Posts Tagged: outdoor baby portraits
Wild Thing Liam One Year Outdoor Portrait Photos
Liam’s one year portrait session was not only fun in its theme – Maurice Sendak’s famous children’s book: Where The Wild Things Are – but it was perfectly suited to this young man. Liam LOVES being outside and was more than happy to play in the dirt and leaves, wandering and exploring during our session. We met up on the beautiful farm property owned by his grandparents. And then the wild rumpus began!
The entire family collaborated to build a teepee on the site and Liam’s paternal grandmother painted the “wild thing” picture displayed in the background. While we created a wild, wilderness setting, having the warmth of the whole clan made it feel special. NOTE: If your child shows a particular preference or interest, we are game to incorporate elements and make a party out of the photo session. First birthdays are a big deal and we are expert (if I may say so) at creating birthday portrait sessions that celebrate who your kiddo is at this age. Plus: it’s FUN!
Like many of our clients, we’ve photographed Liam’s family, the Tevepaughs, many times. (They are family in fact.)
Check out Liam’s newborn and six month portraits to see even more cuteness.
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 newborns and families, 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 ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Sofia’s Milk Bath portraits
You can run into the oddest little creatures during the summer in North Carolina. This little milk maid was spotted in June and her cuteness stopped me in my tracks. Meet sweet Sofia at the 6 month mark.
I captured her newborn portraits, which are adorable, but for this session, her mom wanted something extra special. We created a setting in our outdoor portrait garden under a chestnut tree that has become a particularly favorite backdrop recently. Mom Jessica selected the colors, brought flowers, a flower crown and the milk. We provided the setting, galvanized wash tub and additional props.
Sofia’s session took place during the uncertainty and “social distancing” we’ve all tried to adjust to. Mom, Jessica is an ER nurse, so for her safety was premier, but she was thrilled when she found out I was more than willing to photograph Sofia in a milk bath for her six month portraits. If you follow us and this blog, you know that these sessions are part of our one year package.
It’s important for any type of session involving liquid that the child can sit up and is stable on their own which meant we were slightly past the six month mark. I’ve found that for some parents the exact six month mark is important to capture while for others it’s less about the number and more about capturing the new found mobility of sitting up and crawling. Those two things don’t always necessarily come at the same time. My job is to be flexible, creative and help generate an easy scenario for grabbing the best possible images. The natural light, flowers and milk, especially against Sofia’s complexion all worked together.
Prior to the milk bath, I took more traditional portraits of Sofia using some of the props in our outdoor portrait garden. Parents needn’t worry about portrait sessions during this pandemic, especially during the mild months. I shoot outside, all props and accessories of Pixels on Paper are thoroughly cleaned before each session and only I touch my gear during the session. We remain socially distanced and extremely careful.
I look forward to seeing you soon, sweet Sofia.
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 newborns and families, 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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Barrett Turns One
Some photo shoot themes have to be crafted and developed out of thin air. And others are a natural because of family hobbies, vocations, passions, whatever. For Barrett Spillman’s one year portraits and cake smash, the choice of baseball was a home run….. I know. I’m ducking as I type, but this stuff writes itself, you guys!
Mom Elisabeth told me her idea of “MVP of the Year” and to “run with it” and that’s exactly what I did. Both her father and her husband Isaac, play baseball, so this theme felt like a fitting tribute to them and a fun way to celebrate their one year old.
I love doing an outdoor cake smash but rarely get to because many parents prefer to photograph them indoors. Fortunately, these parents weren’t at all worried about their little rookie getting dirty.
We adore Elisabeth and Isaac and have photographed their engagement, bridal, wedding, Barrett’s newborn portraits and At Home Christmas. So it’s nice to feel relaxed and ready to play with faces we know well. This family is one of those who’ve hired us from the beginning and appreciate the continuity we capture through photo sessions over the years.
Now for some baseball! Thanks to our Parks and Rec director here in Wilkesboro who met with me and gave me full access to newly refurbished baseball fields that were otherwise locked down for the season. It’s hard to have a baseball shoot without the right setting. And thanks to my dear friend Ashley Shumate, the busiest baseball Mom I know. She let me borrow all the baseball gear to bring my vision to life for the Spillmans.
Barrett loved being outside, in the dug out, and on home plate and played the role of MVP as if he were born to it! His first birthday cake was a reward, so he was game for just about anything we needed from him. He was a good sport!
Those expressions during the first taste of icing are always priceless and rewarding.
We also photographed some studio portraits where Barrett wore an outfit that was a family heirloom. It’s been passed down and worn by other babies in the family turning one before him. Hence the need for these shots to be indoors. I wanted to preserve and protect it for future generations. That and it was 100% wool! To hot for outside.
Happy Birthday, Young Man!! We’ll see you soon, I hope – whether you’re a sports star or not, we’re fans of yours.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Baby, Baby Series Part 3 – 1st BIRTHDAY & CAKE SMASH
“I just completed my first trip around the sun. Time to start my memoirs.”
If only we could record even the obtuse, undefined, blurry world of a one year old, what an interesting document that would be. What would we glean about ourselves, our sensory experiences and most especially our developing soul? I would love to be tasked with being the documentarian of the Life of the Mind – Year One Project. Here’s more of our son Finley (above) and his first birthday cake smash.
Instead, we at Pixels document the first year from the outside and it culminates with a first birthday cake smash and/or photo session. See more of Sawyer – above – on his first birthday.
Gavin’s birthday party took place at our favorite orchard. Here’s even more from that day!
But it’s not all about the sweets and the mess that follows. We ask our client parents to bring other props or take advantage of ours and if possible, we love to take the session from our studio into our portrait garden and yard.
See a little more of Ivy’s first birthday and lemonade stand.
What we cannot provide in an internal monologue for your one year olds, we can provide in photography. See some of our other favorites.
And this little man below is Barrett. You’ll see more of his first birthday cake smash any minute now!
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 ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Our Boy – 18 month portraits
He’s dapper.
He’s thoughtful.
He’s got a lot on his mind.
He’s also our kid. And all that I can say, you guys, is that it’s getting much much harder for us to photograph our own sweet boy. He is getting faster, bored more quickly, and after hearing Mama or Daddy say the same thing over and over he completely tunes us out. [should I stop here, so you can laugh and nod?…… ok great.]
I am a photog AND a Mama. I am a Ninja at Merlefest capturing musicians and atmosphere. And I can coax cuteness out of sleepy kids like Holden. I want to believe that like Walt Whitman said, I “contain multitudes.”
But when it was time for this shoot – with the blooms about as perfect as our Finley, I felt what every Mama feels: “what on earth am I supposed to wear?” “How do I get it all together?”
I stressed about everyone else’s outfits, lacked time to get myself ready, lathered myself up about things going according to plan and then afterwards, worried over whether we got even one good shot.
I’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again, I now have a totally different perspective and appreciation as a photographer who is also a Mom. I feel your pain.
Now that I’ve shared that … I have to say that I love these images. Ryan and I are better people because of that little ginger. We focus in a new way (no pun intended); we prioritize differently; we laugh more; listen more closely and we absolutely love more deeply. Personally, he was our game-changer. Professionally, the same is true. Perspective is everything.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.