Posts Tagged: Charlotte
Some New Graphic Design work from Pixels
In the news, especially the science and environmental columns and journals for the past decade, we’ve all been learning about how our bee populations nationally are in danger and decline. If you didn’t care – or know before – you probably do now. The health of bee colonies is a significant sign of how our environment overall is doing and bees are part of a process that ultimately touches how we humans live and survive.
It’s big. That’s the macro. The micro? Most of us grew up eating honey and don’t you love eating local honey on a biscuit? …. Or take a spoonful of local honey to help with allergies? I digress.
These clients – Sherry and her husband Allen of Byrd’s and Bees Farm – reached out to us last fall to have a logo created for their business: a family-run local bee farm that sells both honey and “nucs.” These guys had a fairly specific idea for the logo mark. We talked on the phone about what they were thinking, and we took those ideas and developed options. They had a drawing that I mimicked closely that was very light and airy with more pastels as a color palette. The second option we presented was reminiscent of the vintage seed packets and the third option was a very modern, clean line, simplified honeycomb option.
Here are the 3 options we presented:
Sherry’s response to the initial designs: “Okay so I’ve been waiting on this all day!!! They are all so beautiful but by far mine and Allen’s favorite is Option 2! I am so in love with that style! The colors are beautiful and the style is perfect. I love that heart apostrophe…makes MY heart smile.”
After some tweaks we ended up with this design.
They were thrilled! Huzzah!! : “I’m so happy (giddy even) with this logo! Thank you so much!!! I love it!”
If you’ve never hired us for graphic design work, here’s a little info to tuck away. Our process is one we use that has served us well over the years. We typically listen to the client’s ideas and show them 3 options to start. Those usually follow the “rule” of show one that’s right on par with their ideas, fleshing out the detail and covering the base. The second option deviates slightly from that original client idea to add a few extra little touches that may enhance their ideas. The third option Ryan calls “the wild card.” It’s a design that’s just out of box altogether, and its mainly there to show ideas they may not have even considered.
Once a design is approved, we can also design business cards, stationary packages, brochures, powerpoint slide decks and a whole lot more.
This couple is working on their overall brand and business and when we have more to share with you, we look forward to it!
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.
October Anniversaries ~ all the best to these couples
Kristen and Jason Lavender, 6 years October 1st
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” – St. Augustine
Augustine was a smart man. He was a saint, a Christian, a philosopher and a studier of men and their relationship to each other and to God. I like this quote, because while it can apply to every single person who loves well, in a marriage, it describes what bride and groom, husband and wife, father and mother will need to keep the family together: hands and feet ready to help and carry, eyes to see both pain and joy, ears to listen to stories that are exhilarating or boring (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about) and a big heart that wants to jump in no matter what. And it’s just a start. Happy Anniversary to the couples who married in October – all of you – and most especially to the ones we’ve photographed over the years. We love you. Keep celebrating and showing each other what love looks like.
Donna & Andrew Gilleland 5 years October 4th
Mickey and Ben Strope, 4 years October 4th
LeighAnn and Jason Moffitt, 3 years October 4th
Amanda and Rich Terpstra, 8 years October 10th
Melissa and Bob Paradis, 7 years October 10th
Katie and Josh Minor, 2 years October 10th
Mary and Gilbert Joseph, 9 years October 11th
Megan and Jeff Barnhart, 4 years October 12th
Lucy and Glen Klamer, 5 years October 13th
Bonnie and Amanda Walling, 1 year October 14th
Addie & Matt 7 years October 16th
Amy & Bobby Pruitt 8 years October 17th
Jamie and Daniel Harrison, 2 years October 17th
Annette & Omudhome 9 years October 18th
Laura and Michael Chumah, 6 years October 22nd
Christine and Adam Kessell, 1 year October 22nd
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.
weddings: it’s time to bake, er…. book YOURS!
I love to cook. If you know me, know about our house and garden, or if you read the blog from summer 2016, you’re aware that I enjoy growing things, cooking the produce and herbs I’ve grown, trying new recipes, canning veggies, etc. Ryan and I are foodies. And we love craft beer as well.
Before you head down the rabbit holes those hyperlinks can lead you down, let me say: I was thinking while reading through a cookbook recently, how very much cooking and especially baking is like planning a wedding. You need the right ingredients, the right environmental elements, good timing and all sorts of other factors in place in order to end up with something you want to devour and share and photograph. The rub is that you get one shot at a wedding vs. a cookbook author or home cook who can test and test recipes until triumph is inevitable.
Amy Adams as Julie from “Julie & Julia” – Sony Pictures
Really good recipes begin with a story. The “why” of what’s being prepared. So do relationships. How’d you meet? Who said I love you first? What made you decide that being apart was not an option? Most stories behind recipes have to do with how amazing the combination of ingredients is and why so many generations of cooks or family members have made this or that item.
Eggs are eggs. Flour is flour. But combine them and STAND BACK!!!
When we book engagements, one of the first things we do is learn your story. Yes, we ask about locations for the shoot, but we also want to know you and I am confident that we get the photos we get of our clients and we become friends with so many of them because we take learning about you seriously – and discovering the elements and ingredients that make you special as a couple.
Bride, groom, landscape, sky …. all of the elements are there.
Bride and bride, Spanish moss, water, Charleston: DONE.
Our couple at Asheville’s Biltmore Estate in autumn.
No sooner do you mix up the ingredients for an engagement session than it’s time to plan the wedding. As photographers, ours is only one part – albeit an important one.
Who asked for sprinkles??
There is weather to consider when cooking up your wedding day plan; the guest list, the gown purchase and alterations, the suits or tuxes to rent, the choices of chocolate or strawberry, sit down or buffet, band or DJ, mountains or coast, outdoors or church and on it goes. A vanilla cake is a blank canvas and once you’ve chosen your actual wedding date and location – it feels sort of limitless. To my mind, it should be fun. “Please let it be fun – and meaningful” – we pray for our clients. We so hope that it is. Even the elements that don’t come together are rarely noticed by guests. They see the environment, listen to the vows, hear the music, enjoy the experience. Guests don’t worry about the eggs when they’re enjoying the cake, you know?
Sunlight, outdoors, surrounded by family.
Throwback Renaissance gown, bride and perfect weather.
A farm and an intimate hug.
The outcome is most often lovely and delicious and our job is to capture it. What has been fun these 11+ years is seeing the same elements combined with a variety of results. Church weddings, outdoor weddings, small gatherings, casts of thousands, at the end of the day it’s still a cake, or for my purposes it’s still 2 people who enter that day single and leave it as someone’s spouse.
It’s the end of January and we aren’t the pressuring type, but if you’re planning your wedding for 2017 and haven’t booked your photographer, we hope you will do so and choose us. We are proud to be recognized for our wedding photography by friends and fans and by WeddingWire, among others.
Next week! ONION RINGS….kidding. Contact us with questions. For those of you who know us…. we love you!
A Country Club Wedding with Smiles, Dancing & Cigars
We ask our brides and grooms about best and favorite moments, among other things, after their wedding day. Responses range from couple to couple, but with Christine Whitford & Adam Kessell, it was about firsts.
First look at each other during the ceremony.
First kiss after the I Dos.
First moments of greeting and chatting with their guests.
Christine and Adam were married on October 22nd at Firethorne Country Club in Marvin, NC and moment to moment they were present with their friends and family and enjoying each bit.
There were tearful moments for all the girls while they were getting ready. Both of Christine’s grandmothers gave her precious family heirlooms, one of which was a bracelet that her late grandfather had given her grandmother.
Christine’s dad cried when he first saw her before walking her down the aisle.
Christine was a very enthusiastic bride and lots of fun to work with. Because we photographed a previous wedding where she was a bridesmaid, and shot their unconventional but historically significant engagement photos, she already knew our style and how we work. We already had a great relationship with her and Adam, so we knew it was going to be a blast.
Christine’s cathedral length veil was epic. We did have a few “all hands on deck” moments when the wind picked up though.
Firethorne provided an absolutely gorgeous outdoor setting for the wedding. The weather was perfect, there were smiles all around and lots of tender moments, joy and laughter (Christine: “we like to think our friends and family are pretty funny!”).
The reception was a party, as it should be. The DJs from Split Second Sound delivered the goods and kept the dance floor hot and all of Christine and Adam’s friends showed off some serious dance moves. The dancing was Christine’s favorite part of the reception she told us and Adam’s was the cigar bar. Ryan enjoyed spending time photographing at the cigar bar as well. There was just FUN in every direction.
Christine: “When we talk about our wedding day, we talk about how great it was to see everyone and just dance and have a good time. It was so nice to see our families blend so well together. It made my heart smile.”
Christine and Adam not only had a beautiful ceremony and killer reception, they are class acts. In lieu of favors, the couple made a donation in everyone’s honor to the animal shelter where they had recently rescued their own pup. Congratulations, you two and nothing but love for you both on the journey ahead!
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.
Cheers to Our december anniversaries
While December weddings are not as common as, say, June weddings, they do happen and they are so much fun. There’s that extra element of celebration in the air that bleeds over from the holidays and wraps the whole event in more joy, more hope, more love. This month we are photographing several weddings and look forward to capturing that same feeling for the brides, grooms and their families and friends. In doing so, we also want to take a moment to say Happy Anniversary to the couples whose weddings we had the pleasure of shooting in years past. We love you all!
Becky & Jackson 8 years December 6th
“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” – James M. Barrie
Andrea & Eric 4 years December 22nd
“A happy marriage is about 3 things: memories of togetherness, forgiveness of mistakes and a promise never to give up on each other.” -Surabhi Surendra
Shanna & Seth 3 years December 6th
“The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.” – unknown
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.