About Burton Photography | Portrait Photographers in Boone NC
When you work with Burton Photography, you get two photographers who have spent more than thirty years paying close attention to real people. We believe portraits should feel like the people in them and be designed to live in your home, not disappear into a phone gallery.
Burton Photography is a full‑service portrait studio in Boone, North Carolina, specializing in senior portraits, family portraits, and commercial photography throughout the NC High Country.
You can read more about individual sessions in our Portrait Stories.
Our Story
We each chose photography on purpose and then joined forces in 2011. This portrait was created on a trip to Washington, DC where we were creating portraits for a client. Bonnie has her arms full of Clyde Edgerton novels - loved for all of the quirky southern characters inside.
Jonathan began photographing professionally in 1993 and has continued ever since, refining his craft through every change in the industry. Bonnie owned a studio in Winston-Salem before moving to Boone in 2011 to join Jonathan at Burton Photography.
We met at a week-long senior photography seminar, became friends, began collaborating, and eventually married. The studio you see today is the result of those individual paths, a shared life, and many years of paying close attention to real people in front of the camera.
How We Work
There are two photographers involved from start to finish.
We photograph together, plan together, and guide you through viewing and ordering together. That means more angles, more perspectives, and a smoother, more supported experience for you.
Behind the scenes, Bonnie handles much of the email, website, marketing, and social media, while Jonathan manages phone calls, printing, framing, and studio logistics. We both edit and both care deeply about the finished result.
About Bonnie
Bonnie is the extrovert of the duo. She has a gift for helping people relax, listening well, and making even the most camera-shy clients feel comfortable and seen.
Before photography full time, she spent 21 years as a music teacher and choral conductor. That background shows up in the studio: she can read a room, keep a group moving together, and notice small shifts in expression and posture.
She studied voice at Wake Forest University and plays piano, flute, and ukulele. Outside the studio, she teaches pickleball, hikes, collects vintage typewriters, and loves the stories and traditions of Appalachia.
If you see a pink 1967 Mustang named Rosie around Boone, that's Bonnie on the way to or from the studio when the weather is good.
About Jonathan
Jonathan is more introspective, with a quiet, steady presence that clients find reassuring.
He began his professional photography career in 1993 and has photographed thousands of sessions since then. He's often the one you'll talk with on the phone, and he's deeply involved in the craftsmanship that happens after the session, preparing orders, overseeing printing, and making sure frames and finishes look exactly right.
His dedication often goes well beyond what's convenient. For one senior session that needed a star-filled sky, he returned alone later, in the dark, to photograph the real night sky rather than adding something generic in post. That kind of extra effort is simply how he approaches the work.
When he's not photographing, Jonathan enjoys reading, golf, and pickleball.
Our Studio in Boone
Our studio is on the lower level of our home just east of Boone.
It's where we:
- Meet with clients for planning consultations
- Host viewing and ordering appointments
- Prepare, finish, and frame portrait orders
Most of our sessions happen on location, in and around Boone, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and throughout the High Country. The studio is the place where planning, viewing, and production come together, and where we make sure every finished piece is ready to go into your home.
Bonnie likes to say we have a very short commute.
What Matters to Us
We care deeply about who you are and how the finished portraits will live in your home.
Planning is a key part of the experience. We talk with you about:
- Who and what you want to celebrate
- How you imagine using and displaying your portraits
- The spaces in your home where portraits will hang or be seen every day
From there, we design a session with the end result in mind, whether that's a wall grouping, a single statement piece, an album, or a portrait box.
We are a full-service studio. That means we guide you from planning to installation, so your portraits don't end as one more task on your to-do list.
Always Learning, Always Improving
Photography has changed a lot over the years, and we've changed with it. We take continuing education seriously because we want our work to stay strong, not just familiar.
Whether we are attending or presenting, we make time for:
- SYNC (Senior and Youth National Conference)
- PPA's Imaging USA, when our schedule allows
- Smaller workshops every year or so with artists whose work we admire
This rhythm of larger conferences, focused workshops, and ongoing study keeps us growing both artistically and technically. The portraits we create for you benefit from decades of experience plus a continuous commitment to learning and improving.
Recognition and Experience
Burton Photography has served Boone and the High Country for more than thirty years. Along the way, our work has been recognized at the state, district, and national levels, including:
- National Senior Portrait Photographer of the Year at SYNC in 2023 and again in 2026
- Professional Photographers of America Platinum, Gold, and Silver medalist recognitions
- PPA Loan, Showcase, and Merit Images
- Southeast District awards, including Best in State, Best of Show, and category-specific honors
- Awards from Professional Photographers of North Carolina, including Photographer of the Year, Best of Show, and multiple category placements over many years
- Additional recognition from Kodak, Polaroid, Fuji, Canon, and East Coast School
We share these not as a scoreboard, but as a shorthand for the level of craft we bring to our work. The most important recognition to us is the trust families and clients place in us.
Community and Giving Back
We're grateful to be part of the High Country community and believe in giving back. Over the years, we've supported:
- The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation through projects like Portraits on the Parkway
- Local organizations such as the Hope Center and Oasis
- Watauga High School through creative projects like the Thrift Fashion Challenge (now on pause)
These efforts are one of the ways we stay connected to the people and places we photograph.
Life Outside the Studio
When we're not working, you'll often find us walking or hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway, playing pickleball, visiting art museums, making homemade pizza, or traveling to see family and friends across North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. We love Boone and the wider High Country, the scenery, the community, and the life we've built here together.
We'd Love to Meet You
If you're starting to imagine what portraits could look like in your home, we'd love to talk. Tell us what you're imagining and we'll take it from there. We'll walk you through the process from planning to finished portraits, so you feel supported every step of the way and end up with portraits you'll be proud to live with for years.
Ready to start the conversation? We'd be honored to hear what you have in mind.
You can get in touch through our contact page.
burton@NCphotographer.com · 166 Chapel Hills Rd., Boone, NC 28607 · (828) 773-7873
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