We hope that right now, you’re out relishing a day off. No one should labor too hard on Labor Day. This long weekend is one of the last siren calls of summer. School is back in session and people are back to a structured schedule of work and perhaps longing for the next thing to look forward to.
For us, it means harvesting items from our garden, chasing our son around who’s threatening daily to walk right out the door and thinking about our clients – old and new – and our vendors. We love the vendors we have the privilege of working with and thought that we’d share a few of them with you. These come highly recommended and not just by Ryan and myself.
Leatherwood Mountain Resort is a pretty spectacular spot for weddings and we’ve photographed our fair share in this amazing location. For more views, and instances of our work at Leatherwood, take a look.
From the country to the city and that takes us to a pretty glam spot – Holiday Inn Center City Charlotte. If you want a wedding where there is plenty to do over the weekend and a diverse crowd or wedding party who want lots of options for dining and activities, Charlotte, NC is hard to beat. The skyline views also make this Holiday Inn perfect for photos – engagement, bridal or otherwise.
And for the Part 1 finale on vendors (don’t worry, there’s another blog to come), we have to mention Bridal Traditions Wedding & Prom Attire which is located near us in North Wilkesboro. We are friends-like-family with Kelly at BT, and have collaborated with her and her team more times than we can count. Gorgeous gowns, tux options, gifts, and ideas pour out of their doors.
That little number in the gown above just happens to be Kelly, the owner of Bridal Traditions’. She knows what she’s doing.
We love making suggestions, when asked, so if you’re planning your wedding in North Carolina and would like to know more about the vendors we think of highly, please reach out. Vendor Love Part 2 comes soon!
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 License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
The temptation to write about the various stages of life we get to photograph – cradle to grave as it were – has been with me for a while, you guys. The grave part seems morbid, but honestly, we do capture the circle and cycles of life. Your parents have your baby portraits taken and before long, you’re scheduling your own kids’ photos.
Heirlooms are magic and they last long after the people in the frames are gone, so we consider it an honor to be the ones behind the camera during all the stages of your life. It seems like every year the baby, family, engagement, wedding and reunion photos become more profound as our own lives advance and expand personally.
Here is a topless newborn (not even 2 weeks old) in a tutu. Are you in? Paying attention? Well, a little pink lamb is always a good place to start.
But we often form our client relationships at the intention to marry. You fall in love and when you find the right one, you make it official – perhaps. Maybe you just start a life together.
Those images from your engagement and wedding are coveted by parents, grandparents and friends and they become markers in your life story. For many of our couples, kids are the next piece of the puzzle and we love taking maternity, newborn portraits, birthday cake smashes, outdoor photos and photos with the siblings that follow the first kid.
Family’s grow and we love being a part of watching them expand – seeing multiple generations gather for whatever reason.
There are friendships, school milestones, proms and graduations. Again – your family members – those now and those you’ll never meet – will want to see these moments and relish them along with you.
Do people from other regions of the country use the expression, “do life?” I wonder. It feels distinctly Southern, but who knows?
As you do life, no matter what season of life you’re in, we hope that you’ll make time for professional portraits that will put a pin in that particular chapter of your life. Your kids will grow and your family may spread out, you’ll head to college and fall in love or decide to venture forth and want family portraits taken. You’ll also come together for reunions and birthdays. Maybe you just want to document this year in Day in the Life photos. Regardless, we’re here and would love to be the ones to capture this specific moment 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 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 License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
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.
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 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 License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Senior portrait season isn’t too far away and while you’re getting the last use out of the Slip n Slide and charcoal grill, your rising seniors in high school may not be too excited about college applications and their last year classes, but BELIEVE YOU ME, they are excited about being seniors. We all remember it and it’s high energy, high adrenaline excitement, anticipation and fun.
Senior portraits can be buttoned up or casual, zany, elegant, include props, cars, costume changes, a cap and gown – or not – and be taken anywhere you like.
Here are a few more of our favorites.
Planning an outdoor senior portrait session is a win, if the weather behaves. These photos will not only mark a milestone, but can be used as gifts for grandparents, used in your announcement cards, or just become heirlooms. Wear your cap and gown if you have it or just choose your favorite outfits. We’ll handle the poses, help you choose places and if you prefer black and white to color – no problem. These are for you and about you!
You can see more of Paiton, Tiffany and Katie’s senior portraits or visit the Senior section of our blog to see them all. Don’t forget to schedule your session and call us for ideas if you need help.
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 License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.