Posts Tagged: blue ridge parkway
Fall Portrait Locations
…. are everywhere in this area. We are, what you might say, replete with places to have a family fall portrait sessions, individual portraits to mark an occasion or just because portraits. Just because? Just because it’s gorgeous outside in North Carolina from late September to Thanksgiving. Consider the Blue Ridge Parkway, local barns, farms, parkways, favorite hiking paths, camp grounds and even a favorite tree where you picnic or gather year round.
Below are some favorites outdoor portraits in these locations, but we are more than game to host you at our outdoor studio or discover a new spot you have in mind!
Ok – so the one above was taken in the spring, but you get the idea. The location is the star. Just a path in the woods, a greenway near your home or a special building or spot your family or partner loves – like the Loray Mill in Gastonia (below) make perfect spots for a fall photo shoot.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
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.
Outdoor Photo Shoots – It’s About Location
In my recent blog about summer photos, I mentioned that you don’t have to be getting married to plan a photo session with us during this gorgeous time of year. Although….. look at these two below. Pretty fab standing in the Church of Mother Nature. Potential outdoor shots are practically everywhere.
The Blue Ridge Parkway, The Biltmore House and Grove Park Inn in Asheville, The Piccione Vineyards in Ronda, NC, trails and fields in Blowing Rock, your own family property, camps and cabins, and any number of beaches in North or South Carolina, state parks or favorite neighborhood recreational spots make perfect destinations for a photo shoot. 
Our own portrait garden at the Pixels Studio is often the best option for those who want a beautiful outdoor shot but cannot travel too far. And honestly, we have more than a few clients who DO make a long drive to us BECAUSE they love our gardens and the relaxed feeling of the place.
Contact us about your summer adventure and if you’d like to commemorate it with photos!
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 weddings, brides, 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.
Fall Portrait Sessions | Time to Schedule
How’s everybody doing today?!?!? Science Girl here, with a quickie lesson about the seasons.
They change. Or more precisely… they are “caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and the planet’s orbit around the sun. When the axis points toward the sun, that hemisphere experiences summer. The hemisphere tilted away from the sun experiences winter.” Get it? So quarter turns toward and away from the sun give us the “mid-extremes”of spring and autumn. In the mountains of North Carolina, however, autumn is called fall. And it’s AWESOME. The leaves change and languidly amble to the ground, we harvest the last of our gardens’ output, put away light clothes, haul out blankets, chop wood and take outdoor portraits.
We’re now booking our fall outdoor portrait sessions beginning in late September and running through October. Our clients are brides, engaged couples, couples with their pets, siblings, and families of all sizes. Because of our heavenly locale, they also tend to prefer the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, Boone, and West Jefferson for their photo session or the Pixels portrait garden in Wilkesboro. If you have a special location, please get in touch with us and we’ll work out details and special requests.
Some of our favorite family photos are fall portraits because the air is crisp and everyone is in that sort of scarves, boots, tramp around or “hunker down” mode. And these photos often turn out to be framed or turned into holiday cards or both. Bring props or we’ll bring them, but let’s create some memories. Contact us today to book your date! We cannot wait to see 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 weddings, brides, 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.
colorful outdoor family portraits on the blue ridge parkway
This family means a lot to us.
Kim Hatfield is the owner of Waggles Pet Supply. You may recall that we provided portraits for pet food and donated along with Waggles to the Wilkes Animal Shelter. We collaborate with her and her business on so many great causes and we simply adore her and her family as humans. But the best gift, the biggest compliment is that we get to photograph her family. Kim and Terry have a precious daughter, Rayne.
We photographed Rayne’s newborn session and she’s only gotten more cute and more animated. She grins with her mouth open like she’s in the middle of a sentence or a funny thought. It’s hilarious to watch. Kim and Terry’s one request for this session was that we include mountains as a backdrop, which is not a tall order. We’d been eyeing this location along the Blue Ridge Parkway for months, but had never photographed there before. Pretty lighting, great views and a spectacular sunset! We love the outcome.
We know we’ve said this, but we’re outdoorsy so we’re saying it again. We live in a beautiful place. North Carolina, particularly our mountains and valleys, will stop you in your tracks. And it’s not just the mountain views, it’s the details of rock and moss, sky and grass. This family stood out in their bright clothes in every setting we placed them in.
Doesn’t Rayne look like she’s going to grow up to be a great chat? The woman you’re going to want to sit next to on a flight from Toronto to Dallas? She’s a charmer and people are attracted to her every expression. Even butterflies have attached themselves to her shoes…. oh wait. Nevermind.
A fun aside: At Pixels on Paper’s 10 year anniversary, the Hatfield family attended of course and Rayne was the star of the day. She was wearing the most adorable outfit, everyone wanted to hold her and she wanted to be hitched to the hip of the funnest and snuggliest among the partygoers. Those dancing were at the top of her list since she could bounce to the rhythm on the dance floor. Our dear pal, photographer Michael Anderson, of Michael A. Anderson Photography, captured the shot below of her.
I wanted to end with the shot below, mostly because Rayne looks like she’s just blown a kiss and is saying “That’s All Folks!” Watching her grow up is going to be the biggest treat. Kim, Terry and Rayne: WE LOVE YOU!!!!
piccard fall family portraits – goodbye summer, helloooooooo autumn
Some of us mourn when it starts creeping toward us.
“Wait, what? We just got settled in and then it was the 4th of July and now you’re telling me to change out my closet and garage?!?!” “I barely used that new floaty, those new grill tongs, that umbrella for the deck, that swimsuit and visor I got for Christmas!” “We were going to go to the beach twice!” “We were going to cook out more with the neighbors.”
Others of us crave it … we anticipate it, rubbing our hands together like we’re practicing for that first bonfire.
But like it or not, summer is rounding the corner y’all; it’s time for Autumn – capital A Autumn. Since we’re making yet another trip around the sun, and summer will return, let’s focus on the good of this coming season – the gorgeous leaves, brisk mornings, fire wood, scarves, heated car seats, football, soups and stews and snuggling with those we love.
And seriously – NO ONE wants to snuggle someone in a sweaty tank top. And if you do, no judgement, but we don’t want to hear about it.
The Piccards were ALL about the snuggling in October of 2014 when we met up and photographed them along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It started raining when we arrived, but the delay gave us time to grab lunch and bond and when the weather cleared, we were able to grab shots of this family of 4 with wet leaves beneath them and mountain fog surrounding them.
We’ve got spirit, yes we do, and boots and blue nails, HOW ‘BOUT YOU?
We’ve know mom, Brandii McCoy for many years, since we’ve worked with many Charlotte, NC sports teams and Brandii is the dance and cheer coach for the Charlotte Checkers, the former NBA Bobcats, and now the Charlotte Hornets. She’s used to being in front of the camera, so we knew we’d get great shots of her and her lovely family looking pulled together. We also wanted photos of them just being themselves, relaxed and silly and goofing. During conversations, we learned that Brandii and her husband had never had formal portraits of themselves taken, so this session and our lunch with them made for a lot of fun for all of us.
The girls, Karsen and Adler, knew how to work it, by the way. Check out the crossed legs and ankles, the subtle head tilting and, of course, there was the unscripted cuteness. 
We look forward to many Autumn shoots in 2015 and now is the time to book your fall portrait session. Pixels has openings, but they fill up quickly, especially the weekends. We’ll want to capture the best pics of you (and yours) during the height of the season. Call us at 704.641.1131 or 336.990.0080 and let’s make a plan!!