Kane Family at Waterfront Park

I thought it was so sweet when Kelly called to book a photo session as a surprise to her mom and her sisters!!!

Apparently “The Girls” try to take a trip somewhere interesting every year. Since they live in Michigan, they usually pick somewhere warm. This year, they picked Charleston. And I’m SO GLAD they did!  We had so much fun exploring Waterfront Park and the surrounding French Quarter together. Since I spent some of my college years in Michigan, it was great to catch up on familiar names and places. But most importantly, I just loved the “connection” these three sisters had with each other, and with their mother.

What an honor it was for me to preserve these beautiful family memories for them!!!

MacNaught Family on Kiawah Island

It was one of the most beautiful days we’ve had this summer!

Instead of being overcast and gray, as so many afternoons have been lately, the sun was bouncing off beautiful cloud formations in the sky. Yet it was surprisingly cool compared to previous weeks  A gentle breeze was sweeping in off the ocean as the waves lapped the shore.

I met up with the MacNaught Family at their rental house just off the beach. Their three adorable children were excited for our shoot and ready to go! From the first family shots on the boardwalk as we made our way to the beach, to the candids of them playing in the sand as the sun slipped away…the entire session was so much fun!!!

Here are a few favorites from the evening…

Scharstein Family at DeBordieu Colony

I first got to know the Scharstein Family last year when I photographed their daughter Lauren’s beautiful wedding to Dan at Tanglewood Plantation: https://chrisandcami.com/lauren-dans-wedding-at-tanglewood-plantation/. They are such an AMAZING family and I had so much fun capturing their celebration!!!

After the wedding , Lauren & Dan moved back to Nairobi, Kenya. So when they told me they were coming back to the states this summer, and that the whole family would be together for a family reunion, I jumped at the opportunity to photograph some updated portraits for them at their rental house in DeBordieu Colony!

Because various family members were coming and going on different schedules, there was only one single afternoon that worked for everyone. As the storm clouds moved in that afternoon, I got super worried. But literally 2 minutes after I arrived, the rain stopped just long enough for us to get our photo shoot in. We had so much fun catching up, and capturing all these beautiful memories together! After everyone was worn out from pictures, Dan made sure I had a nice mug of authentic African chai tea before my long drive home. 🙂

Eventually I got back on the road. Not 5 minutes after I left, it started to drizzle again! All I can say is, the Big Man upstairs must have been watching over this wonderful loving family!!! 🙂

Dilella Family on Kiawah Island

As the summer comes to an end, and schools start back up, I am critically aware that there are only a few “perfect” summer evenings left in the season. One of those was yesterday!

I met up with the Dilella Family on Kiawah Island on an absolutely perfect evening! The sun, which had baked the earth just hours before, had slipped into “Golden Hour”. And a gentle breeze was blowing off the ocean to drop the temps to “just right”.

The Dilella family was an absolute joy to work with! The grandkids were delightful and full of energy. It was such a pleasure capturing these beautiful family memories before their children head back to Cleveland.  To top it all off, as I was driving away I noticed these amazing crepuscular rays from the settings sun in the west, extending their fingers all the way to the rising moon in the east.  What a sight!!!   🙂

Parikshak Family on Kiawah Island

A few days ago, I had the great pleasure of meeting the Parikshak family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island to photograph their family reunion.

We had a beautiful afternoon with gorgeous light. With half the family coming in from North Carolina, and the other half from Indiana, it was great to see all of them together, renewing family bonds, and building new memories together!

The best part was, the night of the photo shoot was also Rita’s birthday. So after the photo shoot all the kids got to go have cake! Happy Birthday, Rita!!! 🙂

The Ocean Course Rainbow

Something truly magical happened at this family portrait session I had with the Cyrus Family at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island!!!

Nester Family on Seabrook Island

We had a smaller crowd this year. Some of the Nester clan couldn’t make it. Even though they were missed, we still had a BLAST!!!

I had so much fun catching up with Jeff & Suzanna, who’s beautiful wedding I had the honor of photographing all those years ago. Their kids are growing like weeds and starting to show off their personalities. And in spite of a couple health-hiccups this year, their parents are doing great!

We met up at our usual spot on Seabrook Island. The landscape out there has changed quite a bit from their vacation last year…various storms and tides have shifted the sand and dunes considerably. In spite of the usual summer afternoon thunder-storms, it turned out to be a GORGEOUS evening!  We got some awesome shots!!!

Many thanks to the Nesters for all the years of fond memories together! We love you guys!!!

Sweigart Family Senior Portraits

It’s been five or six years since I last photographed the Sweigart Family. But I recognized them instantly…in spite of how much the kids have grown!

Back on Kiawah Island for vacation this summer, we met up at The Sanctuary to update their family portraits. Plus since their middle daughter, Kara, is going to be a senior in high-school, we thought it would be fun to capture some unique senior portraits for her. Being from Pennsylvania, this would give her some beautiful lowcountry scenery in her portfolio of images that none of her friends back home will have! 🙂

We lucked out with a GORGEOUS evening! Everyone was so much fun and so into the shoot! We came away with a wonderful set of photos to memorialize this special time in their family’s life!!!

Gilligan Family at The Sanctuary

I was so bummed last year when the Gilligans called to see if I could photograph their family portraits again, and I wasn’t available. I’d photographed their family the year before, and they were so much fun to work with! So this year when they called, I made sure to find a spot on the schedule for them! 🙂

We met at The Sanctuary, near the villa they had rented for the week. Although it had rained that afternoon, the skies cleared up just in time for us to have some beautiful light at the end of the day.

We had an absolute BLAST, and came away with so many fun memories from our time together!!!

Morrison Family on Kiawah Island

Adorable kids make me smile. Last night I had the joy of smiling A LOT!!! 🙂

It was so much fun photographing the Morrison family during their inaugural family vacation on Kiawah Island. They normally vacation a little further south at one of the islands off the Georgia coast. I’m so glad they decided to try Kiawah this year. And I’m so glad they picked me as their photographer!

Hopefully this was the first of many more years of fond family memories (and photo shoots) on Kiawah!!!

Muro Family on Isle of Palms

Every year I look forward to the famous Muro Family Reunion photo shoot with great anticipation!!! It’s been so much fun capturing fun memories for this wonderful group for the last several years. Watching the kids grow (and having new kids magically join the group), has been so much fun for me.

One thing I particularly love is that these guys all welcome me in like part of the family. In fact, so much so this year, that the in-laws asked me to participate in a group photo with them! So I got to be in front of the camera for a change. How fun is that?!?

CONGRATULATIONS to all the Muros for another wonderful family vacation. We love you guys!!!

Grandparents and Grandchildren

I had a lovely and unique photo shoot at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island this week!

While they were in town on vacation with the whole family, Debbie and Russell had asked for a very special photo shoot with JUST them and their grandchildren.  Normally these family photo requests include everyone in the family, of course. But I thought it was so special that these two love their grandkids so much that they wanted a private photo shoot of just them and their adorable little people. How cool is THAT?!?

We had an awesome time together. All the kids were fantastic. I could tell their was a very special bond between them!  🙂