Brittny & Chuck at Folly Beach Pier

With just over a year to go until their wedding, I met up with Brittny & Chuck this morning for some sunrise engagement photos at the Folly Beach Pier!
 
We didn’t get to see the sunrise. But it turned out to be a REALLY cool morning with a deserted beach, a thick fog, and an eerie silence all about. It was almost like the beach was totally reserved for us!
 
Brittny & Chuck were absolutely ADORABLE!!! In spite of getting up at 3:00 AM, they were full of energy, laughing and flirting with each other throughout the shoot. We had so much fun together. And I can’t WAIT to capture all the beautiful moments of their wedding day!  🙂

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Aerial Drone Shoot for Docent Prodigy

I always love working and collaborating with my friends!

Earlier this week, Jason at Docent Prodigy, asked me to join him on a photo shoot for one of his clients in the solar power sector. We drove up to Orangeburg and had an AMAZING time working together. Jason photographed head-shots and team photos for the company.  (I grabbed a behind-the-scenes drone-shot of him in action when I brought the aircraft in to swap out batteries.) Meanwhile, I captured aerial photos and video footage for Jason to use in creating a promotional video for his client. It was an incredible spectacle to witness all those thousands of solar panels! Jason and I commented on the way home how lucky we are to have such cool opportunities in our line of work!

Many thanks to Jason for letting me be his wing-man.  🙂

If you need an amazing photographer, videographer, or video editor, I highly recommend Jason at http://docentprodigy.com/.  And if you’re a photographer in need of an FAA Certified drone-pilot to add an extra dimension to what you’re offering your clients, I’d love to work with you!

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Using “Old School” Film

You may have already seen my post with Samantha and Todd’s engagement photos from a few weeks ago. If not, check it out at: https://chrisandcami.com/samantha-and-todds-extended-engagement-session/. Today, I’m SUPER EXCITED to add to their gorgeous gallery of images…with a few that were shot on FILM!!!

Without giving away my age, let’s just say that I’ve been in love with photography since 10th grade, worked my way up to yearbook editor by 12th grade, went on to get my degree in Professional Photography, and have been photographing professionally ever since. As you can imagine, I’ve seen a great many changes in imaging technology throughout my career. I went from exclusively shooting and processing my own black-and-white on old all-manual 35mm film cameras…to the introduction of 35mm color film…through the evolution of auto-exposure, matrix metering, auto-focus, and TTL flash…switching my entire kit over medium format film…and eventually enduring the arduous transition to digital. Even since digital capture was introduced to the professional market, there’s been a huge number of changes and advances.  But you get the point.

The funny thing is, in 2019 it seems that what was old is new again. It’s crazy, I know, but film is seeing a resurgence! Having read all about this new fascination with film photography (primarily from young millennials who never had the pleasure of experiencing the magic the first time around), I decided it was time to pull out one of my old film cameras and take it along on Samantha & Todd’s engagement session. I chose my trusty old Nikon FE, a classic Nikkor 50mm f1.8 manual focus lens, and reliable old Kodak Tri-X for the job.

They may be grainy, contrasty, full of imperfections, (and dare I say some are even out of focus)…but there’s definitely something magical and timeless about these images! I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Maybe you’ll see more of this old “film” stuff from me in the future. 🙂

Many thanks to Virgil at VB Photo Lab for the excellent processing and scanning service:  https://www.vbphotolab.com/

Samantha and Todd’s Extended Engagement Session

Flying in all the way from Missouri, it was just wonderful to see our good friend Samantha again last weekend! It was also such a pleasure to finally meet her fiance, Todd. He’s an amazing guy! They are absolutely perfect together!!!

Recently graduating from Veterinarian School and Dental School, respectively, Samantha and Todd can finally turn their attention to wedding plans. It’s an absolute honor that they have selected Cami and I to capture this special time in their lives for them.

As part of that process, we hosted them here in Charleston for a really fun extended engagement session! The entire weekend could be described as part reunion (we haven’t seen Samantha for several years), part introduction (we had so much fun getting to know Todd), part vacation (Samantha and Todd were celebrating finally earning their degrees), part tourist trap (Cami and I made sure to take them to all the best tourist attractions and iconic restaurants in town), and of course part engagement session (we photographed beautiful portraits of them all around Charleston everywhere we went). As such, we had an absolute BLAST the entire weekend, while capturing more variety than any other engagement session we’ve ever photographed!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Samantha and Todd! We love you guys, and can’t wait to be there for you on your beautiful wedding day!!!

Gadol Family on Folly Beach

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.

Jenna & Christopher’s Sunrise Engagement on Folly Beach

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! 🙂

Geer’s 1-Year Portrait

It’s hard to believe Louisa & Joe have a 1-year old baby boy. It seems like just yesterday I was photographing their beautiful wedding!!! 🙂

To celebrate Geer’s 1st year on planet earth, we all met at Folly Beach for a fun portrait session. It was so cool to see what a “little man” this youg fellow has become!

Louisa & Joe had also brought a secret 1-Year Birthday Cake. I love shooting Cake-Smashings…and Mr. Geer sure smashed this one good!!! 🙂

CONGRATULATIONS Louisa & Joe! Does this mean it’s time to start planning round two???

Clark Family on Folly Beach

It’s always such a joy to photograph annual photo sessions for families year after year! I get to watch how much the kids have grown, catch up with everyone’s lives, and get a more intimate sense of each person’s personality.

This week I had the pleasure of catching up with the Clark Family!  Plus I got to meet some of their extended family who joined us on this beautiful, sunny, morning-before-Thanksgiving on Folly Beach!!! 🙂

Hannah’s Senior Portraits

It was an honor and a pleasure to photograph Hannah’s Senior Portraits for her this week!

Hannah is a beautiful young lady and star volleyball player. Her family is from Texas, vacationing in Beaufort for the holidays. Being the free-spirit she is, and marching to the beat of her own drum, Hannah decided not to do the “usual” senior portraits that all her friends were getting done back home. She wanted something UNIQUE!!! So we hashed out a plan to do all kinds of cool portraits of her in historic downtown Charleston, picturesque White Point Garden, and gorgeous Folly Beach!

We had an awesome time and captured some killer shots! Congratulations Hannah!!! And best wishes for whatever dreams lie ahead…

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.)   

Kathy & Rusty’s family at Folly Beach

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!

Folly Beach Family Portrait

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.