Posts Tagged: NC Wilkesboro wedding photographers

Heirloom Photography

A while back, we blogged about engagement portraits as heirlooms. While 21st century portraits are no longer as severe and in grainy sepia tones, they do still serve a purpose as historical artifacts. I look at these young sisters below and think of the photos we’ve taken of children that their mothers cherish.

When we look at images today and see the amazing things we can do with filters and timing, it’s no wonder that everyone wants to be their own archivist, storyteller, photographer and keeper of the family history. Consider finding those moments where it will mean the most to have professional shots and remember that they will one day be heirlooms. And consider getting a professional to take them. You won’t regret it.

Two young brides above and below. They are a mere 150 or so years apart.

NC Blue Ridge Mountains engagement portraits

One family portrait – posed above.
A family portrait – posed below.

Reid family Pixels On Paper Boomer NC outdoor portrait photographers photo
Charlene Gourlay Jon Rathbun Pixels On Paper Photography Raleigh NC Museum of Art Wedding Photo

Sometimes the heirlooms are not heirlooms because they are posed. Images become heirlooms because they capture something specific – like the bride reading her favorite book for her bridal portrait. It was important to incorporate it for her. Sometimes, it’s the place – like the mountain home that a family rented so they could converge from all over the country for a reunion. Or it’s the mountains that became a back drop for an engagement photo shoot. And sometimes it is the unexpected moment, like the one above we caught of the bride and groom sharing a happy, sorta private hug.

Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC Photographers Senter family and baby outdoor portrait photo

Maternity portraits and new family portraits are heirlooms as well for generation and these shots, especially in informal outdoor settings tell a beautiful story of time, place and love.

Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC Hirsch Reilly family and baby outdoor portrait photos

Consider the photo albums and images in frames that you love seeing from those relatives you’ll never meet and schedule a photo shoot that will some day be relished by your future family.


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 LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Weddings, Weddings & More

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People like Ryan and myself who are in the wedding industry, feel spring and summer rushing our way like a runaway train. It’s always fun, but it’s a busy time of year. The first day of spring was just marked off the calendar and we’re gearing up for Merlefest, prom, graduation and of course weddings of all sorts. For the next month or so, we’ll be focusing on all the aspects of the wedding season and celebrating one of life’s biggest celebrations. Today, I want to share more from our 14 years in the business of photographing weddings!

Amanda Walling and Bonnie Hostetler On The Windfall outdoor Wedding West Jefferson NC
pixels-on-paper-gappens-wedding-nc-mountain-wedding-photographers-asheville-wedding-photography-nc-mountain-destination-weddings-photo

Whether we’re capturing the couple alone or surrounded by their crew of family and friends, the setting or the details, the rush and hubbub of a wedding is exhilarating.

Stay tuned, wedding fans, because there is much more to come on the wedding front.


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 ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Lighting, Weddings and Musts to Know

We thought – with so many in the depths of planning weddings – that we would share some of our expert advice about timing. This is not timing as in “did he propose in the middle of your grandfather’s funeral?” (Guys: don’t do that, mkay?)

We’re talking about timing so that your photographer can get the shots you really want on the day of your wedding. Brides and grooms have gone to the trouble of thinking through what moments and people they would like captured, where they are having their weddings and choosing the season. But one of the things that needs to be considered most during planning is timing. It’s important in comedy and it’s important on your wedding day.

  • What time does sunset occur?
  • What time should your ceremony start and how long will the ceremony portion last?
  • Do you want lots of shots taken outdoors?
  • Where will your reception be and do we need to allow for drive time while the sun shines?

Much of our pricing depends on the amount of photo coverage hours needed, so planning ahead is key.

Ryan and I begin photographing approximately two hours before the ceremony for those couples who do not plan to see each other beforehand, which is customary. I work with the bride, bridesmaids and the bride’s family for an hour and can capture shots of her getting ready and transforming herself and spending quality time with specific people. This allows us to get all the fun of the preparation while still giving the bride time to freshen her make-up and ready herself for walking down the aisle. If a bride wants photos of her hair and makeup being done, we’ll need even more time, but we can help you get that sorted out when we speak.

Ryan photographs the groom, groomsmen and groom’s family during the second hour. This allows us to complete all photos that do not include the bride and groom together before the ceremony gets underway. You’re up, you’re fresh and ready and excited and it just makes sense. It makes the process more efficient following the ceremony and allows the couple to get to their reception sooner.


Firethorne Country Club wedding charlotte NC. Whitford/Kessell wedding photography by Pixels On Paper Photographers photo

Following the ceremony we need 30-45 minutes (depending on wedding party and family size) to photograph the bride and groom together with their families and wedding party. We prefer to begin with family first, then the wedding party, and then with just the bride and groom for the most amount of time. We know that you want to join the party that is YOUR celebration, so having a plan and knowing where the sun will be if you want outdoor photos is something we can anticipate and create for you.

If you’re interested in seeing more of our weddings, visit that page of our blog where you can see the anticipatory beginnings, tender middles and lovely ends to ceremonies across seasons. Here is also a blog of ours for those interested in seeing how lighting can affect the details of a wedding and make them truly shine.

During the reception, we photograph candid moments of all kinds and do not interrupt the bride and groom for posed photos. We want you to mingle and celebrate, dance, eat and enjoy your day. Those moments make amazing photos anyway. The only exception we make is if the couple requests sunset photos at which point we will watch for the perfect moment before stealing the couple away from the reception for a minimal amount of time.

Most receptions last 3-4 hours, so if a couple plans a formal exit complete with sparklers, bubbles, and a getaway car, they will likely want us to photograph that exit and stay until the end. However, if a couple does not plan a formal exit and anticipates staying until the last guest leaves, then they can plan on less photography coverage hours and we will slip out (after hugs, a last check-in and goodbyes) and let you keep partying.

For us, lighting your day is important and we know how to handle it. You have other things to think about, so once you’ve chosen place, season, type of wedding and time of day, we’ll know how to counsel you and make things work.

While your wedding is photographed to memorialize it and is a big production, it is also one of the biggest milestones in a person’s life. We want you to feel the joy of the day and not just like you’re modeling or being posed. So consider the season, the time of day, time changes for daylight savings if those apply, how much of the behind the scenes you want captured, as well as the outdoor and natural light and we’ll do our best. To help, here is a favorite website we use to determine sunset time.
After all the planning, it’s an adventure! Let the magic happen!


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

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

The Pinterest Factor – reality vs. pinned photos

A common challenge we wedding photographers have these days involves brides sending us a Pinterest board full of photos they want us to recreate on their wedding day. And believe me, we get it. Inspiration comes from so many different places and directions, people, memories……….. the origins of our muses can be anywhere these days and Pinterest boards are proof of that. They are a 21st century social media phenomenon, born of the old bulletin boards, college wall boards of your favorite actors or bands, and more recently the vision boards people made for aspirational purposes. They have enormous value for those who craft, knit, travel, have a yen for a certain type of fiction, color palette, movie genre, you name it.

from a board about movie stars of the 1940s

But Pinterest boards are just that: they are inspiration boards. And brides love them because they create a central and shareable place to collect ideas. It’s perfect for pulling together your ideas and favorite thoughts as you plan. With photography on your wedding day, it’s a moveable feast. It’s live and it’s subject to dozens of variables.

 

from a board about weddings

all images from Pinterest boards about weddings

When it comes to brides, we love seeing photos from Pinterest boards for this reason and pretty much this reason only: we get to know YOUR sense of your style, where YOUR inspirations are coming from and some of the types of imagery you want us to capture. You’re giving us a sense of who you are, but from someone else’s photos. These are someone else’s moments and that’s the distinction.

Why do you want someone else’s moment? Why not allow us to capture or create photos that are uniquely yours? We don’t mind looking at a pinterest board to get an idea of what you like at all, because we can then use it for inspiration. We want to capture what you want and we are seasoned wedding photographers and great listeners. But to wholesale recreate someone else’s moment is not only difficult and time consuming, that moment may be from a photographer with a different style from ours.

Schultz Crestwood Resort Blowing Rock NC High Country Wedding
Firethorne Country Club wedding charlotte NC. Whitford/Kessell wedding photography by Pixels On Paper Photographers photo
 Amanda Walling and Bonnie Hostetler On The Windfall outdoor Wedding West Jefferson NC photo

If you’ve fallen in love with a particular style of photography, you’ll need to find that photographer or a photographer who can mimic that style. Ryan and I feel strongly about copying other professional photographers images.

Thinking we can create images from Pinterest that only happen naturally where brides and photographers can find themselves in the weeds. Setting up an image based on a photo takes much longer due to set-up and lighting, posing people, etc. than those glorious shots that simply happen naturally.

A wedding is a moveable feast, as it were.

It’s live. It’s a living, breathing bit of joy, community, fun, calamity at its best and history in the making. Every moment cannot be a photo shoot and why would you want it to be? There are rain delays, wardrobe changes or makeup refreshes, lingering conversations, your cast of characters who may go missing, speeches that are lovely to hear but don’t convey on film. To capture every type of image based on other weddings on other days, in other locations and shot by other photographers is to set yourself up for disappointment. Have faith!
YOU need your own images that happen naturally for YOU on YOUR day. Remember that, as you sort through what you’d like to see on your day and trust that there will be magic moments we’ll capture that no one else on any Pinterest board will have.


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

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

Our September Wedding Anniversaries ~ Congrats to All

Ruth and John Featherstone, 5 years September 3rd

September is a popular month for weddings and what better way to say Happy Anniversary to these couples than with popular movielines about love. We toast each of these couples on their years together already and the many years to come. Salute!
“In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find someone who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you.” ~ Juno

Crystal and Adam Graybeal, 8 years September 5th

“They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that’s true.” ~ Big Fish 

Jessica and Chris Gordon, 6 years September 10th

“It’s like in that moment the whole universe existed just to bring us together.” ~ Serendipity 

Lindsey and Seth Prevette, 9 years September 13th

“I vow to fiercely love you in all your forms, now and forever. I promise to never forget that this is a once in a lifetime love.” ~ The Vow

Hope and Taylor Cox, 4 years September 14th

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.” ~ Moulin Rouge

Maren and Gordon Rennie, 5 years September 15th

“You make me want to be a better man.” ~ As Good As It Gets

Kristen and Jason Chilcot, 8 years September 19th

“You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love… I love… I love you.” ~ Pride & Prejudice 

Teresa and Rob Glover, 5 years September 22nd

“So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.” ~ The Notebook 

Haley and Cody Fountain, 1 year September 24th

“Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. If you don’t start with that, what are you going to end up with?” ~ Meet Joe Black 

Tameka and Willie Love, 7 years September 25th

“Choose me. Marry me. Let me make you happy.” ~ My Best Friend’s Wedding 

Jennifer and Joey Stout, 1 year September 25th

“Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away.” ~ Hitch 

Rebekah and Joshua Bolick, 2 years September 26th

“Everything I have ever done, I’ve done for you.” ~ Great Expectations 

Helen and Woo Lee, 8 years September 27th

“I’ve come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is, and always will be, yours.” ~ Sense & Sensibility 

Angela and Andrew Fox, 3 years September 27th

“I wish I had done everything on earth with you” ~ The Great Gatsby

Tara and John McConnell, 11 years September 30th

It was like coming home. .. only to no home I’d ever known … I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like … magic.” ~ Sleepless in Seattle

Ashley and Kevin Ellis, 6 years September 30th

“Here’s looking at you kid.” ~ Casablanca

 

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.

 

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