Chris Explores the Charleston Charm

It’s been an honor to photograph the Attaway family for many years. When I got the chance to work with Chris individually, I jumped at the chance!

Chris is a great guy, with striking good looks, and a deep knowledge of the history and architecture of Charleston. So we decided to do our shoot in some of his favorite alleys, with their unique Charleston Charm!

Following his big sister’s footsteps, Chris is at MUSC studying to go into medicine. He hasn’t declared a specialty yet. But whatever he chooses, I know this young man is going to be AMAZING at what he does!!!

LaCoste Family on Seabrook Island

I can’t believe it’s been 6 years already since Kate & Dustin’s beautiful wedding!

I’ve been photographing this wonderful family for years. But this was the first time I got to meet the two NEW additions to the LaCoste/Ham clan! Jake & Tyler were an absolute hoot! Alex has gone on to the Big Times…now working with Apple. Russ & Maggie are still big tennis nuts and as energetic as ever! It was so great to see everyone and catch up with their busy lives.

We all had a BLAST, on an absolutely GORGEOUS day at Seabrook Island!!!

Grace’s Model Shoot at the Old Charleston City Jail

Personal projects are what feeds the creative soul! It’s what professionals photographers do on their spare time to keep the fire burning with passion.

When Grace decided she wanted to do her own Model Shoot…something totally different…I was super excited! I’ve photographed Grace’s family, along with her 3 wonderful sisters, for years. But it was wonderful to just having a little one-on-one time with her to have fun and be ourselves!

Grace is a super bright young lady and an A+ student. But you’d never guess it. Her sweet personality, calm nature, and quiet humility instantly puts you at ease. She has the most beautiful big brown eyes, and is as good in front of the camera as any professional model I’ve worked with!

Many thanks to my friend Mahmood for helping us gain access to the haunted Old Charleston City Jail. And thanks to David & April for letting Grace come out and play with me. We had a BLAST!!!

Charlest Schwab Business Portraits

“I created this company because I believed investors deserved better. They still do.” – Chuck Schwab

Charles Schwab has a 40-year history of innovation and industry-leading change for the good of all investors. It’s an honor to have them as a client. It was a real pleasure photographing Julie, the newest member of the Mt. Pleasant team!

Emilly’s Dance Portfolio

I’ve always been fascinated by ballet and other forms of creative dance. The discipline, the training, what people put their bodies through for the purpose of self-expression…it’s just amazing! While visiting Cami’s cousin and her family in Phoenix, Shelley asked if we could photograph a mini session for Emily, who needed images for her portfolio. I don’t know who had more fun, Emily or me?!? Plus of course we HAD to incorporate a few of her brother, sister, and puppy dog! 🙂 Emily is an absolutely beautiful, focused, driven young lady. She wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfection in her pose and form. Well done, Superstar! I can’t wait to see you on the Big Stage someday…

Studio Portrait for SCFCU

When we’re not shooting weddings and events on weekends, we photograph lots of head shots and executive portraits throughout the week.  South Carolina Federal Credit Union has been sending their employees over to us for a couple years now.  Jessica just joined their team and needed photos for a press release.  This image was shot with a giant 6-foot LiteDome softbox to her left as the main light, a medium softbox behind and on her right as a kicker light, a small softbox on a boom above her for a hair light, and an SB-800 right behind her as a background light.  I like using small wireless strobes as my background light since it’s wireless and I don’t have to worry about cables showing in the photo if I do a full-length shot.  The rest of the light sources were Alien Bees, which are triggered with the RadioPopper Jr (Studio Version) radio triggers.  The image was shot with a Nikon D2x (which I use exclusively in the studio), and the 70-200 f2.8. 

Anchor Commercial

My “Double Your Pleasure” post about the team photos I did for ESPN got such a big response!  So I thought I’d share this group photo I did last weak using the same technique.  Anchor Commercial has been a client of ours for many years.  One of the things they have me photograph for them each November is a group shot they put in a Christmas Card to send all their clients.  Rather than setting up on the South East side of their building where they’d be squinting in to the morning sun, we decided to set up on the North West side.  This provided a nice rim/back light.  However, their faces were in extreme shadow.  So I set up my double-flash technique with two SB-800s on each of two light stand, firing them through my favorite Westcott 43” Collapsible Umbrellas, and triggering them with my trusty RadioPoppers.  Here’s the scene before everyone arrived, and the final image they selected for their card. 

Family Portrait on Sullivan’s Island

Last week I shot this fun family portrait session for our good friends, the McKelveys.  They used to live on Sullivan’s Island near Fort Moultrie.  Their kids used to play down there all the time.  Since they had such fond memories from that area, we decided to do their family’s photo shoot there. 

A Kiss of Light

I am, and always will be, a student of light!  Most days I can find absolutely gorgeous natural light to work with.  But sometimes a shot needs a little extra “something”.  During this fun shoot with James & Ashleigh and their beautiful daughter, I started photographing this story-telling scene with all natural light.  But the exposure value on Larkin was the same as James & Ashleigh’s.  Even though the shallow depth of field made it clear that Larkin was my main subject, James & Ashleigh were competing for my attention.  So to make them recede even more into the background and make Larkin really pop, I used a single SB-800 on my light stand off to my left to give her that extra lift.  I didn’t pump it up too high…just enough to give her a little extra kiss of light and make her the true centerpiece of the shot.  As always, the remote flash was triggered with a RadioPopper Px remote.  Next time you’re out shooting, try adding a kiss of light to add extra depth to your shot!

Five Year Follow-Up

It’s been about five years since I photographed James & Ashleigh’s wedding.  What a joy it was to bump into them as guests at Ashley & Sherrod’s wedding just a few weeks ago.  And even MORE exciting was the honor of meeting their beautiful daughter and getting to photograph yet another chapter in their lives.  J

Hilton Family at Folly Beach

Before Cami & I left for Maine last week, I had a really fun shoot with the Hilton Family on Folly Beach.  Dr. Hilton is our dentist and we LOVE the great care they give our smiles!  J  (Check out www.hiltondental.net.)