Paulina & Ben’s Engagement

You may remember Paulina & Ben from one of the most unique secret proposals I’ve ever had the honor of capturing: https://chrisandcami.com/ben-proposes-to-paulina-at-the-holiday-festival-of-lights/. Fast forward to springtime, when I had the pleasure of photographing their beautiful engagement photos last evening!!!

We met up at White Point Garden to take advantage of the gorgeous spring sunshine, and the amazing backdrops that this historic park and surrounding neighborhood has to offer. To make it extra special, Paulina & Ben brought their adorable 2 year-old Goldendoodle, Cooper. We all know what a big dog-lover Cami is. So of course she jumped at the chance to join us so she could play with Cooper when we didn’t need him. šŸ™‚

For this session, I brought the flagship Nikon Z9, coupled with the incredibly versatile new 24-120 f4 Z-mount lens. This lens is in such high demand that it’s very hard to get. I’m lucky to have it in the bag! Attaching the WR-R11 wireless transmitter to the Z9 allowed me full control of the off-camera SB-5000 when needed.

We had an absolute BLAST exploring downtown Charleston and strolling along The Battery, photographing tons of great shots as we went! Paulina & Ben are such a perfect couple. I can’t wait to photograph their FABULOUS wedding!!!

Nina & Brendan are Expecting!!!

It has been such a joy for me to capture Brendan’s surprise proposal to Nina (https://chrisandcami.com/brendans-surprises-nina-with-a-proposal/), photograph their beautiful wedding (https://chrisandcami.com/nina-brendan-at-holy-trinity-greek-orthodox-church/), and now preserve this truly miraculous time in their journey as they prepare to bring a new life into this amazing world.

CONGRATULATIONS Nina & Brendan! You two are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! šŸ™‚

Prapas Family at Rainbow Row

I had so much fun photographing Alex & Anastasia’s beautiful Greek wedding several years ago: https://chrisandcami.com/anastasia-alex-are-married-at-the-greek-orthodox-church/. So I was SUPER excited when Anastasia called to ask if I would photograph their first family portraits!

Adorable Elora came into their lives just over 7 months ago. She is the sweetest girl with the most captivating smile. We literally had other families and tourists walking by that would stop to watch and grin (and even jump in to make goofy faces and silly baby sounds)…all because of Elora’s incredible cuteness!!!

Strolling around the colorful Rainbow Row, the cobblestone streets by Waterfront Park, and the old historic alleys gave us tons of great backdrops.

It was so much fun catching up with Alex & Anastasia…and getting to know their beautiful daughter! They are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! And I can’t wait to watch Elora grow up to be another wonderful human like her parents.

Cohen Family on Kiawah Island

I’ve had so much fun communicating with The Cohens to plan the perfect family portrait session for them.

Marilyn and Steve love their kids to pieces, and are so excited to have this wonderful reunion with them on Kiawah Island. But honestly, I think they are even more excited to have some special bonding time with their adorable grandson! šŸ™‚

We met up at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, near where they are staying for Spring Break. It was a beautiful evening. Little Ryan was adorable. We all had a BLAST!!! And we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset!

Murray Family on IOP

I absolutely LOVE photographing repeat family sessions each year. It’s so much fun to watch the kids grow, see them come out of their shell, and experience their personalities blossoming!

Last night I met up with the Murray family once again at a beach house on Isle of Palms. I couldn’t believe how tall Parker had gotten in just one year!!! I also got to meet Anne’s sister and their family, which was awesome. It’s always fun to see families vacationing together and see the grandparents glowing with love for their grandkids!

We had a beautiful evening with gorgeous light to work with. Everyone had a great time as we captured a variety of fond memories together!

Sarah & Cody’s Maternity Session at Hampton Park

Maaany years ago in another lifetime, one of our bestest friends at High-Purity Standards was an adorable young lady named Andrea. Although we don’t see her as much anymore, we’ve never lost touch with the fond memories of our time together. So it was SUPER excited when Cody told me he’d gotten our name from Andrea! šŸ™‚

Cody was calling to schedule a maternity portrait session for his beautiful wife, Sarah! She had broken her foot recently. They weren’t sure how it would work. But they really wanted to capture this special time in their lives! We picked Hampton Park as a beautiful backdrop with easy access to get Sarah around in a wheelchair since she still wasn’t allowed to put weight on her foot.

It turned out to be a GORGEOUS day!!! Sarah was absolutely stunning in her flowing hunter-green maternity gown, which really brought out her beautiful green eyes. Cody was awesome and clearly so proud to be a first-time Dad. I can just tell these two are going to be the most incredible parents to this wonderful child when it arrives next month. šŸ™‚

CONGRATULATIONS Sarah & Cody! We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new family together.

Leslie & Colton’s Rainbow Row Engagement Session

I owe a HUGE thank you to Pam at First Citizens Bank for referring us to Leslie & Colton!

Leslie works at First Citizens. So after Colton proposed to her and she started looking for a photographer, Pam gave her our information. I am SO GLAD she did because these two are an AMAZING couple!!!

We met up at the famous pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park. Wandering through the French Quarter, up to Rainbow Row, and back down the cobblestone streets of Adgers Wharf gave us so many beautiful backdrops to work with. Our grand finale on the dock overlooking Charleston Harbor and the iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge coincided with the last glow of daylight. It was a PERFECT day with two beautiful human beings! I’m so honored that I got to meet and work with these two!!!

Leslie & Colton, we wish all the happiness in the world as you begin this new journey together…

Early Morning Headshots for East Cooper Medical Center

After a wet and dreary couple days, it sure was great to have beautiful early morning sunlight for my photo session this Friday!

Tenet Physician Resources coordinated with me to set up at the Dodds Durst House to photograph a new team member for the East Cooper Medical Center. Rachel was a lot of fun to work with! She’s from Tennessee and joins the team as a nurse practitioner. She loves the doctor she’s working for.Ā  And the staff has made her feel right at home.

Using the warm early morning rays as a hair light, I augmented the natural sunlight with 4 speedlights. I attached a CTO gel on one Flashpoint, and placed it behind Rachel as a rim light to help even out the sun. The other three were mounted inside a Neewer octobox and placed on the opposite side from the sun to act as fill light and create a nice catch-light in the eyes. All images were shot on the new Nikon Z9 with 70-200 f2.8 VRII lens (using the FTZII adapter). Camera and lighting supports were provided by Manfrotto.Ā  ISO 250, f4.0, 1/160 sec.

CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel on joining a fantastic team!!!

High-Key Headshots

I had a great time this morning photographing headshots for some new team members at Bridge Commercial!

I fired an SB-5000 flash onto the white backdrop to create a super-clean high-key look. The main light consisted of 2 SB-5000 flashes firing into a 60″ Westcott umbrella. The fill light was another 60″ Westcott umbrella with 1 SB-5000 in it. I used Manfrotto supports for the camera and speedlights. The camera of choice was a D5 with 70-200 f2.8 VRII, shooting tethered to my Lenovo laptop, set at ISO 400, f5.6,Ā  and 1/200 sec.

Johnson Family on Isle of Palms

Remember a little while back when I shared Hunter & Sydney’s AMAZING surprise proposal?!?Ā  https://chrisandcami.com/hunter-sydneys-surprise-proposal-at-white-point-garden/.

Well, Hunter got is papers and was deployed to a submarine based on the west coast. He’s been hard at work, preserving our freedom and serving his country with honor! Now his ship is returning to port and it’s time for Sydney to join him.

Before Sydney and her mom embark on a big cross-country trip to get her moved to California, they wanted to get one last family portrait session together! We met at The Citadel Beach Club on Isle of Palms on a beautiful blue-sky day. Everyone looked amazing! We had so much fun capturing a variety of shots of Sydney and her sisters, the family together, and of course their adorable grandson, Tanner!

Sydney, we wish you all the best for a safe journey and a joyful reunion with your best friend and the love of your life, Hunter!

Lucas Surprises Callie with a Secret Proposal

I got a call over a month ago from Jamey who was interested in booking a family photo session…with a twist! Jamey and her family were going to be vacationing on Isle of Palms. She wanted me to photograph their family portraits on the beach. At the same time, her oldest son, Lucas, was going to be proposing to his longtime girlfriend. She wanted to know if that could even be done, and how we might work it out so that Callie didn’t suspect anything. After sharing some ideas with Jamie, and talking it over with Lucas, a doubly-devious plan was hatched! šŸ™‚

Lucas invited Callie to join his family on their beach vacation. Jamie booked the family portrait session with me, and told everyone (including Callie) what day and time they were all expected to be dressed and ready for photos. Arriving for the shoot that afternoon, I rang the bell at their beautiful beach house, and went inside to meet everyone. As introductions were being made, Jamey explained that she wasn’t ready yet and to go ahead and start with a few couple’s photo of Lucas & Callie. Callie & Lucas had just bought a house together, and had talked about getting a few photos of them made during the family session that they could hang in their new home. So this all seemed totally natural to Callie.

After photographing a nice variety of couple’s shots for them, I suggested some casual candids of them holding hands and walking down the beach. We picked a spot where they would turn around. This was Lucas’ cue. He and I had pre-arranged which side he would walk on, which way he would turn, and how to drop to one knee at the turning point to completely catch Callie off guard.

It worked like MAGIC!!! Lucas did a fabulous job of hitting his mark. Callie was completely surprised by the whole thing!Ā  And I just fired away, catching every moment of the excitement!Ā  After she said “YES”, Callie & Lucas came back down the beach towards me. At this point, Luca’s parents and his younger brother, who were all hiding back at the boardwalk, came running out to join them and congratulate them!

We still had plenty of light left to photograph a variety of family portraits. And we capped off the session with some gorgeous shots of Lucas & Callie (with a sparkly new diamond on her finger) in the dramatic setting sun. BUT WAIT!!! The surprise wasn’t over yet!

After we got back to the beach house, Lucas told Callie she should go ahead and call her parents to let them know the good news. Little did Callie know, her parents had secretly arrived in town the day before. While I was out photographing the “couples photos”, Jamey called them to say the coast was clear. They then snuck into the house while we were doing the family photos, and hid upstairs. When Callie face-timed her Mom, she answered and pretended she didn’t have a clue. Thinking her parents were miles away in Georgia, Callie excitedly began sharing the “big news” of how Lucas had asked her to marry him.Ā  While she was mid-sentence, Callie’s parents magically appeared on the staircase coming down towards her!!! The look of utter disbelief on her face was simply priceless!

What an AMAZING honor it was to capture Lucas’ Surprise Proposal to Callie!!!Ā  Congratulations to Jamey and Lucas for pulling off a massive DOUBLE surprise! Ā And CONGRATULATIONS to Callie & Lucas!!! They are an absolutely adorable couple! We wish them all the happiness in the world as they begin this new journey together…

Animal Eye-Detect with the Nikon Z9

As most of you know, Cami has a HUGE heart and absolutely adores loving on every dog she meets!

This week, she’s been watching over Callie & Jax, whos owners are away for a much-needed vacation. She asked me if I wanted to come over to their house tonight to take a few pictures of these beautiful dogs for the owners. Not having had a chance to test out the Animal Eye-Detection mode of the new Z9, I jumped at the idea! Don’t worry, I didn’t do it for free…Cami rewarded me with a delicious Thai dinner, asparagus, and quinoa with brown rice. šŸ™‚

But I had to earn my meal. So we went out to their back yard and I got to work. With the Z9 set to back-button AF, using Dynamic Area Auto-Focus mode, and choosing Animal Eye-Detect, any time I pointed the the camera towards Callie or Jax, it immediately snapped right onto their eyes. It was absolutely magical! The early evening light was spectacular. And we came away with some fun images for Callie & Jax’s owners to enjoy when they get home. šŸ™‚

Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII + FTZII adapter