USGC 61st Board of Delegates Meeting – Day 3

Day 3 of the US Grains Council’s 61st Annual Board of Delegates Meeting kicked off with more meetings in the big conference room, including great presentations, awards ceremonies, and votes for new officers.

Then I got to switch gears and turn to photographing headshots of the new board members, plus group photos of the new board of directors. I used the Nikon D5 + 70-200 f2.8 with the new Godox X2T transmitter in connection with 6 of the V860II flashes.Ā  For destination events, I carry the Manfrotto 5001B light-stands, which are super compact and great to travel with. The flashes worked beautifully, and everyone was fantastic to work with!

Once the portraits were done, I had to pack in a hurry and head to the airport to catch my flight home. The entire event was a HUGE success!!! Many thanks to the US Grains Council Staff for all their hard work putting everything together and making it run so smoothly.

USGC 61st Board of Delegates Meeting – Day 2

Day 2 of the US Grains Council’s 61st Annual Board of Delegates Meeting started off with headshots for some new staff members. I love meeting new people!!! šŸ™‚

After that we had tons of presentations, both in person and virtually. This was the first year of hosting a “hybrid” meeting, in which most of the international staff and attendees couldn’t be there in person. Everything went incredibly well thanks to all the hard work and planning that had been put into the conference!

At the end of the day, everyone celebrated in an off-site event. The USGC hosted “A Taste of Des Moines” at Cowles Commons, which is a big beautiful square with fountains and gardens in the heart of the city. There was food, drinks, an amazing band…everyone had a fantastic time!

With Day 2 in the books, everyone headed back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for the big finale the following day.

USGC 61st Board of Delegates Meeting – Day 1

Last year’s Board of Delegates Meeting got cancelled due to the pandemic. So it was with great pleasure that I was invited back to photograph the US Grains Council’s 61st Annual Board of Delegates Meeting this year!!!

This year’s conference was held in Des Moines, IA. I’d never been there before. It’s actually a really cool city, with a truly impressive state capital building! The meetings were held in the Iowa Events Center, which was connected via a sky-bridge to the Hilton Des Moines Downtown, where everyone was staying. The first day’s highlight was the keynote presentaion by Tom Vilsack, the US Secretary of Agriculture!

I’ve been photographing these conferences for the USGC for about a decade. The staff, and most of the members, have become more than just clients to me…they’ve become my friends. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone again, and capture all these moments for them!

Headshots for Clawson & Staubes in Columbia

I always enjoy working with Clawson & Staubes, photographing marketing material, images for their website, and headshots of new attorneys.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing Deidra at the Columbia office! She graduated from the University of South Carolina law program. So we decided to meet at The Horseshoe, a famous lawn on the USC Columbia campus with tons of beautiful backdrops to choose from. I had a great time getting to know Deidra as we walked the campus and captured a wonderful variety of images for her to choose from.

(All images shot with Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, Nikon SB5000 Speedlight, Godox softbox, Manfrotto supports, and Sony XQD memory.)

Please help me welcome this wonderful young lady to the Clawson and Staubes team!!!
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Headshots for Elliott Davis

The pandemic put a halt to “on-location” shoots for a lot of my clients. Many firms like had employees sheltering and working from home. Plus visits from outside vendors like us were put on hold. But as folks get vaccinated and things open back up, business is slowly returning to normal!

It was so great to be back at Elliott Davis yesterday and to see their employees back in the office! Last time I was there, the place was a ghost town with only essential workers coming in. It was nice to hear the “buzz” of happy interactions and fun laughter echoing down the halls as I updated headshots for a number of new employees that have joined since things went on lockdown.

All images shot with Nikon D5 with Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 tethered to Adobe Lightroom on a Lenovo laptop. Supports and tripod provided by Manfrotto. Lighting created by 4 SB-5000 flashes bouncing through 2 Westcott shoot-through umbrellas. ISO 400, f5.0, 1/250s.
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Daniel Island Recreation Center

Architecture is another form of art. As a photographer, I always appreciate the clean lines, balanced aesthetics, and creative details in really good architecture. That’s why I REALLY enjoy working with Rush Dixon Architects! Rush and Judy truly come up with some beautiful designs that are always a pleasure to photograph!!!

Last week I had the privilege of capturing the new Daniel Island Recreation Center (DIRC) at Governor’s Park for them. It’s such a beautiful space, and I know the residents of Daniel Island are going to love it!!!

Headshots for Savage Law

Welcome to the team at Savage Law, Joseph!!!

It was an honor meeting and photographing this gentleman from Hartsville who moved to Charleston to study law, fell in love and got married, and now has landed a position with one of the most respected criminal law firms in town! Congratulations on the new position…and cheers to all your future success!!!

Images captured by Nikon D5 with 70-200 f2.8 VRII lens, Manfrotto tripod and light stands, SB5000 speedlights, and Westcott modifiers.

Headshots for Weeks & Irvine

It was a pleasure photographing the new team members at Weeks & Irvine Law this morning! This is such a great firm. And they always seem to hire the nicest people!!!

I set up our wireless portrait studio in their “children’s play room”. It’s pretty tight in there! But somehow, between all the bean-bag chairs, xylophones, picture books, and puzzles, I squeezed in a 5’x7′ backdrop, 3 Manfrotto light-stands, 4 SB-5000 flashes, a 60″ Westcott umbrella, a tripod, a D5 with 70-200 f2.8 zoom, and a Lenovo laptop! šŸ™‚

Here are a few favorites and fun out-takes…

The Fox Family Team

I’ve known Kari & Chris for a while but hadn’t seen them in a few years. As luck would have it, we recently bumped into each other in Costco of all places. šŸ™‚ We got to talking and it turns out their real-estate team was looking to update their photos!

We scheduled a photo shoot for the entire Carolina One Plus Fox Family Team on a morning when they had a company meeting. I did a few “environmental” shots in Michael’s beautiful home where they had all gathered. And I also set up a complete studio with a white backdrop in their large game room. We had a BLAST and came away with some awesome images!!!

Many thanks to Kari for setting everything up and allowing me to be a part of their new marketing strategy for 2021.

Profile Photos for Super Lawyers Magazine

Photographing assignments for a prestigious publication like Super Lawyers Magazine is alway stressful. But the fine gentleman at Pierce Sloan Kennedy & Early made the whole experience an absolute pleasure! They were fun, friendly, and easy to work with. We came away with a wide variety of great images in spite of the tight window we were working with. šŸ™‚

All photos captured on Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, and Sony XQD memory.

Headshots for Lee & Associate

It’s always so much fun photographing headshots for Lee & Associates!

On this visit, I had two new hires to capture. I setup a main light by placing 2 SB-5000 flashes on a Manfrotto light stand shooting through a large 60″ Westcott Apolo umbrella. And I set up a fill/kicker light behind them using the same exact setup. The images were shot with my Nikon D5 with 70-200 f2.8 on a Manfrotto tripod, tethered to my laptop using Adobe Lightroom. ISO 400, 1/200, f5.0.

We had a great time and came away with some wonderful images! Here are just a few of my favorites…