Clarity Conference at The Mills House Hotel – Day 2

What a fabulous group!!!

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing the annual 3-day Clarity Conference for Solutions Group Services at The Mills House Hotel. On Day 2, the day kicked off with a fun welcome, followed by a variety of informative presentations, then several headshots and team photos, and wrapping up with a fun cocktail reception in the courtyard.

Using a powerful combination of experience and expertise, Solutions Group Services helps organizations work through significant reimbursement challenges. They pioneered a better way for providers to collect their charges from payers – not the patient. This is accomplished through technology and consulting solutions. Everyday the growing SGS team advances this reality through innovative solutions as well as through offering a continuously growing library of informational resources. Solutions Group Services is more than just a company, they are the solution.

Clarity Conference at The Mills House Hotel – Day 1

What a fabulous group!!!

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing the annual 3-day Clarity Conference for Solutions Group Services at The Mills House Hotel. On Day 1, their high-energy program begain with a fabulous Welcome Reception on the hotel’s second-story pool deck, overlooking Meeting Street, in downtown Charleston. Pamela Evette, the Lt. Govorner of SC, was the guest of honor!

Using a powerful combination of experience and expertise, Solutions Group Services helps organizations work through significant reimbursement challenges. They pioneered a better way for providers to collect their charges from payers – not the patient. This is accomplished through technology and consulting solutions. Everyday the growing SGS team advances this reality through innovative solutions as well as through offering a continuously growing library of informational resources. Solutions Group Services is more than just a company, they are the solution.

Center for Birds of Prey – Why Use Off-Camera Flash?!?

I frequently get asked: “Why do you use flash for outdoor portraits?” There are a ton of variables that I evaluate before starting a photo shoot. But paramount to them all is the QUALITY of the lighting. Whenever possible, I seek out beautiful natural light. For outdoor portraits, “open shade” is one of my favorites to work with. For indoor portraits, I look for soft “window light” to work with. But when the location is surrounded by trees, creating a gloomy greenish-blue color cast to the light, I pull out the flashes. If I don’t have beautiful natural light to work with, I create my own with speedlights!

That’s what happened in this photo session at the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey. In the first test-shot, you can see how muddy and unflattering the natural light is. Because we were in a clearing surrounded by trees, the only available light is coming from directly above Angelina, creating those sunken “racoon eyes” and a hotspot on her nose. So I mounted a Flashpoint eVolve 200 Pro in a large softbox on a Manfrotto light-stand, and placed it about 30-decgrees off to her left (the camera’s right). This gave me a fantastic directional main light, which created a soft contour to her face, cleaned up the skin color, and produced a nice catch-light in the eyes. Then I mounted a Flashpoint Zoom LiOn II on another Manfrotto light-stand, and covered it with a CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gel, which mimicks the color-balance of the late-afternoon setting sun. This speedlight was positioned behind the subject, aimed at the back of her hair, in a cross-light pattern opposite the main light. The result is a warm rim-light, which gave a golden glow to her beautiful hair, and helped separate her from the background.

Now that I had the lighting the way I wanted it, I mounted the Nikon Zf with the 70-200 f2.8 Z lens and a Flashpoint wireless trigger on a Manfrotto tripod…and the rest is magic!!!

The nice part about using this lighting setup is that it’s consistant and repeatable! Next time I show up to photograph a new staff member, whether it’s an overcast day or a bright sunny day, it doesn’t matter…the light hitting my subject will always be the same.

Charleston County School District Office

The Charleston County School District had their office at 75 Calhoun Street pressure washed and professionally cleaned this week. It was looking so good that they asked me to come down and photograph some drone shots and detail photos of it for them. Using The Photographers Ephemeris, I calculated the optimal time when the beautiful late afternoon sunlight would hit the building and make it shine. Then I headed down and captured a variety of shots to showcase the building!

(DJI Mavic 3 Pro, Nikon Zf, Nikkor Z 24-120 f4)

South Carolina Aquarium Boeing Learning Lab for Trident Construction

Last year I had the pleasure of photographing the International African American Museum for Seamon Whiteside. This year I got to photograph the beautifully renovated property right next to it for Trident Construction!

The multimillion-dollar renovation of the Charleston Maritime Center will usher in a new chapter for the building, part of which will serve as a waterfront marine-life educational hub, sponsored by Boeing, and managed by The S.C. Aquarium. The project broke ground in July 2023. Now, it’s complete and gearing up to welcome students. But Trident Construction had me scheduled to photograph the finished building today before students arrived.

Since the property has a prime view of Charleston Harbor and the rising sun, I arrived at dawn to catch the warm glow of early morning light skimming across the water. It was a beatiful, misty sunrise. I captured a variety of aerial angles with my DJI Mavic 3 drone. Then I switched to the Nikon Z9 for the remaining shots. About the time I was wrapping up the exterior photos, Sarah, Mariah, and the rest of the staff from the SC Aquarium arrived to show me around the interior. And Grace arrived from Trident Construction to guide me to some of the key elements of the design that they wanted to feature in the photos.

It was an absolute pleasure being a part of this amazing new project!!!

Industrial Warehouses for Seamon Whiteside

Seamon Whiteside not only does the engineering for large apartment complexes, family communities, and multi-use facilities…they also provide their services for industrial warehouse spaces. It was so cool to photograph some of these MASSIVE buildings this weekend!!!

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30, Nikkor Z 24-120, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

The Beckett Apartments for Seamon Whiteside

It was a beautiful morning to photograph The Beckett for the engineering firm of Seamon Whiteside.

“Nestled in the heart of Bees Ferry, we invite you to find your hive – where community and comfort are built into every moment. Our luxury one and two bedroom apartments boast stunning features that make home feel like a retreat, from private balconies to quartz countertops. Our location combines the tranquility of its serene setting with the convenience of West Ashley. Experience the celebration of community at The Beckett – where each day goes smoothly and every moment is sweet.”

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30, Nikkor Z 24-120, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

River Landing Condos for Glick Boehm Architecture

It’s always sad to hear when families are having to sue the companies that built their home. On April 29, 2019, only one week before the trial of a lawsuit against the builders of River Landing Condos, The Post and Courier published an extensive article titled, “40 Charleston Area Condo and Apartment Buildings Involved in Lawsuits Over Defects”. The article by David Slade discusses alleged construction defects with multi-family buildings and lawsuits related to these alleged defects.

Fortunately, the team at Glick Boem Architecture knows how to do things right! And they have a ton of experience with fixing other’s mistakes. GBA was founded in 1981 as a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in Architecture, Planning and Interior Design. Providing professional services throughout the Southeast, the firm has received major national and local design awards, as well as extensive coverage in professional publications.

GBA wase brought in to fix the water damage, insulation deficiencies, and mold issues at the River Landing Apartments on Daniel Island. They in turn brought me in to photograph some before/after photos mid-way through the renovation process.  The difference is absolutely remarkable!!! Hopefully this massive undertaking makes these families whole again, allowing them to live the peaceful lives they dreamed their move to Daniel Island would be…

Tideline CPA Group for Rush Dixon Architects

I’ve had the pleasure of photographing projects for Rush Dixon Architects for several years now. Rush and Judy are the nicest people in the world. And they are always super organized…which makes my job easy! Their designs are always incredibly practical, unique, and interesting. I was particularly impressed with the way they worked the layout of the new building for Tideline around the beautiful giant live oak tree on the property!!!

Once Rush & Judy have reviewed the proofs, we’ll send their favorites off to our retouching team to remove those ugly powerlines!  🙂

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor 14-24Z, Nikkor 24-120Z, DJI Mavic 3 Pro)

Headshots for Seamon Whiteside in Greenville

I work a lot with the engineering firm of Seamon Whiteside here in Charleston. But occasionally they request I travel to one of their other offices to photograph a project they’ve been working on, marketing photos, or headshots for new team members. Last week I had the privilege of driving to their new office in Greenville to photograph several new employees. We all had a great time! The guys seemed to enjoy hamming it up for the camera. And the photos turned out fantastic!!!

(Nikon Z9, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 Z, Godox AD200Pro, Glow softbox, and Manfrotto supports)

Headshots for State Farm

Kevin’s father-in-law, Troy, was a well-known State Farm agent in Charleston. After Kevin joined the family, he followed in Troy’s footsteps, opening his own very successful State Farm office in Bluffton. Fast forward to today, and I had the pleasure of photographing Kevin’s son, also named Troy, who has joined his father’s firm. It was almost surreal to see “little” Troy all grown up after knowing his parents from before he was even born!!! While I was there, I had the pleasure of photographing a couple other fun staff members as well.

If you’re looking for a new insurance agent, I HIGHLY recommend Kevin: https://www.statefarm.com/agent/us/sc/bluffton/kevin-sevier-g738v1ys000. He has the nicest staff. And he treats his clients like family!

Premier Physical Therapy

Getting 7 staff members to smile, look at the camera, and keep their eyes open for a new staff photo is hard enough. Adding 4 dogs to the mix makes it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!! But we pulled it off! 🙂

CONGRATULATIONS to Jill and her team at Premier Physical Therapy for another successful year…