Brendan Surprises Nina with a Proposal

One of my favorite things to photograph is a Secret Proposal!!!

Last week I got a call from Brendan, all excited and eager to chat about the possibilities of capturing that special moment when he asked his girlfriend of 3 years if she would marry him. It was so awesome working with Brendan to figure out the perfect spot, and the perfect time of day!  We worked out every detail down to the minute and the exact tree in the park under which he would pop the question.

Aaaaand then the rains came!!! We were so nervous as the rain was completely unexpected and unpredictable. An hour before our set time, a dark cloud appeared over Charleston without warning. The radar showed that it would pass through pretty quickly.  But we were on pins and needles right up to minutes before!

Luckily, it did blow through just in time, and everything went PERFECT!!! I couldn’t be happier for Brendan & Nina! They are such an amazing couple. And I truly enjoyed our time together as we photographed some fun engagement photos before they headed off to dinner to celebrate.

CONGRATULATIONS Brendan & Nina!!! 🙂

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Charleston Proposal with Kate Thornton

As a creative, one of my favorite things to do is collaborate with other artists!

Last week I had the privilege of working with my friend Kate of Charleston Proposal, to help capture Josh & Natassia’s beautiful surprise engagement! Kate wanted to make this extra special for these two. So she brought me along as her drone-pilot and second-shooter, capturing the action from the sky as well as from an alternate angle on the beach.

We had so much fun working together! We put together this fun little video for Josh & Natassia, augmenting Kate’s awesome photography with a few of my still shots, drone photos, and video clips. Thanks for letting me share this, Kate!  I had a BLAST watching you do your magic!!!  🙂

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Sommer & Frank at Greek Orthodox Church of The Holy Trinity

It’s hard to put into words how special it was for us to be a part of Sommer & Frank’s AMAZING wedding celebration at the Greek Orthodox Church of The Holy Trinity!!!  Several years ago, we had the honor of photographing Sommer’s sister’s wedding with Trent at Old Wide Awake Plantation.  Their entire family has become very special to us over the years.  So you can imagine our excitement when Sommer and Frank asked us to photograph their wedding too!

With Sommer working in Japan for much of it, the planning and preparations for their wedding took over a year.  But the Big Day finally arrived…and it was gorgeous!  As the wedding party began getting ready, the excitement in the air was palpable.  I loved all the little details and special moments that made Frank & Sommer’s wedding unique…a first look with her dad, special gifts for the flower girl and ring bearer, the sword ceremony, and a huge wedding party that was so fun and supportive of these two!  The Greek Orthodox ceremony was also unique and afforded so many wonderful photo opportunities.  It’s such a beautiful church anyway…but it’s hard to get a bad shot with such an adorable couple, right?!?  Being a Citadel Grad, the wedding was followed by a traditional sword ceremony, performed by a great group of cadets.  Then it was off to the reception, which was held at the Daniel Island Club.  I love the beautiful “lowcountry” scenery behind the club.  Frank, Sommer, and I took advantage of the setting (and the setting sun) to capture some romantic photos of them.  Then it was inside for the PARTAAAY of the century!  Sommer had warned me to make sure I brought my “Greek dancing shoes”…and she wasn’t kidding!  A grand entrance, a delicious meal, touching toasts, and of course non-stop dancing all night long topped the day off in high spirits!

To see the rest of the photos, visit:  https://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/sommerandfrankwedding.  Many thanks to my team, Cami & Robbin, to Lillie at Pop the Bubbly Events, to Cleo at the Greek Orthodox Church, to Erin at Daniel Island Club, to the ladies from Cloud IX Bridal, to Wimberly Fair Designs for the floral arrangements, to The Black Cab Co., to Nick with EPIC DJ, and to all the other friends, family, and vendors who helped make this dream wedding come true!

CONGRATULATIONS Frank & Sommer!  We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin this exciting new journey together!!!

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Jeff & Sarah’s Kiawah Island Surprise Proposal

After arriving early, carefully picking out “the spot”, and settling in to wait for Jeff’s surprise proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Sarah, a group of a dozen middle-aged men in khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirts came walking down to the beach with beers in hand and a cooler in tow. I got REALLY nervous since Jeff had just texted that they were in the parking lot! Luckily, they were great guys and after hearing about the exciting moment that was about to transpire, they happily moved down the beach so as not to obstruct our beautiful backdrop. 🙂

Jeff, his father, and I have been secretly planning for this surprise proposal for a long time! After careful deliberation, we settled on the picturesque beach and grounds of the historic Ocean Course. It was so much fun working with them to pick out the PERFECT location for this very special moment in Jeff & Sarah’s lives.

Arriving right on cue after the group of kind gentleman had moved off, Jeff launched into a touching speech he had prepared for Sarah. I have no idea what was said, but he took his time and did it right. I could tell by the AMAZING reactions from Sarah afterwards!

Following the proposal, we had a great time photographing some fun engagement photos together around this gorgeous area on the far reaches of Kiawah Island. It was really neat getting to know these two. I loved how they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other…and how Sarah couldn’t stop smiling!

The excitement continued as we all zipped over to The Sanctuary for yet another surprise. There, waiting with applause and champagne, were both their families, exchanging hugs and high-fives to the new “celebrity couple”. Moving over to the Grand Staircase, we photographed a wide variety of family portraits, the first moments of Jeff & Sarah being welcomed into each other’s families!

It was truly an honor and a pleasure to be a part of beautiful afternoon in Jeff & Sarah’s lives!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Kyle & Brittany’s Surprise Proposal at Magnolia Plantation

Hailing from Florida, Kyle and I have been secretly corresponding over the last few months about his PERFECT plan to surprise Brittany by proposing to her on the famous white bridge at Magnolia Plantation! 🙂

Kyle & Brittany have known each other since high-school. But life’s twists and turns found them heading in separate directions. Then a couple years ago, fate brought them back together again! Kyle knew she was THE ONE and decided to ask for her hand in marriage during this special long-weekend get-away to Charleston!

With every detail worked out, Kyle’s carefully laid out plans went into motion this morning. I arrived early at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens and got set up with a beautiful view of the historic white bridge. Right on cue, Kyle and Brittany arrived for him to expertly guide her out into the picturesque overlook, surrounded by cypress trees draped in billowy Spanish moss. They were the FIRST ones on the bridge this morning. So it was quite funny when Brittany ran smack into a spider web. The distraction gave Kyle the perfect opportunity to drop to his knee and surprise her with the ring! It was an absolutely magical moment!!!

For my setup, I used the venerable Nikon D5, and his younger brother the D500. I had the D500 on the Nikkor 200-400 f4 VR, effectively making it a 300-600mm lens. This gave me the tight angle I wanted for capturing their expressions. The D5 was fitted with the 70-200 f2.8 VRII, setting the stage by revealing the entire scene. Each camera had a WR-R10 controller plugged in. The controllers were synchronized so that each time I took a picture with the D500…the D5 instantly fired at the same time. This allowed me to capture two different perspectives at the same exact time.

After Brittany said “YES”, I came out of hiding and met up with them. We had a BLAST photographing tons of beautiful engagement photos for them, while wandering the gorgeous plantation together! Couples who don’t hire a photographer to capture their actual proposal have to “stage” an engagement shoot later on. But Kyle & Brittany were able to have an “authentic” engagement shoot on the actual day of their engagement!!! How cool is that?

CONGRATULATIONS Kyle & Brittany! You guys are so perfect together. We wish you all the best as you begin this new and exciting journey together!!!

Hanna & Kenny at Waterfront Park

I had the pleasure of photographing Kenny’s brother’s wedding several years ago. We love their family to pieces!!! So you can imagine my excitement when Kenny and Hanna asked me to photograph their wedding too! 🙂

A couple nights ago, on a beautiful summer evening, I met up with these two amazing people at Waterfront Park. We had a lovely time walking all over the French Quarter, Rainbow Row, and along the Charleston Harbor. It was fun chatting and catching up on their lives, capturing beautiful images of their relationship and their love for each other as we went!

Visit https://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/hannaandkenny to see the rest of their engagement photos.

CONGRATULATIONS Hanna and Kenny! I can’t wait to be there for you both on your wedding day!!! 🙂

Using “Old School” Film

You may have already seen my post with Samantha and Todd’s engagement photos from a few weeks ago. If not, check it out at: https://chrisandcami.com/samantha-and-todds-extended-engagement-session/. Today, I’m SUPER EXCITED to add to their gorgeous gallery of images…with a few that were shot on FILM!!!

Without giving away my age, let’s just say that I’ve been in love with photography since 10th grade, worked my way up to yearbook editor by 12th grade, went on to get my degree in Professional Photography, and have been photographing professionally ever since. As you can imagine, I’ve seen a great many changes in imaging technology throughout my career. I went from exclusively shooting and processing my own black-and-white on old all-manual 35mm film cameras…to the introduction of 35mm color film…through the evolution of auto-exposure, matrix metering, auto-focus, and TTL flash…switching my entire kit over medium format film…and eventually enduring the arduous transition to digital. Even since digital capture was introduced to the professional market, there’s been a huge number of changes and advances.  But you get the point.

The funny thing is, in 2019 it seems that what was old is new again. It’s crazy, I know, but film is seeing a resurgence! Having read all about this new fascination with film photography (primarily from young millennials who never had the pleasure of experiencing the magic the first time around), I decided it was time to pull out one of my old film cameras and take it along on Samantha & Todd’s engagement session. I chose my trusty old Nikon FE, a classic Nikkor 50mm f1.8 manual focus lens, and reliable old Kodak Tri-X for the job.

They may be grainy, contrasty, full of imperfections, (and dare I say some are even out of focus)…but there’s definitely something magical and timeless about these images! I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Maybe you’ll see more of this old “film” stuff from me in the future. 🙂

Many thanks to Virgil at VB Photo Lab for the excellent processing and scanning service:  https://www.vbphotolab.com/

Samantha and Todd’s Extended Engagement Session

Flying in all the way from Missouri, it was just wonderful to see our good friend Samantha again last weekend! It was also such a pleasure to finally meet her fiance, Todd. He’s an amazing guy! They are absolutely perfect together!!!

Recently graduating from Veterinarian School and Dental School, respectively, Samantha and Todd can finally turn their attention to wedding plans. It’s an absolute honor that they have selected Cami and I to capture this special time in their lives for them.

As part of that process, we hosted them here in Charleston for a really fun extended engagement session! The entire weekend could be described as part reunion (we haven’t seen Samantha for several years), part introduction (we had so much fun getting to know Todd), part vacation (Samantha and Todd were celebrating finally earning their degrees), part tourist trap (Cami and I made sure to take them to all the best tourist attractions and iconic restaurants in town), and of course part engagement session (we photographed beautiful portraits of them all around Charleston everywhere we went). As such, we had an absolute BLAST the entire weekend, while capturing more variety than any other engagement session we’ve ever photographed!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Samantha and Todd! We love you guys, and can’t wait to be there for you on your beautiful wedding day!!!

Nick Proposes to Hannah on Concord Street

Hannah was absolutely stunned…not that Nick proposed to her, but that SHE HAD NO CLUE!!! Shaking with excitement afterwards, she said:  “I was certain that if and when Nick decided to propose to me, I would somehow know it. He’s not good at hiding things from me! But I truly had NO IDEA he was proposing today!!!”

For months, Nick and I had been secretly planning all the details of his surprise proposal to Hannah. May 6th was her birthday. And May 8th was the anniversary of when they started dating. So he had planned a fun get-away trip to Charleston for the weekend to celebrate. Nick was so clever in using those other big occasions to conceal the REAL reason for the trip.  Now they have ANOTHER big day in May to celebrate!!!

It was an absolutely perfect afternoon in Charleston! With beautiful light, and gorgeous weather, I headed down to our predetermined location to get set up and hide before they arrived. To my horror, the normally deserted corner near Waterfront Park was packed with graduates out celebrating and having their portraits taken. Fortunately, everyone was super understanding when I told them what was about to happen on that historic street corner, and happily moved on to other beautiful backdrops for their photo shoots. With beating heart, I raced back to my spot just in time as Nick and Hannah rounded the corner!

To see the rest of their photos, visit:  https://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/nickandhannah.

I’m SO EXCITED for Nick & Hannah! We had so much fun during their authentic engagement session afterwards. They are an AMAZING couple, and absolutely perfect for each other!!!

Mary Beth & Bryant at Brittlebank Park

I’ve been looking forward to meeting Mary Beth & Bryant for a VERY long time! We finally met up this weekend, on a gorgeous spring day, to capture some beautiful engagement photos for their up-coming wedding. 🙂

Starting off at Hampton Park, I was quite surprised at how many flowers were already in full bloom! With vibrant colors from the flowers, huge oak trees, a black iron bridge, and long wooded walkways, we came away with some absolutely MAGICAL images! But to top it all off, we zipped over to Brittlebank Park to capture the last rays of a gorgeous setting sun over the Ashley River… and of course the beautiful twilight that followed.

I had such a blast getting to know Mary Beth and Bryant. I can’t wait to be there for them to preserve all the special moments of their amazing wedding this summer!!!

Stephanie & Eric at Deep Water Vineyard

Last night I had the best time ever!

Stephanie & Eric met up with me at Deep Water Vineyard, which is where the Firefly Distillery is located on Wadmalaw Island. They had called ahead to get permission to have their engagement session on this beautiful property. What a unique and interesting location for a photo shoot!

I had SUCH A BLAST getting to know these two…hearing about Eric’s INCREDIBLE proposal in Iceland…learning about all the wonderful countries Stephanie has traveled to…and talking about all the big plans for their wedding! Along the way, we captured some beautiful images in the gorgeous late afternoon light.

It was an absolutely perfect evening. I am so excited about photographing Stephanie & Eric’s wedding celebration!!!

Pat & Adrienne’s Surprise Proposal at Magnolia Plantation

Sometimes I feel like I get MORE nervous than my clients when they are about to pop the big surprise marriage proposal!!!

This morning, Pat was as cool as a cucumber as he escorted his beautiful girlfriend, Adrienne, onto the famous White Bridge at Magnolia Plantation! He and I had been working out the details for me to capture this very special moment for the two of them. He had carefully picked out the PERFECT spot, with a gorgeous southern background, that would take her breath away. My heart pounded in my chest as they reached the top of the bridge. But Pat calmly dropped to his knee and surprised her with a GORGEOUS diamond!!!

Afterwards, we enjoyed a fun walk-about together. While exploring the plantation, I captured some AUTHENTIC engagement photos for them to remember this amazing day and this special time in their lives!

CONGRATULATIONS Adrienne & Pat! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together!!!