Last night I had the pleasure of photographing the inaugural “Battle of the Ballroom” for the Charleston County School District (CCSD), and WOW… what an amazing evening! This “Dancing with the Stars” style production brought together CCSD leaders, community partners, and local celebrities for an unforgettable night of dancing, fun, and support for Charleston students. The event raised an incredible $175,000 to support important CCSD initiatives, including Universal Pre-K and literacy efforts throughout the district. It was fantastic to see so many people come together to support education while having a great time doing it!
And there were certainly plenty of familiar faces on the dance floor! Charleston Mayor William Cogswell, North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess, Charleston Police Chief Chito Walker, retired NFL player Roger Jackson, and numerous other community leaders and personalities traded their day jobs for dancing shoes. Congratulations to Northwoods Middle School Principal Bentli Lewis and her partner Peter Snow, who took home the coveted mirrorball trophy as the overall champions! Roger Jackson and Diane Ross won the People’s Choice award, while Chief Chito Walker and Meechy earned Best Costume honors. Erin Fisher and Artur Malakyan also received recognition for raising the most money for the cause. What a fun—and incredibly generous—group of competitors!
Photographing the Battle of the Ballroom proved to be quite a challenge! The Charleston Music Hall provided a beautiful setting, but the combination of dim theater lighting and the explosive action of the dancers made getting sharp images a monumental task. I had to crank the ISO all the way up to 12,800 to achieve a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. Fortunately, my Nikon Z9 cameras were more than up to the task! I used the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 II, Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 II, and Viltrox 14mm f/4 to capture everything from dramatic super-wide views of the theater to tight, action-packed images of the performers.
I absolutely love being a Charleston event photographer, and assignments like this are a big reason why! After more than 25 years as a full-time professional photographer, I still get excited when I walk into an event and have to figure out how to capture it in a way that tells the complete story. I’m proud to be one of the highest-rated Charleston event photographers, and I’m always honored when organizations choose me to document their special events. From galas and fundraisers to corporate events, conferences, school events, and celebrations, I love what I do. If you’re searching for photographers in Charleston SC or a destination event photographer to capture your next event, I’d love to put my experience and enthusiasm to work for you!
