sawyer’s first birthday portraits and cake smash photos at Pixels On Paper portrait studio
If you feel like the clock is doing that Salvador Dali thing of melting slooooooowly, … first, I admire your knowledge of surrealism. Secondly, though, it’s not slowly melting. It’s moving faster than any of us can comprehend. I get it: 7 days a week, 60 seconds in a minute, 24 hours a day and that doesn’t change, but I swear this child’s older sibling was just born. And now HERE HE IS celebrating his own first birthday. This is sweet Sawyer and he’s made his first trip around the sun.
Sawyer: “These are my hands” (above). “The tops of them you can see on the left and on the right, my palms! Pretty cool, huh?”
Sawyer Dean Pierce turned one on June 9, 2017 and we photographed his one year portrait and cake smash photo session on that very day. We had fun designing his nautical beach themed backdrop in the Pixels On Paper photography portrait studio, but he seemed less than thrilled with diving into a cake. Some kids do and some kids don’t. This one couldn’t care less about the sweets (at least on this day). What he is into is playing outside, hanging with his big brother Holden, dancing, swinging on swings and growing those curls. We love photographing the Pierce family and have been their photographers for more than a few milestones. Sawyer’s growth needs to slow down, but it’s not going to happen, I’m afraid. He is definitely giving his big brother Holden a run for his money in size and stature.
Sawyer’s newborn and 6 month portrait photography sessions are a testament to how quickly the time will fly by.
Contact us if you want to set up portrait sessions for your newborn, 6 month, one month or family portraits. We love the babies!
august wedding anniversaries
August sometimes gets a bad rap. It’s hot; it’s the end of summer; it’s back to school time (“AND ALL GOD’S CHILDREN YELLED: NOOOOOO!!!); it’s buckle down, “we’re done with the beach for a while” time for families and we all start slouching toward fall. But really, it’s a pretty great month. It’s transition time and it always feels to me like there’s elbow room between summer and the cooling temps and tasks that come with autumn. It’s also the month Ryan and I got married. Our marriage stands up in August and says, “yes! Another year, peeps!” In that spirit, it’s time to wish our couples who were married in August a very Happy Anniversary! You’ll notice two faces below who were mere babies when they got married in August of 2003.
We’ve loved being a part of your journeys, watching your grow, have kiddos and enter new phases of life. We raise a glass to us all.
We join this month’s anniversaries celebrating 14 years of marriage on August 2nd. Photo ©Laura Auman Photography
Lindsey & James Roberts, 8 years August 1st
Amber & Andy Shumate, 2 years August 1st
Heather & Joey Sowell, 9 years August 2nd
Melody & Pierre Banks, 3 years August 2nd
Erin & Diego Moldonado, 10 years August 3rd
Amy & Tom Davies, 4 years August 3rd
Christine & Frank Crowley, 7 years August 7th
Meghan & Josh Roberts, 2 years August 8th
Stacia & Adrian Phifer, 9 years August 10th
Mia & Lawrence Naylor, 5 years August 11th
Edith & Kirk Irish, 1 year August 13th
Micala & Tyler Rash, 2 years August 15th
Sierra & Casey Tevepaugh, 3 years August 16th
Barbara & Will Vulcano, 7 years August 21st
Heather & Jayson Parker, 8 years August 22nd
Kendall & Nathan Williams, 2 years August 22nd
Heather & Jason Rice, 6 years August 27th
Laura & Jeremy Coviello, 8 years August 29th
Whitney & Preston Parsons, 2 years August 29th
quinton’s outdoor portrait photography photos
I find myself reminding friends, family and clients not to drop off into no man’s land with professional portraits when their kiddos head off to elementary or middle school only to resume them when they graduate from high school. Snapshots are awesome and we know you parents out there are handling those with your 35mm cameras and smart phones. But professional portraits allow us not only to control lighting and help with posing, location and mood, but we’re capturing memories and creating family heirlooms. All the change you see when you look back at picture albums or the walls of your home can be chronicled in portrait sessions. They are also of a quality that can be placed on canvases, hung on walls and passed down for generations.
This handsome young man is Quinton Roberts and he’s the proof in the pudding that taking portraits over a period of time is valuable. We have been photographing his family and their family business, Brushy Mountain Dental, since 2010. He’s the eldest sibling in the family and graduated in May from Wilkes Community College. His mom wanted portraits of him upon his graduation, and while most guys at Quinton’s age are less than thrilled to have their photo taken, fortunately for us, he wanted to make his mom happy.
Quinton photographed in 2010, 2013 and 2017
See what I mean about the importance of getting photos along the way? Look how much Quinton changed in just 7 short years! This latest shoot was really easy, because we’ve built a great relationship with him over the last 7 years. He was comfortable with us and we with him. He really is a great guy and from a wonderful family.
Mom Timberli has a specific idea in mind for large wall portraits in her home of all three kids during their graduation milestones and we’ve had fun making that vision come to life. We recently photographed Quinton’s sister Paiton for her senior high school photos. This fall, the youngest sister Madi will be a senior in high school and we’re already planning her portrait photography session.
If your kids are in that age of constant growth, be it early, middle or later teen years and you want portraits of them, please contact us. We would love to be the ones to photograph those milestones for your family.
Madi and Preston’s Jefferson NC Mountains Outdoor Wedding
Madison Ball and Preston Roberts made it official on July 8th of this year in a small ceremony followed by an epic, large reception. The ceremony was intimate and romantic, and on the groom’s family farm in Warrensville, near a bend in the river, surrounded by 30 or so of their nearest and dearest. No rain, but some tears while they were saying their vows. The reception with 200 guests was held later at Jefferson Landing Country Club in Jefferson, NC and included lots and LOTS of dancing, drinking, karaoke and laughter. 
The attention to detail was amazing. Every item was thoughtfully planned and held special meaning. Preston’s family’s farm has been in the family for several generations, so it was saturated with memories. In fact, Preston’s gift to Madi was a horseshoe that he found while preparing the property for the ceremony. Family members believed that it probably belonged to his great-grandfathers’ mare. They plan to hang it in their home for continued good luck. Madi’s gift to Preston was equally thoughtful and cool: she gave him a hand-crafted watch, made from wood with a special inscription on the back. The beautiful details were everywhere. What was not at the wedding were their rings. They’d been left behind in someone’s car. So they improvised and used Preston’s father Tom’s ring for him and Preston’s sister Meghann’s ring for Madi. It was too funny – and sweet!
Favorite memories of this day for the bride and groom include when they were reading their vows, first seeing each other when Madi and crew made their gorgeous river side entrance and when Preston sang the song he wrote for Madi. Karaoke, drinking and dancing were obviously on the list as well. The reception was an absolute celebration.
Madi told us that they wouldn’t change a thing about their wedding day. In fact, she said her only advice to future brides and grooms would be to make the party last longer and do not hesitate to take it all in. “It flies by!” We’re so happy for you guys! Thanks for letting us a be a part of what was a truly great day and part of your family. We love you two!
Interested in their vendors? Here’s a list:
Wedding Gown: New York Bride and Groom, Charlotte, NC
Hair: Jamie Ball, Shear Shakti, Boone, NC
Makeup: Lorna Vega, The Cutters Edge, West Jefferson, NC
Reception Venue: Jefferson Landing Country Club, Jefferson, NC
Flowers: Four Gals and A Florist, West Jefferson, NC
Flowers: Nic Ball, High Country Greenhouses, Jefferson NC
Cakes/Desserts: Ugga Mugga Bakery, Blowing Rock, NC
DJ or Band: John Hawkins, Boone, NC
Caterer: Jefferson Landing Country Club, Jefferson, NC
Videographer: Honey Dew Films, Greensboro, NC
A Bride by any other name | pixels on paper bridal portraits
… is still as sweet and will always be the focus of her wedding day, at least for part of it. People will remember the dancing, the toasts, the goof-ups and sweet moments, but her entry happens one time and all eyes are on her. Maybe this is why bridal portraits are so important. You get more than one look at her in her dress and in a meaningful setting that will last forever in prints and on film. We photograph weddings pretty much all year, but wedding season is really summer. As this summer rolls along, I looked back at some bridal photos that we’ve taken over the last decade. I realized how it’s true that every bride – like every baby – is beautiful. The gown, the setting, the glow are all offshoots of the glorious woman about to start a new chapter. Brides – we celebrate you!
Gowns and settings are as signature as the brides we photograph. They are classical, modern, some want to be princesses, some want to look like photographs of their grandmother, one incorporated book pages into her bouquet, others repurposed brooches or lace or another memento, some seem like complete originals and others timeless. Capturing that is the fun part.
Consider a bridal portrait along with your wedding photography package as a way to experience a “trial run” before your wedding day. It’s a perfect way to try a new hair style and see how your makeup will look. It’s also a fun girl’s day with Mom, your best friend or maid of honor. The setting and season can be totally different from that of the wedding and the environment and timeline is typically much more relaxed giving us extra time to capture those magazine style covers you’ve dreamed of. Sometimes the session is for Mom to have the large portrait of you that she wants to display on the wedding day and then for years to come in her home to share with loved ones and friends. We are happy to help you plan and create the vision of beauty that defines you as a bride.