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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Laura & Terrell at Azalea Drive Church of Christ

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a dark cloud over many couple’s wedding plans. But Laura & Terrell stayed positive and came up with creative ways to still become husband and wife on their selected wedding day!

Instead of the big wedding and reception with 150 guests they had planned, Laura & Terrell were married in a beautiful, intimate ceremony with just a few special family members and friends, where pastor Brown at Azalea Drive Church of Christ led a touching service.   Laura & Terrell also created a live Zoom meeting for other guests to still be able to bear witness to this wonderful celebration. And of course they still had me photograph it so that they could have their special memories of this day, and put together a fun slideshow to share at their reception whenever they are able to have it once social-distancing regulations are relaxed.

After the ceremony, a few of us drove downtown to photograph some beautiful portraits of Laura & Terrell in Waterfront Park and the surrounding old historic French Quarter. We had so much fun! And the best part was, the nearly empty park and city streets gave us plenty of freedom to be creative without fighting mobs of tourists. See…no matter how bad things get, there’s always a silver lining if you look for it!  🙂

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

CONGRATULATIONS Laura & Terrell! What an incredible story you’ll have to tell your grand-kids someday. We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your amazing new journey together!!!

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Wingard Family at Higgins Pier

This week’s “Porchaits” session doesn’t take place on a porch at all. In our continuing series of Porch Portraits during this time of social-distancing, Melissa & David asked if we could do their session on Higgins Pier.

The pier is located at the end of the West Ashley Bikeway. Their family lives nearby, frequently bringing the kids down to this park for quiet walks. They have a lot of great memories here. So we thought it would be the PERFECT place for their candid family session!

Unfortunately when we arrived, the pier was already too full, making social-distancing impossible. Instead, we took advantage of the beautiful light and picturesque scenery along the bike path…even venturing underneath the pier for something fun and unique!

Shooting with telephoto lenses to keep our distance, we still had so much fun with Melissa and David and their adorable kids!  We can still have fun in spite of the limitations of this COVID-19 pandemic, right?!?  🙂

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Jameel & Jason are Expecting!!!

I had so much fun photographing Jameel & Jason’s seaside wedding at Folly Beach last year. They are such an amazing couple, and so much fun to be around! So imagine my excitement when they called to tell me they were EXPECTING!!! 🙂

With downtown Charleston being practically empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to meet at Washington Square Park to photograph a maternity shoot to commemorate this special time in their lives! It was kind of eerie at first wandering about the park, City Hall, The Hibernian Hall, down Chalmers Street with its picturesque cobble stones, The Dock Street Theater, and up Broad Street with out hardly seeing a soul. But honestly, it ended up being kind of refreshing to have the place to ourselves!

We had a fantastic time, wandering the streets and alleys around the French Quarter, laughing and joking the whole time, while capturing these beautiful photographs of this wonderful couple! CONGRATULATIONS Jemeel & Jason!!! You guys are going to be such amazing parents.  🙂

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Headshots for Lee & Associates

It was nice to get out and feel relatively “normal” the other day! As the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic begins to turn, businesses are starting to get back to work. Here are a few shots of some new employees I did for our awesome clients, Lee & Associates…

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Porch Portraits with the Roberts Family

If you don’t have an AMAZING eye-doctor already, I highly recommend Dr. Lori at Belle Hall Eye Care! That’s who I choose to take care of my eyes and she’s fantastic.

A few days ago I had the privilege of photographing Porch Portraits or “Porchaits” for her and her amazing daughter. We had so much fun, capturing photos of Ellie playing with their chickens, horses, cats and dogs. 🙂 Using telephoto lenses, I was able to shoot all these from over 6 feet away while keeping my social-distancing and helping to flatten the curve.

Dr. Lori and Ellie are such beautiful young ladies, both inside and out. It was such an honor preserving these memories for them!!!

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Porch Portraits with the Caloudas Family

We’ve been good friends with Meghann & Greg since we were neighbors several years ago! From photographing their fur-baby, Sasha, to capturing their engagement photos on their boat in Charleston Harbor, to preserving all the beautiful moments of their their wedding…it’s always been a pleasure being a part of their lives. Ever since they moved to Daniel Island, we sure have missed their company!

After the COVID-19 pandemic began, many photographers started offering Porch Portraits (or “Porchaits”) around the country: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/04/01/coronavirus-front-porch-photo-projects-show-how-families-cope/2928577001/. We haven’t been able to offer any. But when Meghann & Greg invited us to come over for a visit, and to shoot a few porch portraits while we were there, we loved the idea! While keeping our social-distancing by staying on the sidewalk and yard, we used telephoto lenses to photograph their beautiful growing family.  Hudson is absolutely the happiest and most adorable little boy I’ve ever met!  🙂

Afterwards we hung out and had a blast catching up. Hudson fell asleep. The moon climbed into the sky. And I got to photograph an immature bald eagle nearby.

THANK YOU so much for the lovely evening, Meghann & Greg! We will always cherish your friendship!!!

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Rosanna Pearson – Real Estate Headshots

I’ve known Rosanna for many years now. I met her while photographing headshots for the company she used to work for. She is such a great person, always smiling, and always so much fun to be around!

When she started with Highgarden Real Estate, I knew Rosanna was going to be a HUGE success!!!  Check out her website at www.RosannaFindsHomes.com and give her a call if you’re looking to buy or sell your home. I can’t recommend her enough!

I had such a blast catching up with Rosanna, and creating some new portraits for her to use. It was a beautiful spring day with gorgeous late-afternoon light streaming through the trees. Here are a few of my favorites…

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Sommer’s Bridal Portraits

One of the hardest things about photographing beautiful bridal portraits is having to wait so long before I can share them!

Now that Sommer and Frank are married, here are a few of my favorite shots from Sommer’s amazing bridal session in the Murray Center at 14 George Street. Her wedding gown is an antique, worn by her mother on her wedding day. It was not only elegant, but also very fragile. This historic interior space above the Spoleto office was the perfect location to showcase the dress, while keeping it clean and safe for the wedding day.

We had so much fun with Sommer and her mom and aunt who came to help. Sommer was absolutely stunning. And the pictures came out incredible!!!

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Headshots for Seamon Whiteside

Seamon Whiteside has been growing and expanding! I had so much fun returning to photograph the newest members of their amazing team.

We selected a low-key lighting style for their head-shots.  A dark background and some directional lighting created the look they like.  I used 2 SB-5000 flashes in a Westcott 50″ Apollo Softbox as the main light source.  This was augmented by two flanking rim lights, each created with an SB-5000 in a Westcott Strip Box.  All images were shot with a Nikon D5 and 70-200 f2.8 VRII.

As you can probably tell, some of my favorites are the “outtakes” where I was just goofing off to get each subject to relax and have fun with their photo shoot.  🙂

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Ashley at Lee & Associates

It was a pleasure photographing Ashley this morning at Lee & Associates! Ashley is originally from Ohio, but bounced around through Tennessee and Texas before finally landing in Charleston. She and her husband have been married about a year now. He works for The Citadel. Welcome to a great team, Ashley!!!