Last week I had the pleasure of photographing these fun, colorful, romantic images for Amanda & Trey! We had so much fun exploring Waterfront Park, Rainbow Row, and Adgers Wharf…before they headed off for a nice dinner date. 🙂
As I often do, I arrived early and found this beautiful heron hunting in the marsh while I waited for them. Then heading home, I couldn’t help stopping to capture the sunset through the sailing ships moored on the Ashley River.
As Debi and Scott began planning their destination vow renewal in Charleston, the most important part was to have all their children together for the weekend! They are a blended family, with adult kids who have sprouted roots all over the country. So to find a date that worked with everyone’s schedules was tough…but they did it!!!
To comemorate this rare occurance, they asked me to spend a couple hours with them and their family, exploring different parts of Charleston, and capturing a wide variety of photographs of everyone together!
Debi & Scott are such an amazing couple! And it was an absolute pleasure to spend time with them and their growing family. 🙂
I am so excited about Jackie & Jason’s upcoming wedding this November!!!
We’ve been talking, emailing, and planning for a couple months now. But yesterday was the first time I’d actually met Jackie & Jason in person! We met up at White Point Garden during late afternoon Golden Hour for their Engagement Session. We had so much fun getting to know each other, capturing their love for each other, and exploring the old historic downtown area around The Battery together.
Jason is a law enforcement officer with Isle of Palms. Jackie works in hospitality with Seabrook Island. They are absolutely ADORABLE together! And I can’t wait to be there for them on their Big Day!!! 🙂
I had so much fun photographing Kate & Matthew’s Engagement Photos at Hampton Park last week!
Matthew works at Westbrook Brewing. Kate works in the insurance industry at Park Circle. The two of them met online at the tail end of the Covid pandemic. Their first date was at Mellow Mushroom, just as restaurants were opening back up. They made an instant connection. And the rest is history!!! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS Kate & Matthew! I can’t wait to be there for you two on your wedding day…
It’s almost time for summer vacation! That means it’s almost “beach portrait season”. I always look forward to this time of year when I get to wear flip-flops and shorts, meeting fun families enjoying their beach vacation together, and capturing beautiful portraits of them to celebrate their time together.
Kicking off this season, I met up with the Durham family on Edisto Island. They had rented a beach house to celebrate their daughter’s 40th birthday, and to kick off their summer vacation. I met up with them at beach access #29. It was a beautiful evening and we had a blast capturing a variety of fun portraits!
If you’re interested in booking us for your family beach portraits, call or email now to get on the calendar! Summer flies by and we book up fast!!!
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.
For her birthday this year, Claire asked Doug for an extended family portrait session with her kids, parents, brother, and sister-in-law. We made it happen!
The weather all weekend was predicted to be rainy and overcast. So we pushed the session, originally planned for Saturday morning, to Sunday afternoon. As luck would have it, the rains moved out of town just in time for the sun to come out for our beautiful portrait session!
I met up with everyone at White Point Garden, where we captured a variety of shots with the extended family. After they took off to drive back to Charlotte, I continued on with Claire, Doug, and their adorable girls. We walked up into the old historic parts of town for some cool backdrops with ivy-covered walls, black iron gates, and more!
It was an absolute pleasure helping make Claire’s birthday wish come true!
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’ve had the pleasure of working with the Joye Law Firm over the years. This week we photographed a variety of new marketing photos for them. They are a great group and everyone is always so nice!
Reese Joye opened the doors of the Joye Law Firm in 1968 to guide people through some of the most difficult times of their lives. Mark Joye and Ken Harrell are the partners who carry on that tradition. Today, their South Carolina accident attorneys work diligently to do more than help their clients get the compensation they deserve – they help restore the quality of their lives.
I have enjoyed being one of the designated photographers for Super Lawyers Magazine for many years.
Super Lawyers Magazine, which is a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, recognizes the top attorneys nationwide, across a variety of practice areas and firm sizes, using a patented process of independent research and peer input. The lawyers selected include not only represent the seasone veterans with years of experience, but also the Rising Stars of the profession. This well-respected publications is a great resource, designed to aid those needing an attorney they can trust. It has grown over three decades with an unparalleled reach in print magazines and online content.
This week I had the pleasure of photographing the attorneys from Pierce Sloan Kennedy & Early for an upcoming article in Super Lawyers Magazine!
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!
I’ve enjoyed getting to know my friend Frank Guy of Francis West Studios over the years. It was an absolute honor to photograph his and Leah’s wedding, as well as Leah’s modeling photos last year. So when they asked me to photograph a fun family portrait session to kick off the New Year, I was all in! We met at West Ashley Park for an awesome mini-session, capturing a variety of beautiful images for them. Leah’s two older kids live in New York. So having updated photos of the whole family together will be extra special for her! 🙂
