Brookgreen Gardens is such a gorgeous old plantation to photograph in. So when Elizabeth at Grand Occasions told me that Tanika & Jeffrey wanted me to photograph their wedding there, I was ECSTATIC!!!

Even though it was a damp day. Tanika & Jeffrey were in good spirits, were awesome to work with, and were such a beautiful couple. I’m so honored that I got to be a part of this special time in their lives. To see the rest of their photos, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Tanika & Jeffrey!!!

Cami & I were able to get out of town and visit her family in Sun City Hilton Head for Easter weekend. It was so nice to just relax and have a change of pace. One afternoon I took their golf cart, grabbed a camera, and just went out on a relaxing photo excursion to capture the beauty of Easter. Enjoy!

Before we left town to spend Easter with Cami’s family, I got to photograph beach portraits for another WONDERFUL family!  Terri & Arthur are from Tampa, FL.  They were all staying on Isle of Palms, but met me at Sullivan’s Island near Station 18 so we could take advantage of the gorgeous natural landscape without any houses in the background. I had a GREAT time with everyone!  And towards the end I found out that their family is growing…Jeffrey & Paula are expecting!!!    What an honor to be a part such family’s lives and document such beautiful occasions…

Spring is the time when we start getting tons of calls for Beach Portraits. One of my FAVORITE families so far this year was the Grindall family. About half the family lives in Virginia. While the other half lives in Ohio. And their Dad works half the year in Main. All too common in today’s transient society…they are rarely together as a family! So we scheduled this fun beach shoot for them while they were vacationing together on Kiawah Island.    

The Sunday after Dave & Melissa’s FABULOUS wedding at Riverfront Park, we met at White Point Gardens do let loose, have fun, and create some unique images in downtown Charleston. Because of the limitations of time and space on the wedding day, and because of the stress associated with the occasion, our couples really enjoy these photo shoots with a fashion flare.

Just like on their wedding day, Dave & Melissa were a BLAST to work with. I love it when couples trust me, have an open mind, and are willing to be adventurous. The last shot of Dave holding Melissa in the shallows of Charleston Bay with the sunset behind them is one of my favorites! Some guys would have looked at me like I was CRAZY when I suggested it. Dave just shrugged his shoulders and said “OK”. I love that guy!!!  Like on the wedding day, Melissa was absolutely stunning!  I can’t wait to update our website with some of these images…

I photographed Melissa & Daniel’s gorgeous wedding about 5 years ago. Imagine my joy when she called to say they were expecting to welcome their first child into the world and wanted me to preserve this special time in their lives! Here are some of my favorites from their Maternity Shoot in Waterfront Park and Charleston’s surrounding French Quarter…

The weather man was calling for horrible thunderstorms last Saturday. But Melissa & Dave kept thinking positive. And sure enough, it ended up being a (windy) but GORGEOUS day to get married!

Melissa’s family is from Irmo, while Dave’s is from Wisconsin. She’s a High-School English Teacher, while he’s a Nuclear Engineer teaching Navy Contractors. They met online and are both fun, adventurous, and full of life. Dave proposed under in their bungalow, with the moon overhead, during a trip to Peru!

They held their intimate wedding ceremony in a quiet clearing in a grove of trees at Riverfront Park. Afterwards, their reception was held at the Runaway Bay restaurant, overlooking the park.

I want to give a HUGE thank you to my friend and fellow photographer, Alice Keeney, for referring Melissa & Dave to me. They all do Cross-Fit together.  Alice was kind enough to give them my name when she was booked for their date.  :-) Voila Events, The Music Maker, and Jim ‘n Nick’s were some of the other folks that help make their Big Day such a success!

Enjoy this slideshow of the story of their day, along with some of my favorites.  Check out the rest of their images at www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.  CONGRATULATIONS, Melissa & Dave! You guys are an AMAZING couple!!!

Melissa & Kevin enjoy good food, good wine, and good company. In fact when they were engaged and looking for a wedding photographer in Charleston, they heard our name from Gary & Cheryl Lenoard while on a wine walk. I had photographed both the Leonard’s daughter’s weddings…and it was so nice of them to recommend us. The best part is, the moment Melissa, Kevin, and I met…we KNEW we were a great fit. I love all their ideas and can’t WAIT to be there on their wedding day!!! Anyway, because of their love of wine, they got permission to do their Engagement Session at Irvin-House Vineyards after hours. What a FANTASTIC place to photograph in. We had a blast (in spite of the No-See-ums) and came out with some wonderful photographs. Here are just a few of my favorites!

WHAT IS A NO-SEE-UM?   Family Ceratopogonidae, No-See-ums are tiny biting flies that often live near water.  You often see many of them swarming together in a cloud.  Keep your mouth shut or you might breathe some in or swallow them!  (It won’t hurt you, but it will probably make you cough.)   Biting midges are called no-see-ums because they’re so tiny that it is hard to see ‘um.  No-see-ums are less than ¼ of an inch long.  

WHERE DO NO-SEE-UMS LIVE?  They often stay in shrubs or the thick layer of dead leaves that naturally covers the ground.  Scrubbing your feet around in the leaves is a good way to get them stirred up.  Don’t do it!   Most no-see-ums never fly more than 350 feet from their breeding area, so if they’re bothering you, you might be able to get away from them by moving a few yards

WHY DO NO-SEE-UMS BITE?   Only the females bite and suck blood.  They need the protein in this blood to make their eggs.  No-see-ums will take blood from mammals, birds, and reptiles.  Male no-see-ums are nectar feeders and do not bite.  While the bite is not painful, it becomes very itchy.   Try not to scratch the bites; it makes them itch longer and can make the bites get infected. 

HOW CAN YOU AVOID NO-SEE-UM BITES?  The best way to avoid getting bitten by no-see-ums is to wear insect repellent when you are outside in the spring, summer, and fall.  Also, move quickly away from the areas where they’re swarming.  If you get far enough away, they won’t follow you.

HOW DO YOU AVOID GETTING THEM IN YOUR ENGAGEMENT PORTRAITS?  Here in the Lowcountry, that’s pretty much impossible this time of year if you’re shooting in the evening, at a vineyard, near wetlands, surrounded by bushes and trees, and you have to hold still long enough to get the shot…which is just long enough for them to seek you out and attack! 

HOW DO YOU GET RID OF THEM?  Aside from lots of bug repellent…in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, open the Develop Module and press “Q” to bring up the “No-See-um Remover” tool…also known as the Spot Removal tool. 

I had this AWESOME Engagement Portrait Session with Melissa & Kevin the other day.  By the end of the shoot we were getting attacked pretty hard…even more than usual for this time of year.  And since I often back-light my subjects for a little extra kick, the backlighting makes the No-See-ums stand out even more.  So the Spot Removal tool has become my friend.  Here is an example of how many of those crazy critters I had to take out of a few shots.  Melissa & Kevin were so much fun to work with!  They were such troopers and so adventurous…climbing in trees, sitting on the grass, wading into water…they were willing to try anything to get a great shot!  As a result, we were rewarded with some AWESOME images.  This was the last shot of the day and one of my favorites.  More to come soon…