The temptation to write about the various stages of life we get to photograph – cradle to grave as it were – has been with me for a while, you guys. The grave part seems morbid, but honestly, we do capture the circle and cycles of life. Your parents have your baby portraits taken and before long, you’re scheduling your own kids’ photos.
Heirlooms are magic and they last long after the people in the frames are gone, so we consider it an honor to be the ones behind the camera during all the stages of your life. It seems like every year the baby, family, engagement, wedding and reunion photos become more profound as our own lives advance and expand personally.
Here is a topless newborn (not even 2 weeks old) in a tutu. Are you in? Paying attention? Well, a little pink lamb is always a good place to start.
But we often form our client relationships at the intention to marry. You fall in love and when you find the right one, you make it official – perhaps. Maybe you just start a life together.
Those images from your engagement and wedding are coveted by parents, grandparents and friends and they become markers in your life story. For many of our couples, kids are the next piece of the puzzle and we love taking maternity, newborn portraits, birthday cake smashes, outdoor photos and photos with the siblings that follow the first kid.
Family’s grow and we love being a part of watching them expand – seeing multiple generations gather for whatever reason.
There are friendships, school milestones, proms and graduations. Again – your family members – those now and those you’ll never meet – will want to see these moments and relish them along with you.
Do people from other regions of the country use the expression, “do life?” I wonder. It feels distinctly Southern, but who knows?
As you do life, no matter what season of life you’re in, we hope that you’ll make time for professional portraits that will put a pin in that particular chapter of your life. Your kids will grow and your family may spread out, you’ll head to college and fall in love or decide to venture forth and want family portraits taken. You’ll also come together for reunions and birthdays. Maybe you just want to document this year in Day in the Life photos. Regardless, we’re here and would love to be the ones to capture this specific moment 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 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
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Some of you engaged ladies out there have begun looking for the gown of your dreams, your bridesmaids’ dresses and so on, and you’ve scoured websites and magazines for inspiration. Without telling you to table your search (because who are we to tell people what to do ….. unless we’re taking photos and even then, we ask nicely), we urge you to come by the Pixels on Paper booth/table at this upcoming event: The Wilkes Wedding Expo. It’s an important event to add to your research.
We’ve been attending this expo for the last several years, and it is easily one of the best ways for vendors from all parts of the wedding service industry to showcase their business to prospects. Ryan and I have met couples we’re still friends with over the years after taking bridal, engagement and ultimately wedding photos of them. (You sort of know immediately when it’s a good fit). Many of these same couples have started families, so we’ve also captured their newborns, 1st birthdays and following photos over the years AND those of their siblings. This expo is where you get great information and where many lasting relationships are born.
This year’s expo, hosted again by Bridal Traditions Wedding & Prom Attire is Sunday, March 11th at the John A. Walker Center at Wilkes Community College from 1 – 4 pm. Don’t miss the opportunity to get some great info and have fun with your support team.
We look forward to meeting you there!
My guess is that almost everyone reading this has seen photos like these framed or in shadow boxes at your parents or grandparents homes. Maybe your clan is ultra modern, but many of us have seen our progenitors in some sort of tintype or daguerreotype from over a century (or two) ago and wondered about their story, how they found each other, what they loved about each other, IF they loved each other and what kind of lives they lived. It feels like a leap to go from the couple above to Timothy Mahon and Katie Speights at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville in 2016, where we shot their engagement portraits, but their great-great grandchildren won’t find it weird at all.
The two above decorated pumpkins on the groom’s family farm, marking how they found each other, living as neighbors who never met for a decade. The two below LOVE Dr. Who and that character made appearances in their engagement photo gear and later at their wedding. Those are the kind of details we’re interested in when we photograph engaged couples: “What make you YOU?!” “What would you want those family members you’ll perhaps never meet to know about your love story?”
While these photos are not sepia or tintype and the couples are wearing 21st century clothes, each photo tells a story and the people who know them, love them and have yet to meet them generations to come, will cherish these. Don’t think, dear reader, that shots from your smart phone will do – or even last – the way that portraits taken to mark your engagement will. These are the heirlooms that hold families together for decades and for centuries.
Contact us about scheduling your session, to ask questions, to share your vision and we’ll start planning.
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
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
When you decide to get married and important members of your family cannot travel, what do you do? You bring your wedding to wherever they are. That is exactly what New Yorkers Elisabeth DeMaio and David Gross did when they married at the Doc and Merle Watson Stage at Wilkes Community College on July 13th. Elisabeth lost her own parents not long ago and David’s folks moved to Wilkesboro, NC a few years ago. Since the elderly Gross’s are not able to travel, Elisabeth and David made the decision to come south for their ceremony and share the day with their family. We were honored to be their photographers.
David, a tattoo artist, and Elisabeth have been together for more than a decade. With their son and daughter by their sides, they planned and pulled off a completely cool and off-beat wedding: a Jewish ceremony with a Rock-a-Billy theme. While the weather was some of the worst we’ve ever shot through for a wedding ceremony – sheets of rain and lots of severe lightning – it still managed to be joyous and fun. The Rabbi who performed the ceremony shared that lighting during vows was a sign of good luck and that this couple was being blessed with more luck than they would know what to do with.
The groom’s mother surprised the bride by having a family friend bring their classic Mercury for photos. It was one of many times Elisabeth shed tears of joy since it went perfectly with their Rock a Billy theme.
This event was all hands on deck. The venue and food were provided by Wilkes Community College. The decorations, wedding planning and desserts for the reception were handled by family and friends. These newlyweds are loved! Some of the sweetest moments included the bride and groom’s first dance, followed by dancing with their children. Most touching was a dance between David and his Mom who only a few weeks prior had suffered a heart attack. When she wasn’t able to dance on her feet any longer, she sat and David laid his head on her lap for the duration of the song. There wasn’t a dry eye anywhere, including ours.
We sometimes forget that weddings aren’t just about the couple who are joining their lives; they really are about bonding closer to our own families while broadening our family to include new members. The Gross’s are perfect examples of the love and how it’s manifested. Good luck David and Elisabeth. Come back to Wilkesboro soon!