Prapas Family at Rainbow Row

I had so much fun photographing Alex & Anastasia’s beautiful Greek wedding several years ago: https://chrisandcami.com/anastasia-alex-are-married-at-the-greek-orthodox-church/. So I was SUPER excited when Anastasia called to ask if I would photograph their first family portraits!

Adorable Elora came into their lives just over 7 months ago. She is the sweetest girl with the most captivating smile. We literally had other families and tourists walking by that would stop to watch and grin (and even jump in to make goofy faces and silly baby sounds)…all because of Elora’s incredible cuteness!!!

Strolling around the colorful Rainbow Row, the cobblestone streets by Waterfront Park, and the old historic alleys gave us tons of great backdrops.

It was so much fun catching up with Alex & Anastasia…and getting to know their beautiful daughter! They are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! And I can’t wait to watch Elora grow up to be another wonderful human like her parents.

Cohen Family on Kiawah Island

I’ve had so much fun communicating with The Cohens to plan the perfect family portrait session for them.

Marilyn and Steve love their kids to pieces, and are so excited to have this wonderful reunion with them on Kiawah Island. But honestly, I think they are even more excited to have some special bonding time with their adorable grandson! 🙂

We met up at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, near where they are staying for Spring Break. It was a beautiful evening. Little Ryan was adorable. We all had a BLAST!!! And we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset!

Murray Family on IOP

I absolutely LOVE photographing repeat family sessions each year. It’s so much fun to watch the kids grow, see them come out of their shell, and experience their personalities blossoming!

Last night I met up with the Murray family once again at a beach house on Isle of Palms. I couldn’t believe how tall Parker had gotten in just one year!!! I also got to meet Anne’s sister and their family, which was awesome. It’s always fun to see families vacationing together and see the grandparents glowing with love for their grandkids!

We had a beautiful evening with gorgeous light to work with. Everyone had a great time as we captured a variety of fond memories together!

Johnson Family on Isle of Palms

Remember a little while back when I shared Hunter & Sydney’s AMAZING surprise proposal?!?  https://chrisandcami.com/hunter-sydneys-surprise-proposal-at-white-point-garden/.

Well, Hunter got is papers and was deployed to a submarine based on the west coast. He’s been hard at work, preserving our freedom and serving his country with honor! Now his ship is returning to port and it’s time for Sydney to join him.

Before Sydney and her mom embark on a big cross-country trip to get her moved to California, they wanted to get one last family portrait session together! We met at The Citadel Beach Club on Isle of Palms on a beautiful blue-sky day. Everyone looked amazing! We had so much fun capturing a variety of shots of Sydney and her sisters, the family together, and of course their adorable grandson, Tanner!

Sydney, we wish you all the best for a safe journey and a joyful reunion with your best friend and the love of your life, Hunter!

Lucas Surprises Callie with a Secret Proposal

I got a call over a month ago from Jamey who was interested in booking a family photo session…with a twist! Jamey and her family were going to be vacationing on Isle of Palms. She wanted me to photograph their family portraits on the beach. At the same time, her oldest son, Lucas, was going to be proposing to his longtime girlfriend. She wanted to know if that could even be done, and how we might work it out so that Callie didn’t suspect anything. After sharing some ideas with Jamie, and talking it over with Lucas, a doubly-devious plan was hatched! 🙂

Lucas invited Callie to join his family on their beach vacation. Jamie booked the family portrait session with me, and told everyone (including Callie) what day and time they were all expected to be dressed and ready for photos. Arriving for the shoot that afternoon, I rang the bell at their beautiful beach house, and went inside to meet everyone. As introductions were being made, Jamey explained that she wasn’t ready yet and to go ahead and start with a few couple’s photo of Lucas & Callie. Callie & Lucas had just bought a house together, and had talked about getting a few photos of them made during the family session that they could hang in their new home. So this all seemed totally natural to Callie.

After photographing a nice variety of couple’s shots for them, I suggested some casual candids of them holding hands and walking down the beach. We picked a spot where they would turn around. This was Lucas’ cue. He and I had pre-arranged which side he would walk on, which way he would turn, and how to drop to one knee at the turning point to completely catch Callie off guard.

It worked like MAGIC!!! Lucas did a fabulous job of hitting his mark. Callie was completely surprised by the whole thing!  And I just fired away, catching every moment of the excitement!  After she said “YES”, Callie & Lucas came back down the beach towards me. At this point, Luca’s parents and his younger brother, who were all hiding back at the boardwalk, came running out to join them and congratulate them!

We still had plenty of light left to photograph a variety of family portraits. And we capped off the session with some gorgeous shots of Lucas & Callie (with a sparkly new diamond on her finger) in the dramatic setting sun. BUT WAIT!!! The surprise wasn’t over yet!

After we got back to the beach house, Lucas told Callie she should go ahead and call her parents to let them know the good news. Little did Callie know, her parents had secretly arrived in town the day before. While I was out photographing the “couples photos”, Jamey called them to say the coast was clear. They then snuck into the house while we were doing the family photos, and hid upstairs. When Callie face-timed her Mom, she answered and pretended she didn’t have a clue. Thinking her parents were miles away in Georgia, Callie excitedly began sharing the “big news” of how Lucas had asked her to marry him.  While she was mid-sentence, Callie’s parents magically appeared on the staircase coming down towards her!!! The look of utter disbelief on her face was simply priceless!

What an AMAZING honor it was to capture Lucas’ Surprise Proposal to Callie!!!  Congratulations to Jamey and Lucas for pulling off a massive DOUBLE surprise!  And CONGRATULATIONS to Callie & Lucas!!! They are an absolutely adorable couple! We wish them all the happiness in the world as they begin this new journey together…

Animal Eye-Detect with the Nikon Z9

As most of you know, Cami has a HUGE heart and absolutely adores loving on every dog she meets!

This week, she’s been watching over Callie & Jax, whos owners are away for a much-needed vacation. She asked me if I wanted to come over to their house tonight to take a few pictures of these beautiful dogs for the owners. Not having had a chance to test out the Animal Eye-Detection mode of the new Z9, I jumped at the idea! Don’t worry, I didn’t do it for free…Cami rewarded me with a delicious Thai dinner, asparagus, and quinoa with brown rice. 🙂

But I had to earn my meal. So we went out to their back yard and I got to work. With the Z9 set to back-button AF, using Dynamic Area Auto-Focus mode, and choosing Animal Eye-Detect, any time I pointed the the camera towards Callie or Jax, it immediately snapped right onto their eyes. It was absolutely magical! The early evening light was spectacular. And we came away with some fun images for Callie & Jax’s owners to enjoy when they get home. 🙂

Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII + FTZII adapter

Regan & Thomas at Rainbow Row

Everyone please help me congratulate Regan!!!
Regan works for 3rd largest insurance firm in the world. She joined the team this summer and they are featuring her in their National Business Journal as an outstanding new-hire highlight. How cool is that?!?
I had the privilege’s of photographing some beautiful portraits of her for the article. Plus, since her and Thomas just moved to Charleston, we dragged him along for a few couples portraits as well! Because Regan can work from anywhere, they moved to Charleston when Thomas landed his dream job at The Citadel.
Regan and Thomas are the coolest couple you could ever hope to meet! We had so much fun exploring the historic alleys and beautiful backdrops around Rainbow Row.

CONGRATULATIONS

Regan…your firm is lucky to have you!!!

Molnar Family on Folly Beach

It was only been 55-degrees outside that day…BRRRR!!! But the Molnar Family were on vacation from Michigan. Joy said “this is like Summer to us”! That put things into perspective. 🙂 So we met up at Folly Beach County Park for their family portrait session as planned.

While they were dressed in their shorts and summer dress, I was bundled up in my jeans and sweater. But the instant we met each other, the temperature simply didn’t matter. The Molnar family are the kindest, warmest people you could ever hope to meet! We hit it off immediately!!! With me going to college in Michigan, and Cami’s love for dogs, meeting this beautiful family was like re-connecting with old family friends.

We had a BLAST photographing some beautiful portraits for them to commemorate this special Christmas get-away! What a warm and wonderful family!!!

Portraits with Jackie & Stacy

In spite of the crazy weather that swooped in late yesterday afternoon, I had a FANTASTIC time photographing a fun portrait session with Jackie and Stacy.

This amazing couple is good friends with our friends Toni and Billie. So when they asked if I would do a mini session with them when they were in town visiting from Florida, I jumped at the chance! Stacy works for Tesla, which is pretty awesome. And Jackie runs an amazing catering company called The Hummingbird Table, which you should follow @thehummingbirdtable.

Many thanks to Jackie & Stacy for being such a joy to work with!

Gadol Family in Leopard Print

Toni and Billy are so fun and creative!!!
With this year’s family portrait session they dug back to the Great Gatsby days for a high-fashion look, complete with leather pants, bow ties, and leopard-print! We had so much fun wandering the charming streets of downtown, discovering historic backdrops to compliment the eclectic theme of their photo shoot. 🙂
Nikon D5, Nikkor 24-120 f4, Nikon SB-5000 off-camera flash, Godox 24″ softbox, Manfrotto supports.

Gehrig Family

I am so blessed to work with some of the neatest families here in Charleston! But every now and then, a family comes along that I just “click” with. The Gehrig’s were absolutely AMAZING!!! Their girls were truly adorable. And we all had so much fun, photographing a variety of great images while we strolled around the beautiful streets and alleys along Rainbow Row.

Haggarty Family at Waterfront Park

Cami’s friend, Christie, is also one of the trainers at her gym. Yesterday afternoon we met up with her and Shaun and their adorable kids for a fun family portrait session!

We started out at the pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park, exploring all the surrounding alleys and backdrops as we went. Then we zipped down to Liberty Square to capture a final shot in front of the “Joy” sign with the glowing pineapple fountain inside.

It was indeed a real joy hanging out with this amazing family and capturing these beautiful photos for them!!!