Early Morning Headshots for East Cooper Medical Center

After a wet and dreary couple days, it sure was great to have beautiful early morning sunlight for my photo session this Friday!

Tenet Physician Resources coordinated with me to set up at the Dodds Durst House to photograph a new team member for the East Cooper Medical Center. Rachel was a lot of fun to work with! She’s from Tennessee and joins the team as a nurse practitioner. She loves the doctor she’s working for.  And the staff has made her feel right at home.

Using the warm early morning rays as a hair light, I augmented the natural sunlight with 4 speedlights. I attached a CTO gel on one Flashpoint, and placed it behind Rachel as a rim light to help even out the sun. The other three were mounted inside a Neewer octobox and placed on the opposite side from the sun to act as fill light and create a nice catch-light in the eyes. All images were shot on the new Nikon Z9 with 70-200 f2.8 VRII lens (using the FTZII adapter). Camera and lighting supports were provided by Manfrotto.  ISO 250, f4.0, 1/160 sec.

CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel on joining a fantastic team!!!

High-Key Headshots

I had a great time this morning photographing headshots for some new team members at Bridge Commercial!

I fired an SB-5000 flash onto the white backdrop to create a super-clean high-key look. The main light consisted of 2 SB-5000 flashes firing into a 60″ Westcott umbrella. The fill light was another 60″ Westcott umbrella with 1 SB-5000 in it. I used Manfrotto supports for the camera and speedlights. The camera of choice was a D5 with 70-200 f2.8 VRII, shooting tethered to my Lenovo laptop, set at ISO 400, f5.6,  and 1/200 sec.

Johnson Family on Isle of Palms

Remember a little while back when I shared Hunter & Sydney’s AMAZING surprise proposal?!?  https://chrisandcami.com/hunter-sydneys-surprise-proposal-at-white-point-garden/.

Well, Hunter got is papers and was deployed to a submarine based on the west coast. He’s been hard at work, preserving our freedom and serving his country with honor! Now his ship is returning to port and it’s time for Sydney to join him.

Before Sydney and her mom embark on a big cross-country trip to get her moved to California, they wanted to get one last family portrait session together! We met at The Citadel Beach Club on Isle of Palms on a beautiful blue-sky day. Everyone looked amazing! We had so much fun capturing a variety of shots of Sydney and her sisters, the family together, and of course their adorable grandson, Tanner!

Sydney, we wish you all the best for a safe journey and a joyful reunion with your best friend and the love of your life, Hunter!

Lucas Surprises Callie with a Secret Proposal

I got a call over a month ago from Jamey who was interested in booking a family photo session…with a twist! Jamey and her family were going to be vacationing on Isle of Palms. She wanted me to photograph their family portraits on the beach. At the same time, her oldest son, Lucas, was going to be proposing to his longtime girlfriend. She wanted to know if that could even be done, and how we might work it out so that Callie didn’t suspect anything. After sharing some ideas with Jamie, and talking it over with Lucas, a doubly-devious plan was hatched! 🙂

Lucas invited Callie to join his family on their beach vacation. Jamie booked the family portrait session with me, and told everyone (including Callie) what day and time they were all expected to be dressed and ready for photos. Arriving for the shoot that afternoon, I rang the bell at their beautiful beach house, and went inside to meet everyone. As introductions were being made, Jamey explained that she wasn’t ready yet and to go ahead and start with a few couple’s photo of Lucas & Callie. Callie & Lucas had just bought a house together, and had talked about getting a few photos of them made during the family session that they could hang in their new home. So this all seemed totally natural to Callie.

After photographing a nice variety of couple’s shots for them, I suggested some casual candids of them holding hands and walking down the beach. We picked a spot where they would turn around. This was Lucas’ cue. He and I had pre-arranged which side he would walk on, which way he would turn, and how to drop to one knee at the turning point to completely catch Callie off guard.

It worked like MAGIC!!! Lucas did a fabulous job of hitting his mark. Callie was completely surprised by the whole thing!  And I just fired away, catching every moment of the excitement!  After she said “YES”, Callie & Lucas came back down the beach towards me. At this point, Luca’s parents and his younger brother, who were all hiding back at the boardwalk, came running out to join them and congratulate them!

We still had plenty of light left to photograph a variety of family portraits. And we capped off the session with some gorgeous shots of Lucas & Callie (with a sparkly new diamond on her finger) in the dramatic setting sun. BUT WAIT!!! The surprise wasn’t over yet!

After we got back to the beach house, Lucas told Callie she should go ahead and call her parents to let them know the good news. Little did Callie know, her parents had secretly arrived in town the day before. While I was out photographing the “couples photos”, Jamey called them to say the coast was clear. They then snuck into the house while we were doing the family photos, and hid upstairs. When Callie face-timed her Mom, she answered and pretended she didn’t have a clue. Thinking her parents were miles away in Georgia, Callie excitedly began sharing the “big news” of how Lucas had asked her to marry him.  While she was mid-sentence, Callie’s parents magically appeared on the staircase coming down towards her!!! The look of utter disbelief on her face was simply priceless!

What an AMAZING honor it was to capture Lucas’ Surprise Proposal to Callie!!!  Congratulations to Jamey and Lucas for pulling off a massive DOUBLE surprise!  And CONGRATULATIONS to Callie & Lucas!!! They are an absolutely adorable couple! We wish them all the happiness in the world as they begin this new journey together…

Headshots for Seamon Whiteside

There’s a little courtyard, between the two main buildings where Seamon Whiteside has their office. Many of the employees use this peaceful, beautifully landscaped area for their coffee or lunch break. I use it to photograph their company headshots!

The light this morning in that courtyard was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! It was soft, yet directional at the same time, with a nice warm glow. It was such a pleasure to work with as I captured all the fun personalities and friendly new faces of this wonderful team.

Many thanks to Lia for organizing everyone. And CONGRATULATIONS to all the new hires!!!

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Sheally Insurance – Marketing Photos

Sheally Insurance is all about finding the right coverage for the best rate possible:  www.sheallyinsurance.com

I recently became their new photographer and have really enjoyed getting to know this company and the fantastic team that works there! A couple days ago I had the opportunity to photograph Patrick. No newcomer to the industry, Patrick actually owned the previous agency that worked out of this office. But after retiring, he found he still had things he wanted to accomplish. So he joined the Sheally team on a part-time basis. His experience and expertise will be a welcome addition to this excellent team!!!

Many thanks to Elizabeth for helping orchestrate and provide creative direction for the photo shoot!

Headshots at The Center for Birds of Prey

I always love shooting at The Center for Birds of Prey. Except that 99% of the time, I’m shooting BIRDS!!! 🙂

This week I had the distinct pleasure of photographing the dedicated staff that tirelessly works behind the scenes to treat injured birds, rehab or feathered friends back to health, and educate us humans (young and old) about the power of nature and how birds are such an important indicator species for our planet. It was so much fun working with this team of amazing humans!!!

Nikon Z6II, FTZ 2 Adapter, 70-200 f2.8 VRII, Flashpoint Group A in 24″ Softbox as main light, Flashpoint Group B with amber gel as hairlight, Manfrotto supports, Sony XQD cards, 1/200 sec, f4, ISO 160.

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!!!

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!!! 🙂

Headshots for Seamon Whiteside

I love working with the awesome team at Seamon Whiteside!

We’ve gone through a variety of different “looks” for their company headshots over the years. But I really like the casual environmental style portraits they’ve been requesting for their most recent branding. They are a great team and everyone is always so fun and friendly to work with!

Many thanks to Lia and Anne for coordinating everything. 🙂

Portraits with Jackie & Stacy

In spite of the crazy weather that swooped in late yesterday afternoon, I had a FANTASTIC time photographing a fun portrait session with Jackie and Stacy.

This amazing couple is good friends with our friends Toni and Billie. So when they asked if I would do a mini session with them when they were in town visiting from Florida, I jumped at the chance! Stacy works for Tesla, which is pretty awesome. And Jackie runs an amazing catering company called The Hummingbird Table, which you should follow @thehummingbirdtable.

Many thanks to Jackie & Stacy for being such a joy to work with!

Gehrig Family

I am so blessed to work with some of the neatest families here in Charleston! But every now and then, a family comes along that I just “click” with. The Gehrig’s were absolutely AMAZING!!! Their girls were truly adorable. And we all had so much fun, photographing a variety of great images while we strolled around the beautiful streets and alleys along Rainbow Row.