It’s been a pleasure working with the Center for Birds of Prey over the last few years! I was lucky enough to get to photograph headshots for the newest members of their growing team yesterday. Congratulations to Katie, Faith, and Christine on joining an awesome organization!!! And many thanks to Mandy for coordinating everyone’s schedules.
I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Michelle & Marquett over the years! We met up again last evening to photograph some new headshots and couple’s portraits. They are such an AMAZING couple and so much fun to work with!!!
It’s been an honor to work with Bridge Commercial over the last decade or so.
Yesterday I had the privilege of photographing updated headshots for them. The scheduling was prompted because they had just hired Morgan, the latest member of their growing team. But of course we opened the shoot up to anyone who wanted an updated headshot. Several folks came down for updates because they have a different hair style, lost some weight, etc. What a great pleasure it was to see Executive Vice President Hagood come down for an update! Hagood was one of the first people I photographed for the firm!!! He hasn’t changed much…just a little grayer and wiser like me. HA!
Many thanks to Kennedy for organizing everyone’s schedules and making this happen.
The best part of my job is meeting new, fun, and friendly people!!!
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing some new headshots for the Joye Law Firm. I’ve been working with their team for a few years now. And everyone they hire always seems to be so happy! I’d say this law firm must be really great to work for. Having a friendly work environment and a pleasant culture to be a part of makes for happy employees!!!
It’s always a pleasure photographing for Premier Physical Therapy! Jill and her team are top notch!!! So much so that not only are we their photographers, we’re also clients who have used their services many times to rehab injuries over the years.
This week, Cami and I got to photograph several new members to their team…of both the 2-legged and the 4-legged variety! 
I’ve been photographing headshots for Elliott Davis for many years. Usually we meet at a park across the street from their office. Unfortunately it was POURING rain the morning we had scheduled for this round of headshots!
Luckily, I always carry my Flashpoint Li-Ion speedlights with me. So it didn’t take but 15 minute for me to set up a few lightstands, umbrellas, and speedlights to create a little “indoor sunshine”. Although it was a dreary day out, having my lights allowed me to still create bright, beautiful, and cheerful marketing portraits and headshots for the new team.
Many thanks to Holly for helping her coordinate everyone’s schedules!
Last year, I had the pleasure of photographing the Grand Opening of the new Rosen Hagood office. I had a great time and really enjoyed working with them. So I was extremely pleased when they reached out again to see if I could help them with some new marketing and branding photos for their website!
Usually law firms request fairly standard headshots. But the Rosen Hagood Law Firm decided they wanted something different! As a creative, I LOVED the concept they pitched. They were looking for something more casual, artistic, and classic. What better way to do that then with some timeless black-and-white, right?!?
Many thanks to Morgan for helping to coordinate everyone’s schedules and share their ideas…
Becca moved here to attend the Charleston School of Law. She specialized in real-estate law. And has joined the amazing team at Weeks & Irvine! It was a pleasure photographing her headshots this morning.
Not only has Bacca had a great start to her new career, she’s also getting married in 5 weeks! She and her fiance, along with 140 of their favorite friends and family, are heading to Key West to tie the knot. How fun is that? 
Everyone help me congratulate Becca on her new position…and on her upcoming wedding!!!
In a complex personal injury case, two sisters suffered severe and permanent injuries as passengers in a Tesla accident in Charleston. The case was handled by Attorney Mark Joye of the Joye Law Firm. The litigation involved challenging negotiations with the Cincinnati Insurance Company, which initially understated the available insurance coverage. Ultimately, Mark was able to get a $2,417,500 settlement for the sisters. This case highlights the importance of skilled legal representation in personal injury cases.
It was an honor to photograph updated headshots for the Joye Law Firm last week. I set up a portable studio in their atrium, with a white background, and a high-key Rembrandt lighting style. I used the Nikon Z9, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 Z, Flashpoint speedlights (x5), Manfrotto supports, and Westcott umbrellas. Of course I created serious portraits of each employee. But my favorites are the fun “outtakes” that I frequently throw in to help people get relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera!!!
Many thanks to Nicole & Rachel for coordinating schedules and helping organize the shoot.
A nice couple was walking by as I set up my lights for a photo shoot on Daniel Island. Curious, they asked “why are you using flash for outdoor photos?” I thought that was a great question!
Commonwealth Financial is a longtime client. Several times a year, they have me come out to photograph headshots of new advisors that have joined their team. Heather is always so good about organizing everyone’s schedules and coordinating these photo shoots. She had arranged for me to come out for some updates this week.
We always schedule their headshots in the morning, when the side of their building is in open shade. That way, the light is consistent each time I go out, and nobody is squinting in the sunlight. The even shade also gives me a blank canvas to work with. It creates the ambient light that illuminates the side of the building that we always use as the backdrop, plus provides a nice fill light to the faces. Yes, I could just shoot these headshots with natural light. The light would be nice and soft. But it would also be flat, lacking punch and directionality. Plus it would be inconsistent from shoot to shoot…on overcast days it would be extra flat with a cool color tone…on sunny days it would be warmer and more contrasty. For these reasons, I always blend in some lighting from off-camera flash.
For the main light (to the subject’s right), I set up a Manfrotto lightstand, with 3 SB-5000 flashes on a bracket, firing into an Westcott Apollo 50″ softbox. Since this is a very large light source, susceptible to wind, the stand is held in place by 4 10-lb BoaBags. On the opposite side, firing from behind the subject’s left shoulder, I place another Manfrotto lightstand. This one has a single SB-5000 flash, firing into a Westcott Apollo Strip softbox, and is held down by a single 10-lb BoaBag. This light provides a “kicker” that highlights the hair, provides a little fill on the cheek, gives a little edging to the shoulders, and helps separate the subject from the background. I shoot these portraits using my Nikon Z9 with the Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 lens on a Manfrotto tripod.
In the first photo, you can see the results without flash, which I shoot to get a “base” exposure. There’s nothing wrong with it. The light just doesn’t sculpt the face and provide the punch I like in a headshots! The subsequent shots show the final results with the off-camera flashes. I hope this helps answer the question of why I use flash for outdoor portraits!
I always enjoy working with Seamon Whiteside! Their company has such a healthy culture to it. Every employee I’ve ever met there is always happy, friendly, and eager to help out!!! That statement certainly applies to my photo shoot with them this week. It was an honor photographing some updated headshots and marketing photos for a few of their newest team members.
Over the years, I’ve developed some wonderful relationships within the photography industy. Charleston…and South Carolina as a whole…has a wonderfully supportive cummunity of photographers. If a client contacts me and I’m not available, I find out what they are looking for and recommend several photographers who I know personally, and trust to do a great job for them. Frequently, that good karma comes back to me!
Last week, my friend and amazingly talented photographer, Clark Berry, passed along one of his clients for me. Clark is from Columbia, and photographs headshots for McCabe, Trotter & Beverly, P.C. But when they opened a new branch in Charleston, Clark’s schedule was too tight to drive all the way down here for one headshot. So he recommended me! He also sent me samples of how he photographed the ones in Columbia, what lights he used, and even a behind-the-scenes photo of his setup.
From that information, I was able to meet up with attorney Jim Lady at the new office, and capture a variety of headshots that mirrored the style Clark had used on the original photos!
