Posts Tagged: pixels on paper outdoor portraits

Holbrook Family – Spring portrait photos

This outdoor portrait session at the peach orchards was an absolute treat. Mom Rebecca and I have been in the same women’s Bible study for years. Eldest daughter Maycee and Finley are just a month apart, and I have fond memories of those two rolling on the floor as our group unpacked scripture together and supported each other through all the joys and trials of early motherhood.

When discussing getting together for these portraits, Rebecca mentioned that the family had not had a portrait taken of all of them since son Preston was around a year old. Time flies, to say the least and they are now a family of five. Their third and youngest child Everley was born during the pandemic, so this was our first chance to spend time with her as well.

You’ve never met parents more fun or chill than Rebecca and Brian, and with the warm weather and perfect scenery, we struck out to remedy the “no family portraits” situation. I loved every single second of it. I adore this bunch and was thrilled to spend time with them, camera in hand and heart open.

It was a beautiful day with this beautiful family and while the trees will lose their blooms, this family is a reminder that, with portraits, the memories will last.


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 newborns and families, 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 License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Styers Family Portraits

We could call this blog “When the Ends Meet and Something Beautiful Happens.” For years, Pixels has been participating in a local fundraiser for a child named Drake. Drake has cystic fibrosis and for the last decade or so we’ve been providing a photo session to the silent auction that raises money for Drake and for cystic fibrosis. There is also a golf tourney to raise money and I encourage any of you who are interested to learn more at Drives Fore Drake. We love to give and are happy to help raise money for a good cause.

Being a part of Drives fore Drake is one side of the story. The other side is that our child Finley has developed a real affection and friendship (we all have actually) with a lady named MarySallie Steyers. She SHOWERS him with attention, humor, and snuggles and was until recently one of the teachers at his Play2Learn. MarySallie just happens to be Drake’s grandmother. So after years of supporting his cause, we were actually able to meet the Drake behind the cause. MarySallie said she wanted a photo session with the entire clan and that’s just what we did!

At the end of 2020, MarySallie, her husband Rick, their children Sallie and Sammy along with their spouses and children all gathered for portraits. We’ve photographed members of this family before, when we met up with Emily VanMeter Styers and part of her clan at the VanMeter family farm. Emily married into the Steyers family and well – let’s just say, it’s a small world.

MarySallie has been so generous with her hugs to Finley (see beginning of blog) that we wanted an image of her with all of her grandkids heaping hugs and love on her. Mission accomplished.

This mom and grandmother knew it was going to be difficult getting everyone together so she and I have been planning a portrait gallery for her home not only with these images, but with others we’ve taken of their family in groupings. I cannot wait to see it completed.

Not only did Finley have his photo taken with MarySallie, he took a few of his own with his camera.

Easter and Mother’s Day are coming up, gang. What mom wants more than anything besides time with you are photographs. So let’s talk!


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 newborn and baby portraits,  engagements 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 License

All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Spring Outdoor Portraits

Yes, it’s January and yes, it’s a little brisk out, but as night follows day, spring follows winter, so let’s get ready for outdoor photo sessions.

Families have told me more times than I can count that they wish they had made time to gather everyone in one spot for portraits, if not each year then every couple of years. Time passes quickly.

Milestones are important but “just because” photo sessions with a photographer, one who knows how to pose, use light and equipment appropriately and can retouch and package your images is ALWAYS a good idea. I live to make the wishes of moms and grandmas come true. They know that photos today become heirlooms tomorrow.

Parks, mountain trails, private home backyards and porches, and certainly the Pixels outdoor portrait garden – all make great locations for family portraits.

We are ready when you are and can help plan the place, date and time. If you begin letting your family factions know that it’s time for a group photo session, they will be ready when the temperatures are premium.


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.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Roark, Lovell and Triplett Families combined

We gathered with four generations of a family for a fall portrait session and these always remind me of the connectedness we have, but so rarely feel until there is a holiday or a special occasion. In this particular instance, it was Tabitha Lovell’s desire to capture her family together after a few members passed away recently. That sense of unexpected loss propelled her and we’re so happy to have been able to take these outdoor portraits for her and for all members of these families.

We’d recently photographed the newborn portraits of Miss Gracelynn, daughter of Matthew and Caitlin. On this day, the trio were joined by Caitlyn’s mom Tabitha, dad Roger and brother Zach, as well as Tabitha’s parents Mr & Mrs. Roark.

The property where we met is a campground long-maintained by Roger and his family and is a special place for everyone. There were so many beautiful spots to choose from for groupings and individual portraits. The day had a reunion feeling, because – as I’ve covered before – it’s hard enough to find a date, time and place for everyone to meet up, but during a pandemic it’s a real hat trick.

I love the images of the new parents with Gracelynn, and with new grandparents Tabitha and Roger (below) and Gracelynn being held by her Uncle Zach (above). That baby was the shining star and everyone wanted to hold her.

We began designing a wall of images for Tabitha’s home even before Gracelynn’s newborn session, and new Gramma was keen to get everyone together for more portraits to complete her vision. Now that we have all of these, we’ve finished our plan and she has a beautiful home gallery filled with family.

If you are separated by Covid, distance or any other reason and would like to gather everyone together for a session, we would be honored to photograph your family for posterity.


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 newborns and families, 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 ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Absher Family’s Fall Outdoor Portraits

Three generations of Abshers gathered to have family portraits taken and this was another of those outdoor shoots planned that could have gone sideways if not for location and will. But we did it and the results are just what matriarch Mrs. Absher wanted.

October 10th was a day when Pixels scheduled multiple fall family portrait sessions, but massive rain and wind storms meant we had to postpone and reschedule several. A little rain between friends is one thing, but we were in a deluge. Like so many multigenerational families, the Abshers are spread out all over the state of NC and we knew it would be next to impossible to reconvene, so after chatting with the Mom-in-charge, we went for it.

And we pulled it off! There were several key factors, beyond willpower. One was location, but this was easily solved. Instead of meeting off-site somewhere, we took all of the photos in the matriarch and patriarch’s yard. They live near us, and after a drive by, we knew it was going to work. She bought mums and straw bells and we made it work.

Grandparents, parents and kids on hay bales in front of their home place: what could be sweeter?

I love the colors chosen for the youngest members of the clan. They loved being around their grandparents and the images will be heirlooms for generations to come.

If you are thinking of outdoor family portraits, regardless of season, please contact us. We would love to be your portraitists and documentarians.


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 newborns and families, 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 ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.