Posts Tagged: family outdoor spring portraits nc
our children – photos of the 21st century community in the making
We don’t preach politics from this blog. We don’t preach, period. Our core values, we hope, show up in our work and the way we live our lives. Even if we weren’t parents, the loss of the lives of children is a heartbreak like no other. I cannot imagine racing to a schoolyard with Ryan to wait to see if our kid emerged from a building…. if Finley James would appear on a list later to be read at a memorial. And I’ll just stop there. Our prayers have been sent to Florida since we heard the news last week and my mind wanders the way a new mother’s does when kids make the headlines…
We want, with this particular blog post, to celebrate children. They will forge and become the true 21st century and what community feels like. They may wriggle around, or show shyness, diffidence, disinterest, be squirrelly, silly or just distracted during portrait sessions, but WE LOVE taking photos of children – of all ages. [Our apologies to the teens in this blog who are cringing at the “children” header.]
Here are some favorites from over the years that spring to mind.
One of the greatest joys really is watching from behind the lens as kids navigate all phases of life. I look at each of these faces and can remember the photo session, but also the child/kid/baby/graduating senior and how she or he was that day. I especially love knowing that I’ll see some of them again … older, wiser, goofier, figuring whatever of life’s puzzles is in their lap that day.
God’s gift of Finley to us has heightened this for me as a photographer. Any of those kids could be Finley and all of these kids could have been in that school in Florida. They’re all precious. They all deserve our love and care and it’s a distinct pleasure to be the one to make sure their families have portraits of them to remember each precious moment.
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.
Dreams of Blooms – Orchard Photography
It’s January. It’s as cold as a well-digger’s bootie and we’ve gotten snow and experienced unseasonable – some southerners would say unreasonable – temps. But it IS winter after all. While I’m home with sweet Finley, every day is an adventure, but the seasons don’t stop, and as any hard-working meteorologist will tell you, neither does weather. There’s something comforting about the expectations of each season, because we know that the earth is going to keep turning, the sun keep shining and that will bring spring. Some days, I dream of spring and because of what we do at Pixels, I dream of our favorite orchard.
We have been the official (read: exclusive) photographers allowed to shoot at this site and every year we take children, engaged couples, families, models, whomever out there for spring photos, Easter photos or just gorgeous heirlooms.
While it’s different every year, it’s consistent in how special it is. We hope you’ll consider getting family portraits taken with us this year – even those graduation photos can be taken early and ready for graduation cards. We’ll be posting dates for sessions when it gets a little closer and we know more about the weather and what the orchard will be like. In the meantime, a girl can dream.
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.
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.
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.
#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.
#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.
p.s. I’ll be giving this sermon again at Christmas.
Thanks. We look forward to seeing you and coordinating.
Love you guys!
Family Vacation | destination photos
There’s a reason why the baseball team in Asheville, NC is called the Tourists. North Carolina, from pretty much west to east, is a gorgeous part of the world. So every year, families from all over head to the mountains, piedmont and beaches to explore and relax. Ryan and I love destination photo shoots, especially of families who’ve come from all over the state and country to our Blue Ridge Mountains and parkway, Blowing Rock, rolling Wilkes county, the high country, the Biltmore House and elsewhere. Some are on vacation, some are at family reunions, others are couples getting engaged, but they all want portraits in this lush landscape that’s our backyard. Of course, we’re happy to oblige!
Hobens at the family vacation camp
Hoben family reunion on family property in Roaring Gap NC.
Charleston SC engagement portraits
The Picard family descended upon the NC Mountains to celebrate Easter together.
The Ellis Family visits from Charlotte for portraits together.
McCoy Outdoor Family Portrait Photography near the Blue Ridge Parkway
The entire Poland family together during a rare occasion in Boone NC.
The Allen family on vacation at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock NC.
Rogers Outdoor Family Portrait Photography in Charlotte NC
The Perry family together for portraits at their vacation home in Grandfather Mountain Country Club.
Some families, like the Hobens who all met up in Roaring Gap last summer, have property they own and want portraits celebrating them in that place. Others are just traveling through for the summer fun in our area and choose a site or ask for our help (we’ve got tons of ideas) while they’re together, relaxed and enjoying the views. We also have families who live close by and summer break is the first opportunity they have to coordinate a portrait session. They come to our outdoor portrait garden or we meet them on the parkway or in a special location and go from there. One thing we hear – sadly too often – is that people regret not having more photos of the entire family together. So if you’ve been thinking about it, contact us. We’ll help get you started and you’ll have a summer 2017 memory or two to frame!
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spring | such small hands
Spring in Australia begins in September and ends in November.
In India, spring runs from mid February to mid April.
Summer and winter are essentially the only seasons in Iceland – although both are relatively mild.
It’s seasonally spring year round in Uganda – with alternately wet and dry seasons.
And Scotland’s warmest months for the entire year are July and August, our late summer. Like NC, the Scots can experience all 4 seasons in one day. Spring in Scotland? Don’t blink.
And it has been that year here for us.
One of our favorite spring places to shoot. A last minute cold snap took its toll this year.
I look for spring, actually look for it, because even the rain, quick showers in 35 minute spurts in the afternoon (my pals in the deep south attest to this too), signal its coming. Just like daffodils and dogwoods and irises do. When you see blooms like that, and you’ve set your clock to lose an hour, it’s time to store scarves. Maybe.
Spring also reminds me of being a kid. Sometimes it’s remembering riding my bike as hard and fast as I could with my friends. Sometimes it’s laying on my belly and looking at grass so close up that I wondered and worried about every blade and every bug and where everyone in the soil was going. Maybe it’s a reason why I garden.
But spring and new and children go together. I look through photos of kids outside we’ve taken and get excited. This is their time.
“spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
and inch of there)and
without breaking anything.”
– ee cummings
Spring will drive by us and wave and we’ll miss it. If you haven’t been out to lay on your stomach looking at bugs, or ridden your bike “no-hands” downhill, or stood an extra 2 minutes at the mailbox smelling the air: do it. It’s worth celebrating because of its very nature and its timing. I sometimes feel like summer, fall and winter take up 11 months and spring lasts only 8 days. No one said I had to be good at math.
My unsolicited recommendation (you’re welcome) is to celebrate the season, your childhood, your children, your friends and neighbors’ kids and breathe it in. I’m doing it myself as we look at yard work as a chore and not a haven for bug adventures and the season as a gearing up for a busy summer.
Another parting little bit from cummings… and it could apply to springtime:
“(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”
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.