Hadden Family at Washington Square Park

Check out the AMAZING time I had with the Hadden’s last weekend!!! 🙂

It’s been my honor to photograph this beautiful family since capturing Lisa & Clay’s gorgeous wedding celebration at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church several years ago. For this session, we decided to start out in front of St. Michael’s with its beautiful black iron gates and those old red brick walls.  The circle is complete!

We then headed over to historic Washington Square Park for the natural greenery and the amazing late-afternoon light that comes flooding through that eccentric park in the heart of downtown.

For the grand finale, we couldn’t pass up the longest cobblestone street in Charleston! Chalmers Street provided a charming backdrop for some fun moments and fond memories.

CONGRATULATIONS Lisa & Clay! Your growing family gets even more precious every time I see them!!! 🙂

Boucher Family at Charlestowne Landing

I got to spend Saturday morning with one of my all-time-favorite wedding couples!

That’s right, just a few short years since Catie & Justin’s AMAZING Boone Hall Plantation wedding, I got to meet the newest addition to their family! We met up at the historic Charlestowne Landing, on a beautiful fall day. This is the same historic location where Catie had her beautiful Bridal Shoot. So it was fitting that this would be the same picturesque setting for Savvy’s 6-month old session!  🙂

Savvy is an absolutely ADORABLE 6-month old girl.  She’s a bouncing, bubbling, bundle of joy.  With her mom’s beautiful blue eyes, and her dad’s funny sense of humor, she’s just a delight to be around!

CONGRATULATIONS Catie & Justin! You guys are going to be the BEST parents ever!!!

Amelia’s Senior Portraits

We’ve been best friends with Byron & Kathleen for a looong time. We don’t want to date ourselves, but we’ve known them since the BAE…”Before Amelia Era”!!! 😉

As you can imagine, it’s been a real joy of ours to watch Amelia grow from adorable baby, to cute little girl, and now into the beautiful young lady she’s become! We couldn’t be more proud of the amazing, kind, and giving human being she’s grown into!!!

For something fun and different, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia joined us for a weekend get-away in Maggie Valley to photograph Amelia’s Senior Portraits. True to the White/Smith tradition, IT RAINED! You see, the number of camping trips and expeditions we’ve been on together, it’s astounding how often it rains. It was only fitting that it rain on this one too. But we don’t think of it as a curse. We think of it as an adventure!

And so, with an ADVENTURE in mind, we forged ahead with our plans to meet in picturesque Cataloochee Valley to photograph Amelia. As a bonus, we got to see a herd of elk grazing in one of the fields. But the real thrill was hanging out with this wonderful family, and capturing beautiful images of their amazing daughter!!!

Thanks for another great expedition, Byron, Kathleen, and Amelia. We can’t wait to see what great things God has in store for you, Amelia! We are so proud of you.

Rogers Family at Hampton Park

It’s been 5 years since I last had the honor of photographing the Rogers Family. My oh my have Lucas & Tessa grown!!!

We met up for a fun family session at Hampton Park. It was a beautiful afternoon with gorgeous light and perfect temperatures. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

I’m thrilled to be able to share some of my favorite shots from my time this adorable family. 🙂

Jaime & Brian’s Hampton Park Engagement Session

Earlier this summer I got this really sweet email from Jaime:

“Hey Chris! I recently just got engaged and wanted to talk to you. You did my best friends wedding a few years ago and the pictures were so beautiful…”

I’ve had so much fun getting to know Jaime over the past few months. Finally, I got to meet this very special couple over the weekend when they came to Charleston for their engagement session. Jaime is the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful person you could ever meet! Plus, Brian and I hit it off immediately because we share the same quirky sense of humor. We all had a BLAST exploring the picturesque Hampton Park, capturing their excitement and energy along the way.

I’d like to send a HUGE BEAR HUG to Melissa & Kevin, who’s gorgeous wedding I photographed at Middleton Place, for re-connecting Jaime and I after all these years. 🙂  I can’t wait to photograph Jaime & Brian’s amazing celebration in Woodstock, GA next year!!!

Ally & Matt’s Surprise Proposal at Magnolia Plantation

I woke up this morning before the alarm…butterflies in my stomach…excitement in my veins. It wasn’t for me. The anticipation of being a part of Matt’s Surprise Proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Ally, had my adrenaline pumping before my feet hit the floor. It’s hard to believe that 9 years of dating had finally led these two soulmates to this perfect moment!

Matt and I have been secretly corresponding for weeks…planning out every detail of this AMAZING day! We selected a gorgeous avenue of oaks at the picturesque Magnolia Plantation & Gardens. Arriving early, I got all set up and settled into my hiding spot. A small group of tourists walked by and, hesitant at first, asked me why I was hiding in the bushes. After I explained my situation, the men wandered off slightly bemused, while the ladies burst into smiles and giggles, chattering among themselves as they strolled on: “isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard of?!?”

Matt and Ally arrived right on cue! The first shot of them walking towards “the spot” cracks me up. You can see Matt’s brain is on high alert as he scans the brush to get a bead on my location. But more importantly, I LOVE ALLY’S REACTION when Matt dropped to his knee and asked her to be his wife!!! 🙂

After she said “Yes”, the three of us enjoyed a wonderful stroll around the plantation, stopping to photograph authentic Engagement Photos along the way. It was a beautiful morning with perfect fall temperatures and gorgeous southern light.  We had a BLAST!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Ally & Matt! You guys are a very special couple. I am truly honored to be forever linked to this beautiful day in your lives!!!

Summerville Cuties

Last night I had the pleasure of photographing portraits for my good friend, and amazing photographer, Frank!

We created a natureal portrait studio in his back yard with the beautiful woods as the backdrop and an elegant earth-tone chair for posing. I used the Nikon D5 with the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 on a Manfrotto Carbon Fiber tripod. For lighting, one SB-5000 was fired through a 24″ Lastolite EZY Box on camera left, and a bare SB-5000 with 1/2 CTO gel on it was fired from behind the chair to camera right. Since it was such an overcast day, this gave a little character and warmth to mimic a setting sun. Both were triggered with the new Nikon AWL system using the WR-10 transmitter.

Thanks for a great evening, Frank!

Rebekah at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

It was a real pleasure photographing Rebekah at the picturesque Magnolia Plantation & Gardens yesterday! She’s a beautiful model with a sweet disposition, a generous heart, and an enthusiastic spirit. We had a BLAST exploring the grounds and creating some wonderful images together! Thanks, Rebekah!!!

Hadden Family on Sullivan’s Island

Yesterday was another WONDERFUL family photo shoot with my favorite clients, Lisa & Clay! I met up with them and their adorable daughter on the picturesque Sullivan’s Island for a fun sunset beach portrait session. Emma is almost a year old now. Isn’t she adorable?  It’s hard to believe how time flies!!!

Student Transportation Inc

It was an honor and a pleasure to work with Student Transportation Inc (STI) on their Annual Report again this year!

Lawson’s Senior Portraits

Lawson is an incredibly smart, kind, and beautiful young lady! Her easy-going personality and naturally quiet demeanor has a calming effect on everyone around her. And when that infectious smile bursts out, you can’t help but be happy inside! Lawson plays golf on her high-school team, and is hoping to study law when she goes to college.

Yesterday I had a really fun mentoring session with my friends Geno and Tyler. They were kind enough to teach me how to fly their drones. So I returned the favor by sharing some photography tips. Lawson was kind enough to accept the challenge of being our super model for the afternoon as we worked on our techniques. What a brave girl!!! 😉

We started our fun fashion shoot off at Hampton Park…later progressing to Brittlebank Park for the sunset. It was a gorgeous day, and Lawson was absolutely STUNNING!!! It was an honor and a pleasure to capture some creative Senior Portraits for this amazing young lady!

Megan & Chandler’s Secret Proposal at Middleton Place

What is life without love in your heart?

When Chandler contacted me several weeks ago with his AMAZING ideas for how he wanted to propose to Megan, I knew he truly loved her. It’s always so refreshing to me when I meet REAL men, who are kind, thoughtful, and selfless! I loved his enthusiasm and his sincerity…and I knew I HAD to photograph his Secret Proposal!!!

Chandler and I planned out every detail together over the ensuing weeks. Yesterday at Middleton Place Plantation, on a grassy hill overlooking the Ashley River, surrounded by old oak trees adorned with Spanish moss swaying in the breeze, Chandler asked Megan to be his bride! It was such an honor to capture and preserve this beautiful moment between two young people in love!!!

Afterward Chandler revealed the secret that he’d had the whole affair photographed (I love Megan’s expression…HA!), we photographed their AUTHENTIC engagement photos. It was so much fun to stroll around the beautiful plantation, finding gorgeous backgrounds to shoot in, and getting to know them Chandler & Megan along the way.

We concluded our session near the Middleton Place Restaurant, where Chandler had made reservations for them to have a delightful dinner to celebrate their engagement. CONGRATULATIONS Megan & Chandler!!! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together…