Author: Chris Smith

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of photographing one of the state’s most notable trial lawyer, Richard A. Harpootlian, P.A.  The assignment was from Super Lawyers Magazine, which I’ve appreciated an excellent relationship with over the years, and always enjoy working for.  Here are a few of the images from the shoot.

The 3rd image is a location-shot, demonstrating the placement of my lights for an image of the lawyers standing in the lobby, photographed down the leading lines of the staircase.  All images were photographed with a Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70 f2.8, and multiple SB-800 Speedlights.  Each Speedlight was controlled via an SB-900 in Master mode, using RadioPopper PX transmitters.  Enjoy!

Danielle & Matt are a FABULOUS couple from our old stomping grounds in Ohio. But they are planning a destination wedding in Myrtle Beach next year. When they found out I was going to be in Myrtle Beach last weekend, photographing a couple fun weddings with the uber-talented Elizabeth Hodges of Grand Occasions, it worked out perfectly to do their photo shoot while I was there. They had arranged to meet Elizabeth (who’s also doing their wedding!) to visit vendors and make plans for THEIR big day.

We decided to meet at the historic Atalaya Castle ruins on the grounds of Huntington Beach State Park. This place is AMAZING…so much character…such a great backdrop for photographs. We had a BLAST and came away with some awesome images. In spite of driving most of the night to get there, I loved Danielle & Matt’s energy and excitement. I can’t wait to work with them again on their wedding day!!! 🙂

Breeana & Andy are my kind of couple!!! They are so laid back, full of energy, and fun to be around. The chemistry between these two is something special. I can’t WAIT to photograph their Big Day! 🙂

Since they love to be outdoors, enjoy hunting and fishing, and spend much of their free time walking on the beach or out on the water. So it was fitting that they planned their VERY COOL engagement session to take place in Charleston Harbor!

I love it when a bride has a unique and meaningful location that she wants for her Bridal Portraits! Cherry Point, on Wadmalaw Island, is one of those gorgeous low-country gems that’s off the beaten path. It’s near a boat landing that she and Daniel sometimes use for their outings. So she has a lot of great memories there.  Her sister, Allison, joined us to help out. We had a lot of fun and came away with so many beautiful images to showcase Elizabeth’s perfect dress!

Elizabeth & Daniel and I have so many cosmic threads that connect us together! And ALL of them are definitely in my FAVORITES category for best brides and grooms ever. So a HUGE thank you goes out to Elizabeth & Andy (who was in their wedding), Lindsay (who was also in their wedding) & Brannon, Anna & Jarred, and the soon-to-be Lauren & Jimmy. 🙂 It was so great to see you all again and catch up throughout Elizabeth & Daniel’s exciting event.  And now, I can whole-heartedly say the Elizabeth & Daniel have been added to that category!!!

Elizabeth & Daniel’s beautiful day started out on Isle of Palms where the ceremony was held on the beach in front of a private beach house with a long boardwalk to the beach. What a fitting venue for these two, who love the sand and the surf, enjoy boating together, and are always exploring the great outdoors! They even had their gorgeous golden retriever, Buddy, in the wedding party. 🙂

Their high-energy reception followed at the Cottage on the Creek, where Daniel’s band mates kept the party hoppin’. At one point, he even performed a cameo appearance on drums, much to every-one’s enjoyment! The amazing Stephanie Gibbs of SweetGrass Events kept everything moving as smooth as ever. And at the end of the night, Elizabeth & Daniel fittingly made their grand escape by boat, gliding down Shem Creek and into the calm night.

To see more of their fabulous wedding, head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Elizabeth & Daniel!!!

Second Monday Lecture Series | September 12 | 7 p.m.|
Chris Smith

On Monday, September 12, at 7 pm, the Charleston Center for Photography will welcome Chris Smith, of Chris and Cami Photography, as he shares his pictures from his latest trip to Tanzania. Born to missionary parents in Zaire, Africa, Chris developed a passion for photography in high-school.  By 10th grade, he was winning awards.  He continued to study the craft in college, receiving his photography degree from the New York Institute of Photography.

Chris & Cami moved to Charleston and now run a successful studio in this historic seaside town.  They have photographed politicians like former president George Bush and Senator John Kerry, celebrities like the B-52s and Steve Harvey, Gold Medalists like Pete Sampras and Misty May-Treanor, Superstars like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, and business leaders like the CEO of GE and the president of Crayon.  Their work has been featured in publications like Family Circle Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Charleston Magazine, and Tennis Magazine. Chris & Cami love to travel and have photographed destination weddings, wildlife, and travel photos around the globe in places like South America, The Caribbean, Europe, Australia, and Africa.  Not only is Chris a passionate photographer, but he imbues that passion to attendees of his Workshops and Private Mentor Sessions.  His popular Lightbending 411 Workshops in destinations like Denver, Greenville, and Maine are routinely sold out.  And his Private Mentor Sessions, designed for photographers looking to take their artistry to the next level, have been enjoyed by professionals from as far away as Ohio.  Chris & Cami also team up to lead Global Photo Adventures to exotic locations like St. Thomas, Costa Rica, Romania, and Tanzania.

 

After rushing their grand-daughter to the Nason Medical Center the day before, and being up all night with her, the Roberts family still met up with me Thursday morning for their photo shoot. We were blessed with an uncharacteristically cool August morning, a gentle ocean breeze, beautiful light, and a little girl who was just as adorable as could be! 🙂

Kate & Dan are friends with Tara & Will, who’s wedding I photographed last year, was featured on The Wedding Row. Kate wrote: “Tara had nothing but great things to say about you, so with a personal recommendation plus the awesome photography I’ve seen in both her photos and on your website, I’d love to go ahead and have you pencil us in for that date.” YAY! 🙂

When we met, Kate was a dentist in Richmond, VA, and Dan was in his last year of orthodontic residency there. Since then, they’ve moved back to South Carolina, where they run their own practice. What a great year of new beginnings for Kate & Dan!  I’m so happy for you guys.

I met up with the girls at the Jacob Bond House, which is a really cool little inn in I’On.  Their ceremony was at the gorgeous St. Luke’s Chapel…easily one of my favorite ceremony locations in Charleston. And their reception was at the I’On Creek Club…certainly one of my favorite reception sites. Ad to that the fact that Kate & Dan are as good looking as Ken & Barbie (but TWICE as fun)…and we had the makings for one of my favorite weddings of the year!

To top things off, they had selected an A-list of some of the best vendors in town. The always-polished Doug Farmer performed their ceremony. The string trio from Classical Charleston filled the sanctuary with melody. Flowers by Frankie provided her usual beautiful floral artistry. Dave Gilbert of Paty Time DJ rocked the reception. The delicious food was prepared by Jacob’s Kitchen.  And Stephanie Gibbs of Sweetgrass Events kept the day flowing as smooth as silk.

CONGRATULATIONS Kate & Dan!!! We wish you all the best for a beautiful new journey together. 🙂

Suzanne is a Charleston girl. But when her best friend, Jeana, took her to visit her family in Iowa, she met her brother, MJ. Somebody sprinkled a little fairy dust on them…and Suzanne stayed in Iowa. 😉

Suzanne is amazingly talented and creative. So she and Jeana planned the did almost everything themselves for the beautiful, intimate, and organic wedding at Cypress Gardens. Suzanne even made her own wedding gown!!! MJ’s pretty handy himself, and made the giant wind-chime alter where they got married.

CONGRATULATIONS Suzanne & MJ! You guys are AWESOME!!!

I had the privilege of photographing a very intimate and elegant wedding in a romantic clearing in the woods at Cypress Gardens last weekend for Suzanne & MJ.
As soon as I saw the ceremony site, I immediately knew I wanted to mount a remote camera somewhere in the trees. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ladder. So how do I get the camera up where I want it?!? I simply found a long tree branch in the woods and Bogen Super Clamped my Nikon D300 with Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye lens onto that. Then I carefully leaned that branch up against the tree behind the alter, securing it between a couple branches so that it wouldn’t fall. This gave me the angle for the “look” that I wanted, which my friend and wonderful photographer, LeRoy Mazyck calls the “Angel-Cam”.

As always, I connected a PocketWizard to the remote camera using a Flash Zebra pre-release cable. And I connected a second PocketWizard to one of my hand-held Nikon D3s using a Flash Zebra pc cable. Whenever I wanted to take a picture with the Angel Cam, I flipped on the PocketWizard and took a shot with my camera…simultaneously triggering the remote camera. Fun stuff!!! 🙂

One question I get asked a lot is why I shoot with two identical cameras.

There are several reasons of course. The most obvious being that I have an instant backup should a mechanical issue ever arise. Another one that’s high on my list is the fact that I can keep different focal length lenses on each body.  It’s way faster to just pick up the other camera than it is to swap lenses in clutch situations.

A third, less obvious reason, is because the second camera is a great storage device for a second flash! I shoot with two Nikon D3 bodies, each mounted with a Nikon SB-900. So when I find myself stuck in a museum, photographing the bride and her wedding party getting ready, with no windows for natural light, horrible orange incandescent spot lights pointed straight down, and a black ceiling preventing me from bouncing my flash…I have options! Sure I could just say “it is what it is” and just use my on-camera flash to take “adequate” photos. Or, I could use my second camera as a mini-tripod, flip the switch on that SB-900 to Remote mode, and introduce some depth and dimension into my images with a little “kicker” light to compliment my on-camera flash.

Kate & Dan were married last weekend. So now that Dan has seen Kate in her wedding gown, I can FINALLY share some of her really cool Bridal Portraits from last month at Boone Hall Plantation!!! 🙂 I thought she did an AMAZING job. And as we’re in the middle of editing their wedding photos, I can tell those are going to be amazing as well…