Posts Tagged: family baby photographers

Hello Heidi – Newborn baby photos

Jamie and Daniel, Henry, Hannah and Heidi Harrison… THAT is a mouthful. They are now a party of 5. This family is one we have known for a while and loved watching grow. Mom Jamie wanted baby Heidi to have her newborn shoot coordinated with sister Hannah’s portraits, so we did just that with palette and our set up at Pixels’ indoor studio.

Older brother Henry is a natural love bug and, just as he did with his sister Hannah, he could not take his eyes off Heidi. I love seeing this in little kids, especially older brothers. They seem to be preternaturally protective, nurturing and engaged with their younger siblings. Henry is proof.

Watching the children interact just reminded me how quickly families are formed. We photographed Jamie and Daniel’s wedding, their eldest daughter Hannah’s newborn session and the family’s 2019 Christmas portraits. Jamie even provided wedding guidance in one of our Wedding Redux blogs.

Heidi was a perfect angel during the shoot and let each family member snuggle her and pass her around. I never tire of greeting new little humans. I look forward to watching you grow up, Miss Heidi.


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 ©2022 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Newborn Baby Photos of Miss Astrid

Macy and Jesse are now the brand spanking new parents of a pretty spectacular little girl. Meet Sweet Astrid Jane.

If you follow this blog, you’ll remember the maternity shoot we shared of this young couple, taken what feels like yesterday, outdoors near some great views. They were excited and expectant, and Macy looked gorgeous in a blue maternity dress.

Well, she gave birth in November and is already such a loving and attentive mom. Father Jesse also impressed me with his gentleness. He’s always that way with Macy, but watching him gingerly and so quietly attend to his newborn daughter during the photo shoot was a reminder of the importance of dads as comforters and loving caregivers, not just breadwinners and protectors.

The quiet, gentle, easy nature of both mom and dad is clearly a part of their new love. Astrid was so sweet and calm and compliant. It was a wonderful portrait session, even with the social distancing and key protocols, the world fell away and we could all just revolve around this new little being.

The name Astrid, for those of you who’ve never heard it before, is a Scandinavian name that combines a “god” with “beautiful” or “fair.” This little girl is definitely a fair beauty and absolutely worshiped by her besotted parents. We’re pretty crazy about her too.


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.

Maternity Portraits…

Hello Pregnant Ladies out there. I’m booking maternity sessions and these, along with newborn and baby sessions, are my passion.

Capturing the entire family as part of a maternity session is not a must, but these images show such a specific moment in time: the “who we were before you arrived” photos to show the new baby later. They also make great wall hangings and excellent gifts.

Some moms want to add props that speak to their passions and the passions they hope their new babies will embrace. I personally love a theme and using props. Those sessions tend to take on a life of their own.

A favorite maternity shoot was a surprise from Jeremy Arnold to his expecting wife (above). They later welcomed their son, Wyatt.

Embracing the elements as part of your maternity portraits? Yes. Water, earth, sky, a special river or creek, lake or mountain vista… all of these set the stage and the results tend to be breathtaking.

While it is still fair outside during the months ahead, consider scheduling your maternity shoot. I can help you consider locations, themes and the best way to capture you as a mom or mom-to-be for posterity. I promise, you’ll be glad you did 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 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.

15 Years of Pixels On Paper – Pt. 2 – The Big Move

As much as we enjoyed our chapter as a busy couple in Charlotte, running from wedding to wedding and meeting new clients, Ryan and I always wanted to live in a more rural community, be closer to family, and have a place where we could have a slower-paced life (I’ll let that sink in…. as those of you who follow us know, things have only gotten busier until recently). Our vision was of a small “Main Street” store front with a studio below and our home above it.

God had other plans and, as always, they were better than what we wanted for ourselves. We didn’t get a downtown business footprint, we found our forever home. We started looking in earnest in 2010 and by 2012 we were settled into our beautiful 160+ year old home.

And then the work began.

By this time, we were 7 years in and our once casual “hobby” was a fully formed entity. We had a brand, infrastructure, more and better equipment, schedules … we were legit ya’ll.

We transformed the house into a studio and showroom space and everywhere I turned, I found advantages, opportunities and ideas to make our business and our lives better. This took years, but it has all been worth it: the blood, sweat, tears, exhaustion and time.

I cannot say enough about how this place has enhanced our lives and made us even better at what we do. I could finally manage newborn portrait sessions the way I wanted: providing comfort, privacy, controlling the thermostat and of course the lighting and props. No more substitutions and “must” improvisation. We still improvise, but boy can I work better with all my resources around me and I love that we have spaces for clients to change outfits, relax, feed a newborn, experiment with theme, etc. We also added a vegetable garden (well, that is for us) and an Outdoor Portrait Garden – a favorite of families and perfect for first birthday cake smash portraits.

The more newborn and first year photos I took, the more I appreciated having a place like this. And we no longer relied solely on sending links to clients to preview their portraits. Brides and grooms, new parents and our growing list of commercial and business clients could come to our showroom, flop down on the sofa and see the images, discuss their options, if they needed wall treatments and frames and place their orders. It elevated us to full-fledged pros, not just amateurs schlepping our gear at the beginning of the process and laptops at the end.

This business, this home is so much more than a roof over our heads. It’s so much more than a studio space. We make memories and do life here, but it’s also a place of real creative magic. And it continues to be. I’ll share more in our third blog celebrating our 15th Anniversary in business. Keep your eyes peeled for the last installment.


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.

Tinleigh’s One Year Cake Smash

There is cute and there’s cute and then there’s Tinleigh. If you’re having a wretched day, get a load of this little nugget.

Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC photgraphers York baby one year cake smash outdoor portrait photo

While we haven’t had our usual number of summer sessions this year, we have been able to meet the needs of families who want to celebrate milestones, most particularly those of their children. It’s funny, but some of these taken in June of this year feel like my best. I think it’s due in part to a combination of things including having more rest, desperately needing an outlet for my creativity, the children are more attentive in part to not being out socially as often, and all involved being more focused. The latest three sessions have all been photographed in our portrait garden under our favorite chestnut tree. Yet I’ve striven to make each unique and individual.

Mom Lindsey wanted to incorporate strawberries into Tinleigh’s one year cake smash. The only definite plan she had was a dress, and the cake. We attempted to locate a field of strawberries for our location but due to Covid those fields weren’t available.

No problem! I had a miniature produce stand and coordinating props that I used to create our own little strawberry farm stand. I do this stuff for a living, people!! I was ready! All we had to do was insert an adorable girl who was full of toothy grins and the results were one of my favorite one year cake smash sessions.

She’s adorable, and it feels like an age ago since we shot her newborn portraits and 6 month photos. She arrived cute and nothing has changed.

Our family and the York family have become great friends. Our son Finley loves playing with the older two, Turner and Tate. One of the cutest behind-the-scenes moments was when Finley, Turner, Tate and Tinleigh were all digging into her cake with their hands and eating icing together.

Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC photgraphers York baby one year cake smash outdoor portrait photo

Older brother Tate had a little milestone of his own to celebrate: kindergarten graduation! Mom Lindsey was disappointed that she would have no photos when schools were closed in early Spring. We couldn’t dare let this moment go unphotographed.


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.