What a fun evening with one of our FAVORITE families!!! Many thanks to the Gadol Family for enduring the gnats and no-see-ums to capture these wonderful family portraits on Folly Beach. And a special thanks for treating us to dinner with you guys afterwards! 🙂
To see more of their beautiful photos, visit http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/p379364885.
Christopher is the most AMAZING guitarist I know! Plus he’s a kind spirit and a gentle old soul. I love hanging out with this guy: www.christopherteves.com.
I was SO EXCITED a few weeks ago when Christopher told me he and Jenna were engaged! Even more so, I was absolutely honored when he asked if I would photograph their wedding!!!
Yesterday the three of us met down by the Folly Beach Pier, which is where he proposed to Jenna. Jenna is absolutely stunning, vibrant, and full of life! She’s super creative, and a joy to be around. I loved getting to know her. And I can’t wait to photograph their beautiful wedding!
To see more of their engagement photos, visit: http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/jennaandchristopher
We had a BLAST photographing their sunrise engagement session. We even captured a couple re-enactments of Christopher’s proposal in the very spot where he asked Jenna to become his wife! 🙂
Graham and Clint are two of the TOP body builders in the entire state! Next weekend they’ll be competing in the IFBB NBC South Carolina Grand Prix. That means they are now in peak form. So I jumped at the chance to photograph them!!!
Even though they’ve been in Charleston a long time, one of their “summer bucket list” items was to finally visit the historic and picturesque Morris Island Inlet on Folly Beach. Since that’s one of my favorite areas to shoot in, we decided to meet there for their photo shoot. The late evening light was gorgeous, we got some KILLER images, and Graham and Clint were able to check one of their bucket-list items off the list!!!
To be the best of the best, Graham & Clint have to push their bodies to extreme limits. I thought, what better way to put the new Nikon D500 to the test, than to use it for this shoot? The snappy 10 fps allowed me to capture micro bursts of peak action. The beautiful 21MP sensor delivered excellent dynamic range. And the lighter weight body made it a lot less tiring to hand-hold.
But what most impressed me was the AF sensor’s ability to focus in extreme back-light situations. For the photos where the sunset is behind Graham and Clint, the subject is completely black and you have to squint really hard into the sun just to see their shadowy outline. Previous to this camera, I would have to take a couple steps to the side and acquire focus with the sun out of the frame…then step back into position to re-compose and shoot. With the D500, it effortlessly locked focused on the shadow-side of their faces without any trouble!
All images were photographed hand-held with the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII. Natural light was augmented with 3 Nikon SB-800 flashes on my home-made triple-threat mount, attached to a Manfrotto 3333 light-stand off-camera. The setup was triggered via a Nikon SB-800 master flash on-camera, using a RadioPopper Px transmitter to communicate to the others.
I owe a HUGE Thank You to Graham & Clint for suffering through the humidity and bugs on a muggy Charleston evening! But we had a BLAST, and they were AMAZING to work with!!! You can follow their crazy life at #clintstagraham, where you’re sure to be inspired to better fitness. 🙂
I had a really fun time photographing Shelley, Chris, and their son Logan last year. So I was ecstatic when her Mom called to ask me to photograph the WHOLE family. J It was so beautiful, peaceful, and un-crowded out on my favorite stretch of Folly Beach. One of the joys of my job is getting to know folks as we walk to and from the beach…hearing about all the interesting things they do, their amazing accomplishments, their passions, and what’s important in their lives. I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do!
Tasha & Joe took a little R&R last week and rented a place on Folly Beach. They’re expecting TWINS! J So to celebrate, their growing family, they brought their “other” family member, Titan, out for a fun Family Portrait Session on the beach.
The last time we tried this, it started to rain as soon as we began our walk out to the beach. THIS TIME, Dawn & Chris pulled up on the most beautiful day you could imagine! After having to reschedule their previous session, they deserved it!!! J The light was warm and beautiful, the temperature wasn’t too hot, and the beach was relatively un-crowded for a Friday evening. I had a great time with them and their two fantastic children. As we were walking back after the shoot was over, Chris exclaimed “This wasn’t NEARLY as painful as I thought it was going to be…you actually made it kind of fun!” J
