Tag: Flashpoint

Evan Surprises Brianna with his Proposal

Brianna & Even met and fell in love at Winthrop University. Now living in Charlotte, he’s a financial advisor, and she’s a flight instructor. This week they came to Charleston to run the city’s half-marathon race, and to celebrate 6 years together. Evan thought this would be the PERFECT time to ask Brianna to be his wife!!! 🙂

I was so excited when Evan called a few weeks ago to ask me to photograph this special occasion for the two of them. He told me all about their story and how much he adored Brianna. I was hooked! So we began secretly coming up with the perfect plan on how to pull this off without her finding out.

When the big day arrived, I went down to White Point Garden early to scout it out and get set up. We had picked one of the beautiful avenues of oaks as the spot for him to propose. Finding the perfect angle with the best light, I placed a marker so that he knew exactly where to stop and do his magic! Then I settled into “hiding in plain sight”, sitting on the curb, pretending I was a random tourist just resting and checking his map. Later, Brianna said, “You are so sneaky…I never even noticed you sitting there!!!”.

Once they arrived, Even led her down a couple paths to keep Brianna guessing. Then he took her into the alley where he dropped to one knee under the majestic cathedral of giant oak limbs towering above them, and asked Brianna for her hand in marriage! It was incredibly MAGICAL!!!

But the surprise didn’t end there! Evan had also secretly arranged for Brianna’s twin sister, Marissa, to fly in that afternoon and hide around the corner. After he proposed, he signaled for Marissa to come out from hiding and the look on Brianna’s face was absolutely PRICELESS!!!

Before the three of them went off to celebrate, we strolled around the park, and up some of the old historic alleys, capturing some beautiful engagement photos to commemorate this special time in their lives. CONGARULATIONS Evan & Brianna!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together!

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!!!

Charleston Business Photographer Charleston Company Photographer Charleston Corporate Photographer Charleston Couples Photographer Charleston Engagement Photographer Charleston Family Photographer Charleston Head-shot Photographer Charleston Headshot Photographer Charleston Marketing Photographer Charleston Portrait Photographer Charleston Team Photographer Chris & Cami Photography D5 Flashpoint Godox Nikkor Nikon Nikon Love Nikon Pro Nikon USA OCF Off Camera Flash Speedlight

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!!!

Charleston Children Photographer Charleston Family Photographer Charleston Portrait Photographer Charleston Senior Photographer Chris & Cami Photography D5 DJI Flashpoint Folly Beach Aerial Photographer Folly Beach Children Photographer Folly Beach County Park Folly Beach Drone Photographer Folly Beach Family Photographer Folly Beach Photographer Folly Beach Portrait Photographer Godox Mavic 2 Pro Mt. Pleasant Children Photographer Mt. Pleasant Family Photographer Mt. Pleasant Portrait Photographer Nikkor Nikon Nikon Love Nikon Pro Nikon USA OCF Off Camera Flash Speedlight

Marketing Photos for Truist Wealth

As a small business owner, word-of-mouth referrals from friends and colleagues is the HIGHEST compliment we receive! I’d like to say a huge Thank You to my friend Andy Stroer for recommending us to the awesome team at Truist Wealth Management!!!

Wealth accumulates. Goals shift. New needs arise. And your financial solutions should evolve accordingly. Early on, your planning needs may be simple. But as your assets, family, and passions grow, more complexities emerge. As your wealth grows, considerations like tax planning, philanthropy, and family legacy may begin to take center stage. This is where the advisors at Truist Wealth Management can help. Check them out at www.truist.com!

We started the session at their office in Mt. Pleasant, where I set up my portable studio in their lobby. All images were shot with Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, Godox flashes, Westcott umbrellas, Manfrotto supports, and a Savage background. I was shooting tethered to a Lenovo Yoga laptop, allowing everyone to review their headshots and make sure they were happy with them!

Next we headed over to an overlook on the Cooper River that gave us a great view of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in the background. This is such an iconic landmark, and worked out great for some environmental portraits of one of the teams within the wealth management group. These images were captured on a Nikon Z6II with a Nikkor S 24-70 and Godox flashes.

The sun was JUST starting to touch the horizon as a finished packing up. So I couldn’t help getting the Mavic 2 Pro out for a couple shots of the bridge after everyone had left!!! 🙂

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CTAR Event – Harbour Club at Westedge

Getting to see and experience all the beautiful venues around Charleston is one of the highlights of my job!

It’s been a pleasure working with the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors for many years. Everyone is always so fun and friendly. I always enjoy photographing their programs. And Claire does an AMAZING job of organizing everything!

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing their end-of-year holiday luncheon at the new Harbour Club at Westedge. It’s a gorgeous location with an amazing view of the city skyline. The staff was wonderful to work with. And I loved all the natural light from the massive windows that wrap around the room!

I’d like to congratulate all the new inductees into their new roles for the coming year!

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Headshots for the Wasden Banias Imigration Litigation Team

It was a pleasure to photograph the Wasden Banias Imigration Litigation team last week!

“Today’s world requires new strategies to overcome visa delays and denials. Whether it be a visa for your spouse, employee, or the PERM process, an attorney with experience in federal court litigation is necessary to gain certainty in your unique immigration process. Wasden Banias is an administrative law litigation firm, designed to guide you through the litigation or petition process.”

We met at Hampton Park on a beautiful unseasonably warm winter day. It was so much fun meeting everyone and capturing these fresh new images for their markating team. Many thanks to Carolina for organizing everything!!!

Ben Proposes to Paulina at the Holiday Festival of Lights

I had so much fun photographing Frank and Sommer’s wedding last year. The Kordonis’ and Peterman’s are such wonderful families! So when Ben called to ask if I would photograph his Surprise Proposal to Frank’s sister, Paulina, I was ECSTATIC!!!

Ben had come up with a really unique but challenging idea for his proposal. He wanted to do it at the James Island County Park Holiday Festival of Lights. There were two major obstacles against us…there is no light…and there is no privacy! However, I loved the idea and went out to the park on a scouting trip. Soon a plan began to take shape.

I reached out to my friend, Gary Coleman, who is a good friend and has been Santa’s private photographer at James Island County Park for 13 years. Since Santa doesn’t make appearances after Christmas Eve, Gary was free to come with me and help out. He was able to let the park staff know what was going on, and ask Laura, one of the kind staff members, to help us with “crowd control”.

Arriving early to set up, we mounted a flash on a Manfrotto Magic Arm on one side of the “Tunnel of Lights”, and a second flash on a light-stand in the forest on the other side. Both were dialed way down to 1/128th power so as not to over-ride the beautiful ambiance of the festival lighting. I hid a Nikon Z6II with a 24-70 f2.8 under the “mushroom” display, which I triggered with a WR-R10 remote control. And I hid back behind the “woodpecker” display with a Nikon D5 using a 70-200 f2.8. Both cameras were set to ISO 2500, f2.8, and 1/60th sec.

After a nice dinner together, Ben & Paulina arrived at the Festival of Lights for what she thought was just part of their date night. Secretly staying in touch with Ben via text, he let me know when they were approaching the “Tunnel of Light” that we had selected as the spot to do his thing. Once I got the word, Laura helped me ask the crowd on my side of the tunnel to wait a moment for him to have a little privacy (and a clear shot from my cameras). Meanwhile, Gary, who was stationed at the far end of the tunnel, asked everyone on that end to wait a moment for them. By the time the tunnel was clear, there were probably 30 people all hiding behind me and holding their breath in anticipation of the big moment!

Ben rounded the corner exactly as planned, took to his knee, and asked Paulina to be his wife. Of course SHE SAID YES!!! And the crowd of people that had silently assembled all broke out in thunderous applause and loud cheers of encouragement for the happy couple! 🙂 Following this special moment, Gary and I took Ben & Paulina on a fun little mini-shoot throughout the Festival of Lights, before leaving them to enjoy their roasted marshmallows and celebrate this special moment in their lives.

CONGRATULATIONS Ben & Paulina! We wish you all the best as you begin this beautiful journey together…

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Headshots for State Farm

We had another fun photo session with the Kevin Sevier State Farm agency in Bluffton this week! We’ve known Kevin for a long time and have appreciated his support over the years. He’s got a fantastic team working for him. And we ALWAYS have a blast hanging out with them, photographing their headshots, and capturing their team photos!!!

Charleston Business Photographer Charleston Corporate Photographer Charleston Head-shot Photographer Charleston Headshot Photographer Charleston Marketing Photographer Chris & Cami Photography D5 Flashpoint Godox Manfrotto Nikkor Nikon OCF Off-camera Flash Speedlight State Farm Insurance Westcott

WP Chrysler Club Conference

It was great to be back at Belmond Charleston Place this week, photographing the WP Chrysler Club sales meeting.

The program started off with a welcome reception for all the sales leaders and their significant others. My friend Gary and I partnered up to provide couples portraits, which Gary printed and delivered on-site for the guests to take home as a memento of the evening. We also photographed head-shots for the various dealership owners. Then everyone enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour, followed by a fabulous dinner!

The next morning I photographed the business meeting, including all the networking opportunities, the keynote speakers, and of course the award presentations to the top sales leaders. CONGRATULATIONS to Chris & Joel for their achievements!

At the end of the day, everyone gathered for a big group photo on the famous Grand Staircase. That was the last “official” duty before everyone dispersed to partake in their various free-time activities, including golf, shopping, carriage tours, etc. As soon as I snapped the last frame, everyone scattered like school kids on the last day of class before summer break! 😉

I’ve been slowly incorporating the new Nikon Z system into some of my shooting. Although most of these images were photographed with my trusty Nikon D5, many were captured with the Z6II, which I’m very impressed with. However, there are still a few things that have left me wondering “why did they do that?!?”. The jury is still out as to whether I will fully switch over to mirrorless. But so far it’s been fun to play with. So stay tuned…

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Headshots for First Citizens Bank

Yesterday morning it was time for another round of headshots for First Citizens Bank!

I’ve enjoyed working with the amazing team at First Citizens Bank for many years. They are always so much fun to work with!!! Several times a year I setup our portable head-shot studio at one of their offices to photograph updated portraits for those who want it, as well as to catch all the new members who have joined the team!

Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, Sony XQD cards, Lenovo Yoga laptop, Manfrotto supports, Flashpoint speedlights, Westcott umbrellas, and Savage background.

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Environmental Portraits for McMillan Pazden Smith Architecture

McMillan Pazden Smith has been struggling to get good environmental headshots of their team in Charleston. They’ve gone through two rounds with other photographers and just haven’t been happy with them.

Part of the reason is because they want a clean, bright, environmental style that reflects the “look” of their Charlotte office. While the Charlotte office has lots of bright colors, glass, and more modern architecture…the Charleston office is in an old historic building with lots of red brick and dark wood. But I made a site-visit to discuss their goals. And I accepted the challenge!

Arriving on location the day of the shoot, I re-arranged the lobby area to gain access to an acute angle that would give me the background I wanted. I overexposed the window a little bit to give the images a high-key style. I lit the inside walls of the conference room with two Flashpoint speedlights bouncing off the ceiling. I placed a white orchid from the lobby area into the corner for a bit of texture. I positioned the team members outside the conference room to catch a bit of the glass, and to separate them from the background. The portraits were lit with 4 more Flashpoint speedlights, using two Westcott shoot-through umbrellas. Everything was photographed with a Nikon D5 and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 set to ISO 400, f4, and 1/250 sec. I shot tethered to a Lenovo Yoga laptop so individuals could instantly look through their photos, make sure they were happy with their shots, and pick out their favorites right there on the spot.

We had a fantastic morning and everyone was super happy with how it all turned out! Many thanks to Kathryn and Carol for all their hard work setting this up and working with everyone’s schedules.

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New CEO at South Carolina Community Loan Fund

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing Nate, the new CEO at the South Carolina Community Loan Fund!

I met up with him outside their new office in Columbia. He is such a kind and gracious human being…full of fascinating stories from all of his world travels. I particularly loved his tales of climbing Huayna Picchu, the steep mountain peak overlooking Machu Picchu.

We had a great time and captured a variety of images for their newsletter.

Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, Manfrotto tripod and light-stand, SB5000 off-camera speedlight, Godox softbox, Sony XQD card, ISO 400, f4, 1/160 sec.

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