Just below her image is a recent one of her, now nearly 3 years old, with her new brother Wyatt. Pretty sweet, huh?

Pixels on Paper newborn photo of Berklee Arnold photo


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.

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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.