Posts Tagged: NC
baby’s one year portrait ……. AND CAKE SMASH!!
The Prevettes are lifers with us… at least so far and we hope for the next 30 years. We photographed Lindsay and Seth Prevette’s wedding in 2008 and later their first born, daughter Macanna, as well as son Walker as a new born. This session, however, is in celebration of Walker’s first birthday, so we invited them to the Pixels’ studio and outdoor portrait garden in August of this year.
Remember when you were so small that your parents could fit your bum into a baseball glove? He won’t either, but he’s so stinking cute and now there’s proof of it. Walker’s newborn portraits were delicious because he was and at 1 year, he still is. The love of baseball was a major theme in both sessions.
I look at the newborn photo below and those fingers especially and wonder if he’s dreaming about music and thinking, “I’m playing guitar. I’m the band’s Front Man…. making brilliant chord changes that no one saw coming.”
BUT. Walker may be scratching his chest and trying to decide between throwing a slider, a cutter or a change-up and hoping to impress some cute girl sitting in the stands just behind home plate.
Walker’s mom, Lindsey is very laid back. She makes appointments for portraits and always says “just do what you do best and I know I’ll love it.” That kind of confidence and faith is humbling, so we pull out the stops. Lindsay mentioned that she loved the red wagon because it reminded her of her own childhood, and we definitely love props with kids; they help distract and promote creativity at the same time.
Unfortunately, nostalgia about wagons and creative props do not stave off fussiness with toddlers and after Walker got tired of posing for photos, he decided to give us the “You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me” speech in his own made up language that consisted of pulling faces, tears, and some squawking.
And then [harp music] the clouds parted.
And there was cake.
CAKE!
Beautiful, perfect, resplendent, decadent cake.
SWEET SUSTAINER OF LIFE!!!!!
After that I think we could have left him alone with it and he would not have missed us.
There were claw marks in the cake for sure, but Walker managed to limit the smearing to his cheeks, mouth, nose, chest, hands, knees, legs and feet. Success.
piccard fall family portraits – goodbye summer, helloooooooo autumn
Some of us mourn when it starts creeping toward us.
“Wait, what? We just got settled in and then it was the 4th of July and now you’re telling me to change out my closet and garage?!?!” “I barely used that new floaty, those new grill tongs, that umbrella for the deck, that swimsuit and visor I got for Christmas!” “We were going to go to the beach twice!” “We were going to cook out more with the neighbors.”
Others of us crave it … we anticipate it, rubbing our hands together like we’re practicing for that first bonfire.
But like it or not, summer is rounding the corner y’all; it’s time for Autumn – capital A Autumn. Since we’re making yet another trip around the sun, and summer will return, let’s focus on the good of this coming season – the gorgeous leaves, brisk mornings, fire wood, scarves, heated car seats, football, soups and stews and snuggling with those we love.
And seriously – NO ONE wants to snuggle someone in a sweaty tank top. And if you do, no judgement, but we don’t want to hear about it.
The Piccards were ALL about the snuggling in October of 2014 when we met up and photographed them along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It started raining when we arrived, but the delay gave us time to grab lunch and bond and when the weather cleared, we were able to grab shots of this family of 4 with wet leaves beneath them and mountain fog surrounding them.
We’ve got spirit, yes we do, and boots and blue nails, HOW ‘BOUT YOU?
We’ve know mom, Brandii McCoy for many years, since we’ve worked with many Charlotte, NC sports teams and Brandii is the dance and cheer coach for the Charlotte Checkers, the former NBA Bobcats, and now the Charlotte Hornets. She’s used to being in front of the camera, so we knew we’d get great shots of her and her lovely family looking pulled together. We also wanted photos of them just being themselves, relaxed and silly and goofing. During conversations, we learned that Brandii and her husband had never had formal portraits of themselves taken, so this session and our lunch with them made for a lot of fun for all of us.
The girls, Karsen and Adler, knew how to work it, by the way. Check out the crossed legs and ankles, the subtle head tilting and, of course, there was the unscripted cuteness. 
We look forward to many Autumn shoots in 2015 and now is the time to book your fall portrait session. Pixels has openings, but they fill up quickly, especially the weekends. We’ll want to capture the best pics of you (and yours) during the height of the season. Call us at 704.641.1131 or 336.990.0080 and let’s make a plan!!
mountaintop bridal portraits ~ family participation, heirlooms and views of the family farm ~ a beautiful day
The photos of Meghann Roberts we took this July weren’t necessarily inspired by Keira Knightley’s famous shot as Elizabeth Bennet from the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice, but this one in particular pulls it into perspective. When viewed next to each other there is more than just flowing fabric and a gorgeous, panoramic setting. It’s an air of freedom, hope, grace, contemplation and courageousness in both women. 
The character Elizabeth Bennet loved the outdoors. She walked, read, thought, day-dreamed, escaped and generally lived a big part of her life wandering the small working farm owned by her family.
We photographed Meghann Roberts in Warrensville, NC – in, around and above her family farm. Their land is stunning, sprawling and has been owned and worked by her family for 6 generations. It was the perfect setting for her bridal portraits.
When we arrived for the shoot, we were greeted, of course, by ready members of her warm family (mom, grandmother, brother, uncle, cousin and a friend) and we all piled into 2 enormous 4×4 trucks and took off. This turned out to be a blessing, because we had lots of gear, lots of options and lots of terrain to cover.
A beautiful bride-to-be and almost too many places to photograph her, created a perfect day! (dramatic aside: this number of family members made for great chatter, but there was also the practical need to have a couple of people hold up Meghann’s gown so that it didn’t touch cow or goose poop on the land. If you’ve seen Pride and Prejudice, you know that Elizabeth’s boots and hemline were always caked in mud and …… dung!)
A week before our scheduled date, Meghann’s brother cleared a trail for us so that we could get to the most desired spots. One of these was the swimming hole (behind her just above and below) where Meghann spent summers splashing around, fishing, sunning and day-dreaming.
When we met Meghann at a bridal show 2 years ago, we immediately connected with her. Her values are our values and many of her experiences resonated with ours. When she called us to photograph her wedding, we learned that she hadn’t bonded with other photographers she’d spoken with and we certainly understand that. No one is necessarily at fault when this happens, but for us, fit and a strong comfort level and “getting” each other makes an enormous difference; at least that’s our feeling. The whole experience is more fun and the outcome produced tends to exceed client expectations.
A final note: The Roberts family prepared the property for us – not a small task. They fetched us and our equipment in their vehicles and hauled us around to get the best shots of their girl. These are family-oriented, do it right or don’t bother kind of people. So in keeping with that ethic, the bouquet they had for Meghann’s session was not prepared by a florist. It was Meghann’s mom’s preserved bouquet from HER wedding. Nice, huh?
11 years feels about right – let’s get married!*
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
On Marriage, by Kahil Gibran
*So you knew there had to be more….
Sarah Crisp and Danny Clampett have been together for 11 years and engaged for most of that. They are in love and committed, but never felt driven to stress themselves with planning a wedding. Instead, they focused on each other and let their love be that moving sea between them. And, more practically, planning a wedding is for wedding planners and those who really want to do it and have the time and inclination to put all of the pieces together.
Sarah and Danny are not any of these types. They just wanted to live their lives. They would begin to plan and then life’s other priorities would sneak in and hijack the momentum. But once they decided to dive in and really do it (after a decade) – it happened within months. It tumbled out!
Even though Sarah is a girlie girl (one of 4 girls in her family), she made Danny – a country boy – feel at home in a more rustic environment for their engagement portraits. We photographed them in Davidson, NC and they were, ARE, just a truly beautiful pair.
Stay tuned for their wedding pics!!
ashley & kevin ellis and their corporate son isaiah
Before Isaiah (3 months old in these pics) launches his financial planning consortium, he wants to get accustomed to the garb. The kid digs a tie – just look at his face.
Isaiah to the room: “does this color work with my diaper?”
We took Ashley and Kevin’s wedding photos in 2011 and then they asked us to take pictures of their newborn. Like some of our clients, the parents want us to focus on their kids (literally) and leave Mom and Dad on the sidelines. We encouraged the Ellis’ to be a part of this shoot and they complied. We’re so happy they did.
Between the smiles, nuzzling, Isaiah’s expressive eyebrows and the way he pulled faces in front of his glowing parents, it became a memorable shoot for all of us. We LOVE this family and look forward to being a documenting element for them for many years to come. Isaiah is a study in facial expressions, by the way…
Isaiah is now 6 months old and his secretary will begin taking calls at his new offices this September. We’re encouraging him to find some pants in the meantime.
Below, see an engagement and wedding day photo featuring Ashley and Kevin. They met, fell in love and have now – multiplied!
Left: Engagement Photo June 2011. Right: Wedding Photo September 2011