Photographing from the Sky

Since becoming FAA Certified for commercial drone photography, I haven’t had as many opportunities to go flying as I used to.  I can accomplish most of my aerial photography requests with the drone. But last week I had an assignment for Trident Construction that was going to require flying above 400 ft, and flying too near the Charleston International Airport…both of which were beyond the legal limits of commercial drone flight.

So I reached out to Hayden and Kris at Holy City Helicopters. Hayden is not only a great chopper pilot, but also an avid photographer. So he “got it” when it came to waiting for the right weather and the right light. Finally, a beautiful blue-sky day opened up to us! Kris was my pilot that morning.  He did a fantastic job of getting me good angles of the projects I needed to photograph.

It was a pleasure flying and photographing with these fine gentlemen. I highly recommend calling Hayden if you’re interested in photographing from the sky!

Girl’s Weekend on Kiawah Island

One of the best parts of my job is meeting new, interesting, and FUN people!!!

This weekend, I had such a great time photographing this wonderful group of life-long friends, who all get together one weekend every year to catch up on each other’s lives, build new memories, and invest in the beautiful relationships they build over the years. For this year’s theme, they each decided to dress up as a different “month” of the year. Then everyone changed and we did a few patriotic themes. Last but not least, everyone just jumped in the pool for something really fun!

I love it when grown-ups choose to remember the value of being a kid at heart again! 🙂

Allman Joy on Kiawah Island

I had so much fun with the Allman/Musser family during their photo shoot on Kiawah Island last night!  (The two sisters coined the “Allman Joy” thing, which I thought was too cute not to use.)

Part of the reason for the trip was because the grandparents were celebrating their Anniversary. CONGRATULATIONS Brian & Kathy!  You have the most adorable grand-kids in the world!!!  Thanks for letting me be a part of this special time in your lives.  🙂

Alex’s New Headshot

Alex used to work in TV. But her life has taken a different path! She is the newest attorney to join the incredible team at the Clawson & Staubes Law Firm. It was a pleasure meeting Alex and photographing her new headshots. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Marcella & Steve’s Cape Cod Wedding

Several years ago, I had the joy of photographing Roxann & Michael’s destination wedding on a beautiful beach in Charleston: https://chrisandcami.com/roxann-michael-on-sullivans-island/. I had so much fun capturing their special day, and getting to know their amazing children! Thus, you can imagine my excitement when their daughter, Marcella, asked us to be HER photographer too!!!

Marcella & Steve’s destination wedding was in Cape Cod, at the incredible Wynchmere Beach Club. Cami and I had flown up several days early to celebrate our own anniversary, and to scout out the area. When we saw the venue, we knew immediately why Marcella & Steve had fallen in love with the place! Marcella had always wanted to get married on the beach. And Steve had always wanted to get married in Cape Cod. This picturesque spot fit BOTH their dreams perfectly!!!

The day of the wedding was absolutely gorgeous with the sun warming our faces, and the love between Marcella & Steve warming our hearts.  Marcella was absolutely STUNNING in her elegant gown and long flowing train.  Steve was looking pretty suave himself, with the classy-but-casual “no-tie” look.  The two lovebirds shared a touching “First Look” before the ceremony, which was the first time I teared up. There were a lot of funny moments during the ceremony, like when they both did shots under the arbor. But the second time I teared up was when they exchanged their hand-written wedding vows. The third time was when Michael gave his heart-felt speach, honoring Marcella’s father who had passed away 4 years prior, and re-affirmed his love for his amazing new daughter.

With excitement and energy bursting throughout the venue, the reception carried on late into the night. Cami and I had so much fun capturing every moment of this wonderful wedding celebration! Many thanks to Brooke and all the other incredible vendors that helped this dream wedding come together so perfectly. And a HUGE thank you to Marcella & Steve for welcoming us in and making us feel like part of their family once again.

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

CONGRATULATIONS Marcella & Steve!!! We love you guys and wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new journey together…

Kyle & Brittany’s Surprise Proposal at Magnolia Plantation

Hailing from Florida, Kyle and I have been secretly corresponding over the last few months about his PERFECT plan to surprise Brittany by proposing to her on the famous white bridge at Magnolia Plantation! 🙂

Kyle & Brittany have known each other since high-school. But life’s twists and turns found them heading in separate directions. Then a couple years ago, fate brought them back together again! Kyle knew she was THE ONE and decided to ask for her hand in marriage during this special long-weekend get-away to Charleston!

With every detail worked out, Kyle’s carefully laid out plans went into motion this morning. I arrived early at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens and got set up with a beautiful view of the historic white bridge. Right on cue, Kyle and Brittany arrived for him to expertly guide her out into the picturesque overlook, surrounded by cypress trees draped in billowy Spanish moss. They were the FIRST ones on the bridge this morning. So it was quite funny when Brittany ran smack into a spider web. The distraction gave Kyle the perfect opportunity to drop to his knee and surprise her with the ring! It was an absolutely magical moment!!!

For my setup, I used the venerable Nikon D5, and his younger brother the D500. I had the D500 on the Nikkor 200-400 f4 VR, effectively making it a 300-600mm lens. This gave me the tight angle I wanted for capturing their expressions. The D5 was fitted with the 70-200 f2.8 VRII, setting the stage by revealing the entire scene. Each camera had a WR-R10 controller plugged in. The controllers were synchronized so that each time I took a picture with the D500…the D5 instantly fired at the same time. This allowed me to capture two different perspectives at the same exact time.

After Brittany said “YES”, I came out of hiding and met up with them. We had a BLAST photographing tons of beautiful engagement photos for them, while wandering the gorgeous plantation together! Couples who don’t hire a photographer to capture their actual proposal have to “stage” an engagement shoot later on. But Kyle & Brittany were able to have an “authentic” engagement shoot on the actual day of their engagement!!! How cool is that?

CONGRATULATIONS Kyle & Brittany! You guys are so perfect together. We wish you all the best as you begin this new and exciting journey together!!!

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…

New Attorney at Clawson & Staubes

Today found me capturing headshots for this amazing young lady on Daniel Island in the warm glow of mid-day light!!!

Alicia is the newest attorney to join the team of Clawson & Staubes. Alicia, her husband, and their adorable 7-month old daughter moved to Charleston last month. So far they love it here! 🙂

The image was captured on a Nikon D5 with the incredible Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 lens. A Manfrotto 055CXPro4 served as support for the camera. And a Manfrotto 367B light stand held an SB-5000 Speedlight, firing through a 24″ Lastolite EZY Box. This off-camera flash setup served as a directional main light, as well as providing a nice catch light. The open shade of the picturesque location I had chosen for the shoot served as a nice ambient fill light.

Welcome to an awesome team, Alicia!!!

Headshots for SC Community Loan Fund

Today found me photographing these beautiful young ladies in the gorgeous morning light. Chrissy and Majda are the newest members of the amazing team at South Carolina Community Loan Fund! Welcome to the team!!!

Shooting with the Nikon D5 and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, I was mostly using the soft natural light of “open shade”.  But I also had an SB-5000 Speedlight firing through a 24″ Lastolite EZY Box.  Depending on the situation, I either placed the softbox in front of them off to one side for a nice little “catch light”, or behind them glancing off their hair as a “kicker light”.

See if you can tell which image had which setup?

The Principals at Lee & Associates

This morning I had the pleasure of photographing the principal leaders at Lee & Associates. I’ve been working with this organization for a long time. They are always so much fun to work with!

Arriving a few minutes early, Lizzie met me in the lobby. Lizzie is the Operations Manager and always has a good eye for photos. She and I came up with three configurations in the office that we could use to give them a variety of “looks” in a short amount of time.

I know how busy these gentleman are.  So I set everything up in such a way that we could quickly cycle from one scene to the next. I used the Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 f2.8, and 3 SB-5000 Speedlights. In the images with the blue glass behind them, I placed blue gels on the two background flashes to achieve that effect. Working with such a mobile and light-weight set of tools, we had all three images knocked out in about 15 minutes!

Many thanks to Lee & Associates, and especially to Lizzie for always making sure their photo shoots go so smoothly!

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!!! 🙂