Posts Tagged: NC Mountain Wedding Photography

5 Reasons to Have Professional Portraits

We know that you guys are busy. Believe me – we’re right there with you. You have a million things to do, so a lot of those “things” end up happening quickly and less deliberately. We’re running around constantly.

Boar’s Head – the premium deli meat purveyors – have created a tagline to get us to think about how we have to thread the needle of decision making: Compromise Elsewhere. It’s a good one, huh? And, sadly or not, it’s necessary in a busy, noisy world.

“Choose your battles.” “Spend your time wisely,” etc. and it’s true. So I would like to co-opt this idea of compromising elsewhere with regard to keeping your biggest moments in life, those things that matter and will someday become the heirlooms on film and not stuck in your phone or in a cloud. For that you need professional photography and a little bit of planning.

So here are my 5 reasons why hiring a professional photographer – ie someone who is seasoned, great at it and loves it – to capture the most important moments in life.
5 – If you make the time, the results are worth it. The quality is better and Ryan and I have worked for well over a decade to make this is true.

4 – It’s more fun than you think it will be. Seriously. People make appointments thinking it’s a box to tick because they need good photos of milestone (AND YOU DO!!), but our clients come back again and again for sessions, because there is a vibe and flow and a lot of laughter. We’re easy like Sunday morning, as the song goes, and the vast majority become our dear friends. We try to make shoots fun no matter where we are or who we’re with because who wants a job that stinks? And honestly – WE DO HAVE FUN. We are real people who are married with a baby and who love music, craft beer, gardening, hockey, family, travel and capturing portraits.

3 – Proper portraits, shot by professional photographers, are of the best quality. It’s just true. Your social media “story” or travel snapshots provide a sense of a moment and some narrative, but professionals portraits do not have to be stuffy. They are real AND turn out better than something shot on the most expensive smart phone or personal point and click digital camera. Part of this is our equipment. We use only the best cameras, lens, and lighting and then the best technology for clarity, cropping, processing and retouch. And then part of it is our experience. We don’t take photos as part of a holiday. It’s how we make our living. Enough on that. You get it. The last part is our passion. We know what we’re doing, do it with the very best equipment and software and we absolutely LOVE IT.

Madelyn McGuire Family and Child Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo

2 – Professional portraits make amazing gifts. We’ve all seen the sort of “great, but blurry” or pixelated framed images and while the sentiment is there – the quality isn’t. If you’re going to give a gift, give a nice one. Whether it’s framed for your own home, made into calendar or used for some fun type of gift, your friends and family will appreciate it if it doesn’t look like it was created on someone’s lunch break in an alley.

The number ONE reason to have professional portraits taken is because the time will indeed pass quickly and when the moment is gone it is indeed actually gone. Kids grow up, the wedding day comes and goes, the beautiful bride goes back to her life and job or career path, the family disburses to the 4 corners of the earth and getting that minute back is just impossible.

Consider where you are in your life right now, what big events, milestones or celebrations are on the horizon during the next few months or even year and give us a call. We’d love to be the ones to create those heirlooms for you.


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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

themed weddings photographers? ABSOLUTELY.

We made our start photographing the traditional wedding. The gorgeous bride in a white gown, the handsome groom, the heart-felt vows and whether it was in a church or overlooking a mountain vista, the pictures really were worth a thousand words. What bigger day do you have than your wedding day? And capturing those memories is what we do.
But we have also had the pure, unadulterated joy of capturing weddings with a theme. Some are based on a throwback to another era. Some are based on the bride or groom’s family heritage with ancestral touches. We photographed the engagement, bridal and wedding portraits for a couple who LOVED Dr. Who. It was awesome. THEY were awesome. Others just want to give a nod to something they care about whether it’s a style or a place or a genre. Whatever your tastes, loves, origin story or favorite band, we will help capture it on film to share for lifetimes to come. Check out a few or our faves below! Above: A Pirate Wedding in the forest. What a fun group!
Below: A Rock-a-Billy Wedding done up right with every detail. 

Below: A Mexican Fiesta. …. Kidding. Scottish Highlands all the way. It was elegant and even the fog rolled in to go with bagpipes, kilts and heather.

The Scotch-Irish, and British Isles, often make an appearance. We are a country of immigrants afterall and seeing those traditions celebrated is transporting. It’s as if everyone at the wedding has gone back in time. The Fleur de Lis – so French, so New Orleans, so retro and cool. We LOVE those couples who just say, “This is WHO WE ARE. These are the things that we care about or that make us happy or brought us together and we want to celebrate and share it with everyone.” 

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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Happy Anniversary – Wedding Portraits of Celebration

Author and environmentalist Rick Bass has a great quote about the seasons of life:
“My life, I realize suddenly, is July. Childhood is June, and old age is August,
but here it is, July, and my life, this year, is July inside of July.”

Erica & Mark Makowski, 7 years July 2nd

For each of these couples, in their year, in July, they were in the beginning of their new lives. Childhood was June. But they were entering the July inside of July.

Anna & Jordan Isaacs, 6 years July 9th

Elizabeth & Chris Bankett, 8 years July 11th

Jessica & Jason Clinton, 1 year July 16th

Precious & Damon Murray, 9 years July 18th

Lila & Joseph Duke, 6 years July 23rd

From Jessica and Jason, who were married in 2016, to Precious and Damon who’ve been married for 9 years, we hope that for the best and longest Julys in their lives. August can wait. Keep celebrating. Keep enjoying each other. Keep planting and harvesting, knowing how loved you are. Happy Anniversary, all of you!

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Kendra & Nathan Wed at Elkin’s Barn at Blueberry Hill

On May 20th, we photographed the wedding of Kendra and Nathan as they tied the knot at The Barn at Blueberry Hill in Elkin NC. It was the first time we’ve ever shot a wedding at this venue and we LOVED it. It’s a real barn with a real barn feeling, but with air conditioning (!!) and the owner, event coordinator, setting – everything – was perfect.
What was also perfect was the couple. Even the groom’s goof made the occasion memorable.
Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photo

Kendra is a lot like me: a Type A personality who wants every single detail to be perfect. She looked gorgeous and so did her bridesmaids in this setting. The weather turned out to be perfect (it rained for 5 days straight after the couple left for their honeymoon) and the guests were so much fun. There were no dull moments!Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoGroom Nathan teared up watching Kendra walk down the aisle. Kendra: “Most people might have needed a tissue after seeing Nathan become a little emotional as I walked in. I luckily, did not. I had the biggest smile on my face that nothing could wipe away. Why? Because I knew I was moments away from marrying the man of my dreams. Sounds cliché; I know, but it’s true. I had waited on that day for many years and that day, the day I had dreamed about for a long time, had finally arrived.” Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoA highlight for the couple (and a laugh moment for the guests) was when the little groomsman just wandered across the aisle while vows were being said. Super cute!!Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoThese two told us that Nathan’s performance really hit the high point when he kept messing up repeating his wedding vows. The pastor finally had to turn the page with the written vows so Nathan could just read them instead of trying to repeat them. Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoOther memorable moments, according to the bride, groom and family include: when Nathan’s young cousin Ava walked up to the bridesmaid who’d caught the bouquet and snatched it out of her hands; when the groomsmen took over the photo booth to get shots of them wearing only their underwear and suspenders and when, coming back from their honeymoon, the TSA officer at the airport opened Kendra’s bag and those same underwear shots of the groomsmen were on display. They confiscated her belongings.
Kidding!Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoThe barn vibe was so much fun, along with their photo booth, DJ, barbecue and amazing desserts. There was a LOT of laughter and silliness, dancing, chatter and sheer joy. Between Kendra & Nathan’s family members, there are 303 years of marriage experience surrounding them. This bit of info was shared at the ceremony and we thought it was so lovely. We hope that Kendra and Nathan add a minimum of 50 years to that total and enjoy every moment of it. Kendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photoKendra and Nathan's Barn at Blueberry Hill Elkin Outdoor Wedding Pixels On Paper Photography NC wedding photographers photo

Kendra & Nathan’s wedding vendors:

Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal
Wedding & Reception Venue: The Barn at Blueberry Hill
Flowers: Richard Hincher
Photographers: Pixels On Paper
DJ: Kevin Carter of Dirt Road Entertainment
Caterer: Brushy Mountain Smokehouse

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