Godox – Page 7 – Chris and Cami Photography

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…

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!!!

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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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Hoover Family at Rainbow Row

Last year I had so much fun photographing Kellie, Nicolas, and their adorable little 1-year old at Azalea Park. So I was super excited when they asked me to photograph their family again this year at Rainbow Row!!! 🙂

We met up at Waterfront Park and had a fun little “walk-about”, strolling up one street and down another, looking for cute little vignettes of Charlston’s charm. But of course the highlight was the colorful homes along E. Bay Street known as Rainbow Row!

Brooks was all grown up into an adorable 2-year old. Her infectious smile, and the gleeful clapping of her tiny hands when she was amused, totally made my day!

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Elanco Livestock Legend at Middleton Place

Earlier this week I had the priviledge of photographing the Elanco Livestock Legend event at Middleton Plantation.

It was a beautiful fall evening with clear skies and perfect temperatures. As soon as the group arrived, I was able to photograph candid portraits of the award winners with their spouses. Then with drinks in hand, they strolled the grounds with personal guides telling about the history of this amazing plantation. Arriving at the Stableyards just after sunset, a casual cocktail hour included more interesting history told by blacksmiths and potters. Then it was off to The Pavilion for good food, lively conversation, and dancing. Plus of course the various regions got to have their group photos made!

It was a lovely evening celebrating the company’s accomplishments. Many thanks to Missy at Absolutely Charleston, and Samantha at Middleton Place for making it such a successful event!

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The Magic of a Retouching Artist

Some of our clients, like Caldwell Commercial, use our talented retouching artists to keep their headshots and team photos updated!

As a company grows and expands, some employees move on, and new ones join the team. When this happens, most companies have me come out to photograph new headshots and re-do the team photo. However, deciding on a location, and gathering everyone back together periodically can be difficult with their hectic schedules. Bob Caldwell was a talented photographer in his day. So we worked together to come up with a “digital” backdrop that he liked for his company’s headshots as well as their group shot!

When a new member (or an adorable new mascot) joins the team, I come out and photograph them against clean wall in their office, send the images off to our our trusted and talented Retouching Lab, the artists do their magic, and PRESTO…we have a new headshot that matches everyone else, and a new team photo with the right faces in it! 🙂

Please help me welcome Aleah and Cooper to a fantastic team!!!

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McCue Family on Isle of Palms

I had so much fun with Aimee, Chad, and their adorable kids on last year’s family portrait session! So when Aimee told me her sister’s family was joining us this year, I knew it was going to be a hoot!!! 🙂

It was a beautiful fall evening when we all met up at a beach access on IOP. The summer heat had finally cooled off, and the lighting was magical! The chemistry between the two families was hilarious. We laughed A LOT, goofed off even more, and came away with a ton of beautiful images!!!

Many thanks to Aimee for all her hard work coordinating schedules and outfits. 🙂

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Anna & Jimmy’s Wedding at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Jimmy is an awesome bagpiper, and a respected member of law enforcement in Charleston. I’ve had the privilege of bumping into him many times over the years as he’s played his pipes for tons of weddings and events that I’ve photographed. It was a great honor that he and Anna asked me to photograph their wedding!!!

Jimmy & Anna have known each other for over 20 years. Like many of us in life, they were good friends that drifted apart and lost track of each other. But they found their way back to each other when they re-connected through Facebook in 2014. They have been inseparable ever since! They fell in love and were married at the courthouse in June of 2019. But with the pandemic of 2020, their big wedding celebration had to wait until last weekend!

With preparations starting off at the Indigo Hotel in Mt. Pleasant, the sun was out and spirits were high! Anna looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown. And Jimmy was quite dapper in his bowtie. Guests were shuttled to Sacred Heart Catholic Church on an old restored 1960s buss, which was REALLY cool!!! A beautiful ceremony was led by Father Jack, or “Uncle Jack” as he preferred. Jimmy’s Uncle came all the way from New York to perform the ceremony! After the service and formal portraits in the church, Jimmy & Anna stopped at the Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park with me for some beautiful portraits before sunset. Then it was back to the Indigo Hotel for an awesome reception!!!

It was nice to see Sara Cavallon again, who coordinated everything at the church. I also enjoyed teaming up once more with my friend Robbin Knight as second-shooter. And Nicole with Direct My Days did an awesome job as their Day Of Coordinator. Also, many thanks to Carmella’s Bakery, Paper Dolls, Atlantic Executive Limousine, Lowcountry Valet, JW Wedding and Event, Blacktree Music Group, and all the other vendors and staff that helped make this day a huge success for Anna & Jimmy!

CONGRATULATIONS Anna & Jimmy! We wish you all the best as you continue loving life, loving each other, and loving this new journey you have begin…

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Ben & Kyle’s Wedding Upstairs at Rue de Jean

It was such an honor for me to photograph Ben’s surprise proposal to Kyle last summer: https://chrisandcami.com/ben-kyles-secret-garden-proposal/. So imagine my excitement when they called to ask if I would photograph their wedding?!? 🙂

When the Big Day finally arrived, I met Ben at Hampton Park, where Kyle would be dropped off for their First Look. It was a truly magical moment! After which the three of us stepped across the street and into some of the old historic alleys and charming streets that Charleston is so known for. When we got back, their wedding entourage with family and friends had arrived for some fun “portraits in the park”. We all had a great time and came away with a variety of great photos!

Then it was off to Rue de Jean, where Ben & Kyle had rented out the upstairs ballroom for their wedding and reception. It’s a beautiful venue with rustic wooden beams, old brick walls, and great character! There was a heart-felt ceremony, led by Kyle’s good friend, Troy. Then Kyle, Ben, and I snuck down to the alley behind the restaurant for a few more photos while the room was flipped. The reception started with great conversations, delicious food, and joyous laughter. A fun introduction, a touching first dance, a great cake-cutting, and hilarious toasts kicked things up another notch. But the energy and excitement of the dancing took the level through the roof! It was an awesome party as everyone celebrated Ben & Kyle’s love for each other.

CONGRATULATIONS Ben & Kyle! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together…

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