Posts Tagged: Portrait Photography
Outdoor Portrait Season is Here
Portrait session locations are chosen and scheduled based on the clients wishes, of course, except for those occasions when we’re asked to make suggestions or create specific looks. With the temps rising a bit, and the rain making everything so lush and gorgeous, we’re getting calls from families with reunions planned, newly engaged couples, parents with new babies and even best friends who meet annually to celebrate their friendship.
There are so many perfect spots in North and South Carolina from which to choose that we are excited for this season of outdoor portraits on location and with people – AND PETS – you love.
Arnold family maternity photos
Our Son’s Orchard Portraits
Maddie Roberts Senior Portrait Photos
Outdoor Wedding Crowd
Hon family outdoor portraits in Dobson NC
Tibbett Engagement Photo
Outdoor photos in Chapel Hill
It’s amazing what a place you love – like your alma mater, your favorite park, a tourist area downtown or in the woods – adds to photos that will someday be more than memories: they will be cherished markers of history.
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.
newborn portraits | what really happens?
Earlier this week, I wrote about how setting realistic expectations for your newborn portrait session is important. And it is, but don’t let that deter you from scheduling and having a portrait session when they are so young. Some of the most beautiful portraits we take are not always of brides, but of the newest creatures to join us on this spinning planet. More importantly: we’re ready! We know what we’re doing and we’re ready to go. Don’t worry!
So, what really happens during newborn photo sessions?
Well, for starters, the sessions don’t flow from pose to pose and set to set, as I’m sure you’ve already imagined. We’re dealing with fresh little beings who have been breathing on their own for only about 10 days. They don’t know about lighting, where to look or to remain still, because they are little tubes. Breast milk or formula goes in and poop comes out. In the middle they stare, cry and sleep.
A newborn session can take up to four hours. During that span, our camera is not up with the shutter clicking away, because, as mentioned, newborns babies are entirely unpredictable. We never know when or how often they will cry, sleep, eat or need a diaper change and all those things tend to take the most amount of time during our session. A fraction of the 4 hours is spent capturing images, but don’t worry, we tend to get the magic because we know what to look for and when to seize a moment.
To get those cute cuddly curled up newborn photos, our portrait session needs to take place within the first 10 days after birth. An exception to this would be premies and Moms who are recovering from a c-section. While there are breaks for diaper changes, feedings and tears, newborns at this early, early stage, do tend to be more receptive to cuddled and curled poses and will drift off to sleep while we orbit around them.
Inspiration & Props
At our Pixels studio, we have lots of props, wraps, hats, bows and head bands. New parents have enough to think about without having to bring a lot of extra stuff with them. You don’t need to bring any special outfits or props unless there is something specific you want incorporated. We ask that parents send us photos of the nursery or any other part of the house where they will be hanging the portraits so that we can coordinate props to match. All of our studio props and wardrobe items are cleaned after each session.
Studio Space
Our studio is also clean, cozy and extra warm for newborns. We have a convenient changing table and if you’re a nursing Mom, we’re prepared for that as well with a clean boppy and a private comfy chair for you. Ryan and I have been doing this for a long while and have been prepared since the beginning. Now that we have our son Finley, I’m proud of the accommodations we provide for newborn portrait sessions.
Here are a few tips and suggestions that I email our clients prior to the session:- Give your baby a bath and lather him or her in lotion and bring the lotion with you. This will help condition any peeling skin.
- Keep your baby awake before the session if possible. We know this can often be tricky during the car ride, but do your best.
- We want you to bring us a hungry baby! When you arrive he/she will be ready for food and a nap. Those sleeping angels make the best portraits. Try not to feed for a few hours before arrival. Feeding when you arrive at the studio will ensure that he/she will drift off to sleep and be most cooperative to being posed and photographed.
- If you are nursing, there is a list of foods that we recommend you avoid for 48 hours before your session that will help keep your baby from being gassy or fussy during the session.
The most important thing to us is that you get photos of your sweet child that you will cherish. That only happens when we make you feel comfortable, free to move around depending on what the baby needs and completely supported. Believe me, you are!
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.
Easter & Spring Orchard Portrait Sessions
We’ve been the exclusive photographers for an orchard in our region for many years and we always look forward to taking families through the lines of trees and creating memorable portraits of them for Easter or spring or just to capture their families in the spring of the year.
If we’ve learned anything, it’s 1) that these portraits are some of the most beautiful we take each year and 2) that we never know what effect the weather will have on the orchard. While we will depend on the weather, we are decidedly hopeful and booking dates for the second and third weeks of March. Contact us to reserve your portrait session and we’ll arrange to take glorious portraits of you and yours in the blooming beauty.
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.
Prom Portraits – just around the corner
Spring rain and recent warmer temps have given us all a raging case of The Yips.
The Yips – loosely defined – are a specific kind of excitement that comes from anticipation. Horses behind the gate at The Kentucky Derby have The Yips. You with me?
Spring for us means orchard photos, engagement portraits, our garden going crazy [we hope] and PROM SEASON. We know that girls and guys are thinking of who to ask and may have already chosen a theme, a color, a dress or some fun way to celebrate with friends on what is a favorite high school event and milestone.
High school ladies and gents: Do YOU have the Yips? Grab your best pals or your dates and book us to capture you looking gorgeous on the day and create a memory or two that will last forever! We’ll start photographing prom portraits in April, so that gives you a month to plan and get ready! We can’t wait to see how fab, fun and glam you will all look in your prom attire! Contact us and let’s get you scheduled.
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.
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.