Cami & I are members of C3. Last weekend Pastor Randy asked us to do a few snapshots of everyone that’s involved in a ministry position at the church. So we had a little fun with it…brought a colorful seamless background Sunday morning, set up the Creative Lighting System, and did a full-on fashion photo shoot. I shot with one of the Nikon D3’s tethered to a laptop, then transferred images to the media team to add bio info and project on the screen. As you can see, everyone let loose and really had a great time! Pastor Randy just started a new series called “Big Questions, Real Answers”. You’re welcome to join us!!!
“All I can say is WOW!!!!! It looks amazing!!!! It is above and beyond what I had expected. We are extremely pleased with what you have done.”Cami & I finished designing another beautiful Storybook the other day for Jennifer & Robert. This was Jennifer’s reaction. J I had such a wonderful time at their wedding. Jennifer & Robert are just the coolest couple in the world! Sometimes when we’re in the design stages, pages just seem to connect and the story of their day just flows together beautifully. See more from their wedding at https://chrisandcami.com/blog/2010/05/05/jennifer-robert-at-the-unitarian-church/. Here are a few pages from their book.
“Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies.”
– Gene Hill
Cami & I are animal lovers. She volunteers with the Charleston Animal Society. Plus we recently started donating our services to the Low Country Retriever Rescue organization by photographing Goldens that are looking for a new home. This is Mimi. She’s been abused, shot at, and found wandering the highways all alone. But you would not believe what a sweetheart she is…not a mean bone in her body even after all that! We adopted our beautiful Marley from the LCRR and encourage you to do the same. (Check out his picture at https://chrisandcami.com/blog/2009/08/28/introducing-marley-2/.)
Most of you know I’m one of the Official Photographers of the Family Circle Cup. Last year I had the honor of meeting a fabulous sports writer by the name of Bobby Chintapalli! She was terrific to work with and a pleasure to be around. She just emailed me a link to this article she wrote for Charleston Magazine because she realized the photo they used was one of mine. Thanks Bobby!
Did you know Irish author Bram Stoker based his horror novel ‘Dracula’ on the fifteenth century Wallachian Prince, Vlad Dracul of Romania? So many photos from my trip to Romania last month…still trying to find time to edit & share them all! J Here’s a few scenes from the streets. Enjoy!
I met Jessica & Tevin at the beautiful cove by the historic Morris Island Lighthouse on FollyBeach the other to photograph their Engagement Session. It was looking a little dicy with the weather. But between my enthusiasm and their energy, we decided to go for it! About half way out I bumped into my good friends and fellow photographers, Jennifer Bearden, and Tammy & Kevin Bevins, both heading back in from their family sessions. Jennifer even gave me a hard time about the plastic ziploc baggies I had covered my remote flashes with in case they got wet! But I knew that days like these often yield magical bursts of dramatic light before the sun bids fairwell for the night. WOW did we get one of those bursts!!! ABSOLUTELY awesome skies for an absolutely wonderful couple. In fact we had so much fun towards the end that I can’t even show you some of the steamier shots from the end of the shoot…J
It’s not uncommon for Cami & I to hear of someone that’s decided to let their friend, uncle, or cousin photograph their wedding. This might be due to budgetary concerns or that the friend or relative wants to break into the photography business and needs portfolio material. While we totally understand these reasons, we encourage couples to consider all possible outcomes and be truly certain that this is what they want before making the final call.
There are definitely some wonderfully talented friends and relatives out there. Plus advancements in camera technology make it easier for part-timers to get descent shots on occasion. Just know that there IS a difference in hiring a full-time professional to cover a once-in-a-lifetime event! While both can certainly point and push a button. Only a professionally trained full-time photographer is going to create a high percentage of visually stunning images every single time. Put the most advanced camera in front of an untrained eye and you get cave drawings. Put a point-n-shoot into a master’s hands and you end up with a Rembrandt!
We are long-time members of the Professional Photographers of America. Check out this PPofA video featuring Jeff & Julia Woods. Cami & I frequently attend lectures, do workshops, and train with high-end professionals from around the country like Jeff & Julia in order to hone our craft. Simply having professional photography degrees isn’t enough. We are constantly striving for perfection and pushing to fill our pool of knowledge to overflowing.
Friday night I met a really great family for a beach shoot we’d planned at Folly. Unfortunately, weather didn’t cooperate and we had to reschedule. That’s the FIRST TIME that’s happened to me in like six months or more! L As I was starting my drive home I saw a scene that just stopped me in my tracks. Braving the crazy winds, drizzly rain, and distant lightning, I ran out and grabbed a couple timed exposure of a rarely deserted beach.
Cami & I are members of the Professional Photographer of America (PPA) and always attend their annual Imaging USA Conference & Trade Show. Last year I had one of my images featured at the show and on the cover of their Action News Magazine. (Check it out here: https://chrisandcami.com/blog/?s=Imaging+USA). This year, it turns out their using a shot of us from last year’s show at Nashville in an add promoting the 2011 show in Santa Fe! That’s me in the green shirt in the central photo, getting a kiss from my friend and fellow photographer, Kate McKinley on the left, and Cami, my lovely bride and boss, on the right. J Pretty funny!!! Thanks to Robbin Knight and Jebb Graff for pointing out my ugly mug is plastered on a national magazine…HA!
Last weekend, Jim & Shelby hosted one big CRAZY PARTY at the I’On Creek Club!!! Oh, and they also got married. J The amazing Stacey at Red Letter Events coordinated everything. Fred & Rob filled the air with soulfull sounds during the ceremony. DJ Rob Duren rocked the house at the reception. Granvilles Catering served the masses in style. Paula from Buy The Bunch infused a gorgeous pallete of color. And Ashley Bakery created a work of art for desert. Check out the fun Music Video of Jim & Shelby’s day at www.chrisandcami.com/blog. Then head over to www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com to see the rest of the “evidence” of their beautiful event.
One of the reasons for going to Romania was because I had offered my services to photograph the children in the orphanage at Campulung. These kids had probably never had a professional portrait taken of them in their lives. As we all know, having a great portrait of yourself can do wonders for your self-esteem! What better way to share with someone who speaks a different language than you do, that they are loved unconditionally and that they are uniquely and wonderfully made, than to give them a beautiful portrait of themselves?!? So I brought a small lighting kit with 2-Manfrotto 5001B light stands, 2-Westcott Collapsible Umbrellas, and 2-SB800 strobes. All of this stored perfectly into my ultra-compact lighting kit, which you can see here with the rest of the gear I took: https://chrisandcami.com/blog/2010/07/30/packing-for-romania/. I used a white window curtain with the sun back-lighting it for a nice high-key background. Along with this setup, we brought a small Canon Selphy die-sub printer, thanks to Erika. I set my D3 up so that one CF card slot was recording RAW files, and the other was recording a duplicate medium sized JPG file. As I photographed each child, Terry would take the card with the JPG image, help them pick out their favorite, and instantly pop out a print for them. Then Erika would take it over and help them place it in one of the colorful frames she’d brought. They LOVED IT!!! We were so blessed to see the excitement on their faces as they walked out and showed their portrait to their friends. J
One day while we were in Romania we visited a GypsyVillage. It really touched my heart to see the conditions these people live in. They were so kind and gracious, allowing me to photograph them, photograph their families. One lady even came up to me and motioned for me to follow her. We wound our way back through the shacks to HER shack. It was a humble one-bedroom home…but it was HER home and she wanted her portrait in front of it! I was honored to oblige.
