Posts Tagged: nc celebratory photography

Truly Giving Thanks

This time last year feels like an entire lifetime ago. I said in our blog about our new son Finley that I’ve been amazed at how much someone can do on so little sleep. Well, I’m also blown away by how much we packed into this last year. We’ve been blessed with an embarrassment of riches in the supportive friends department. Thank you all for showing us so much love and grace around having our first child. Before, during and these first few weeks after Finley was born have been easier thanks to you. The outstanding friends awards go especially to the Minicks, the Pierce and Meade families. You guys have not only been our clients  but have gone above and beyond being our “village” with Finley. From gifts of maternity clothes and hand-me-downs for him, to meals, practical and light-hearted advice for Ryan and me, to wanting to hold Finley, giving lessons in baby-wearing, helping with pediatrician appointments … it is a MASSIVE list and you all have been wonderful.

The Minick family

The Pierce Family

The Meade Family

There aren’t enough words of love and gratitude for our families this thanksgiving season. When we married, our two clans joined, but we have reached a completely new place of unity through bringing Finley into the world. We love each of our parents for their patience, guidance and support, but we also love bearing witness to how much unadulterated joy they get from their new grandson.
We’re so thankful for our tribe and that also includes growing friendships. New, abiding and brilliant friends Bonnie and Amanda Walling from Charleston have become favorites in our lives. We photographed their engagement and wedding and what we all loved about each other during the preparation and the time together really stuck. Thank God. We were able to meet up with them for their one year anniversary and it was a blast.
Amanda Walling and Bonnie Hostetler On The Windfall outdoor Wedding West Jefferson NC

You guys know how much we love to travel, but outside of Merlefest and shoots in our gorgeous mountains (which feels like an escape, but is really our regional backyard), we stayed close to home. While we didn’t take any trips this year, we did make it to our local getaway spot – our campsite and cabin by the river in Sparta, NC. It’s the most peaceful place for us and we even managed to get there the weekend before Finley was born. I was trying to keep from going into labor. Ryan’s 40th Birthday was celebrated there with a camping weekend including six other families. It’s a pretty special memory.

We’re also grateful for new insights into what we do for a living. I attended a retreat this year that focused on photography and lighting techniques, and loved it. It too became a place where I found support, new friendships and a cohort of like-minded women.

Exposed Photography Workshop

And I’m thankful for my husband. Ryan took on a role of doing most everything single-handedly toward the end of my pregnancy and after Finley’s birth. As we kept serving photography clients, he was there in situations that normally are my domain alone. I’ve got a terrific partner in marriage, in business, in parenting and in life.

Finally, this Thanksgiving takes the headcount up by one…. one perfect little head. He won’t be making multiple trips to the buffet for stuffing or raiding the fridge for the midnight turkey sandwich, but we’ve grown as a family and we’re so grateful that this child is ours.

With my girl and one of my boys…

I would love to know what that new brain is cooking up and will keep wanting to know for the rest of my life, but this picture below makes me think of how we feel when we consider the gifts of this year: our family, our tireless friends, our clients, new experiences, new pals and a new little boy. You all make us smile.
Happy Thanksgiving and we’re sending you nothing but joy, health, contentment and your own sense of gratitude for the good stuff.

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 weddingsbrides, 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.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

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.

one year in the life of a one year old girl – 1st birthday lemonade stand (and the vendor is a diva…)

It started here. She hit the planet in a cute bomb. We added the feathered head band and props, but she brought the pout, the languid body language, the laser-focused eyes and bored expression. Someone 20 times her age could never have pulled off that look without some coaching. Miss Ivy would have shaken it out of her sleeve – if only she’d had one.
Ivy Myers Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait PhotographyAnd then THIS happened. 6 months passed and her cuteness turned to a pensive longing for a purpose in life. Just look at her expression. What on earth is she dreaming about? What is she plotting? Or is she remembering the good times …. all 6 months of them?Ivy Myers 6 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait PhotographyAnd this.Ivy Myers 6 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait PhotographyThen Ivy crept up on her first birthday and her parents, Kim & Justin Myers, had a plan. They designed a lemonade stand themed birthday party complete with stand, sign and big jar of lemons. When we heard their plan and saw cell phone photos, I insisted that we also use it in Ivy’s one year portrait session. We moved from our indoor portrait studio to our outdoor portrait garden in order to grab the best lighting and have fun with all the props. The kid is a natural.
Quick aside: Please know that we don’t mind if parents bring their own props. We want you to get as much use out of them as possible and coordinating is always fun. Ultimately, I bought the lemonade stand set up. It had to be done. It was just too cute and I know some of you parents out there can picture your babies and kids playing in it for their upcoming portrait sessions.

Pixels On Paper Photography One Year Birthday Cake Smash Child and Family Photographers Photo

Ivy Myers 12 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait PhotographyIvy Myers 12 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait PhotographyThis kid is all about pink AND sugar AND dress up. The tutus have become sort of expected with little girls and with Ivy, the headbands. She also loves pop music, but don’t we all? The lemonade stand theme was perfect for her personality. You sort of want to dip a big ladle into a bowl and come up with this little creature floating in pink sugar and tart pulp.

Ivy Myers 12 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography

Ivy Myers 12 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography

Still Life with Ivy & Cake

Ivy Myers 12 months child and family portrait photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photoYear one is in the books. Actually, it is. We created a custom photo book for the Myers to enjoy, share and show Ivy when she’s older. We had five (5) sessions with Ivy during her first year, and we are already planning and have scheduled year number 2.