It was an absolute pleasure working with Mande of Mande Calhoun Art, to create a new series of images for her social media marketing and promotional material. She’s an incredibly talented landscape artist with a very unique style! I highly recommend checking her out at www.mandecalhounart.com.
We always look forward with great anticipation to photographing the annual Stein Family portrait session! Chris & Vicki were some of our very first friends when we moved to Charleston many many years ago. Now that they’ve moved to Pittsburg, it’s always so much fun to catch up with them and their three adorable girls when they come back to visit!!! 🙂
This year we all met at Hampton Park. The giant trees were a big hit! I can’t believe how tall the girls have grown!!! But they sure enjoyed climbing all the trees. Afterwards, we all went out for dinner at the Rutledge Cab Company to hang out.
Many thanks to Chris & Vicki for being such great friends. We love you guys!
It’s been TEN YEARS since Sally & Vincent tied the knot. But at the time, they weren’t able to have a big wedding. So for their 10-year Anniversary, they decided to throw that beautiful “party of the century” wedding celebration they’d always imagined!!! 🙂
Sally & Vincent met and fell in love in Coney Island, NY. Her brother lived in Charleston. So Sally kept coming down to the area for visits. Later on, Sally & Vincent moved to Connecticut. But it wasn’t quite the right fit, and they still hated those cold winters. Eventually they took the plunge and moved to Mt. Pleasant. Along the way, they started a family. Their daughters, Vanessa and Scarlett, are absolutely adorable. You can check out their engagement/family photos here: https://chrisandcami.com/sally-vincent-folly-beach-engagement/). Since moving to Charleston, Sally & Vincent have built their dream home…and have been here ever since!
To pull off this fabulous wedding celebration, these two lovebirds joined with the amazing team at The Carolina Girl Yacht (www.carolinagirlevents.com)! Camille, Jessica, Captain T.J., and the rest of the crew helped them get every detail in place, and made sure everything ran smoothly throughout the event.
When the Big Day arrived, I met up with Sally and her girls at The White Room for their “getting ready” photos. Sally was absolutely STUNNING in her elegant wedding gown! Then it was off to The Carolina Girl to catch up with Vincent and his guys. When the Party Buss arrived with the girls on it, Vincent was waiting in the picturesque park near the dock. Knowing how long Sally & Vincent had waited for this moment, it was all I could do to hold back the tears and keep shooting while this amazing couple enjoyed their emotional First Look. Next, we stepped up the pace with wedding party photos in the park before guests arrived. Then it was off to The Carolina Girl for the rest of the evening! From family and friends enjoying the scenic cruise around Charleston harbor, to their heartfelt vow renewal, to family portraits on the bow, to a delicious dinner, and finally the gleeful laughter reverberating off the water as everyone danced the night away…a FABULOUS time was had by all at Sally & Vincent’s Big Celebration. That, my friends, is exactly how dreams come true!!!
CONGRATULATIONS Sally & Vincent! You two are so perfect for each other. We wish you all the best as you continue to love one another, love your wonderful girls, and live life to the fullest for MANY MORE anniversaries to come…
What an amazing treat it was to be a part of April’s Baby Christening at the beach on Seabrook Island!
April looked angelic in her delicate christening gown. Her parents, brother (Oscar the dog), uncle, and both sets of grandparents were all there to bear witness. Father Karl performed a beautiful ceremony in a peaceful setting, surrounded by nature, with the waves gently lapping at the shore behind us.
It truly was a special moment!!!
Many thanks to Julie & Ryan for allowing me to capture this joyous occasion.
After capturing some new marketing photos for Berkeley County last week (https://chrisandcami.com/berkeley-county-marketing-photos/), this week I got to photograph new headshots!
My general rule of thumb for on-location head-shots is, if I can’t carry everything in one trip, I don’t NEED it! 🙂 So here’s how my portable kit packs up:
– Westcott Collapsible background
– ThinkTank Airport Take-Off camera bag
– ThinkTank 2nd Brain laptop bag
– Foldable posing stool
– Manfrotto tripod
– Manfrotto lightstand bag
It was a lot of fun meeting and photographing everyone! I think some of the nicest people in Charleston work there. And Jenna, the coordinator for the photo shoot, was fantastic to work with! I’m already looking forward to my next follow-up assignment with Berkeley County later this summer.
Last week I had the pleasure of working with Jenna at the Berkeley County offices in Goose Creek to capture some new marketing and promotional material. It was an absolute pleasure working with her and her team! Everyone we photographed was so kind and accommodating. I’m already looking forward to our next session!!!
Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 S + SB5000 Speedlight (as needed)
It was a dull and dreary morning outside, but a bright and cheerful one inside. I had so much fun photographing headshots for two new attorneys at Weeks & Irvine law firm!
The only place I could set up was in the “children’s room”, where kids get to color with crayons and play with doll-houses while the adults sign paperwork and do all that boring legal stuff. Pushing a few things to the side, I angled my background so that I could shoot diagonally, giving me the greatest working distance possible. I set up an SB-5000 background light 3 feed in front of the background. I fired two SB-5000 flashes through a 60″ Westcott umbrella for a main light. And I bounced another SB-5000 off the adjoining wall as a fill light.
All images were captured with the Nikon D5 + Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII at ISO 400, f5.6, 1/200 sec, tethered to a Lenovo Yoga laptop. After each individual’s session, they got to review the images to make sure they were happy with them, and to pick out their favorite for the website. Naturally, I also shot a few silly ones for the fun of it! 🙂
Frank has been a fantastic friend, a fabulous neighbor (4 doors down from us), and a fun colleague (he’s an awesome wedding videographer that I frequently get the privilege of working with). Yesterday, it was my distinct honor to help Frank capture this secret proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Lea!!!
May 8th has special meaning to Frank & Lea. It’s Lea’s son’s birthday. It’s Mother’s Day. And it’s the day Frank’s beloved father passed away. Knowing how special this day already was in their lives, Frank wanted to make it even MORE meaningful to the two of them! So we came up with a mischievous ruse together…
Frank told Lea that he booked me to photograph a special “Mother & Son” photo shoot for her on Mother’s Day. We even had Cami print out a fake gift certificate for him to put in her Mother’s Day card. When I met up with them at the picturesque Stono River Park that morning, I pretended to follow along, photographing a variety of portraits of just Josiah and his mom as we walked along the path.
Arriving at the entrance to the boardwalk, I told Leah “Hey, we should get a few shots of you and Frank while we’re here!” This was Frank’s cue to lead her out onto the boardwalk, overlooking the peaceful marsh. When he got to the middle, he pretended to tie his shoe, and then surprised her with a beautiful diamond ring! Lea’s expression speaks for itself!!! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS Lea & Frank! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together!!!
Melody got a new Fuji XE4 and has turned into quite an amazing photo buff. So Tyler thought hiring me to give her one of my private photography mentoring sessions (https://chrisandcami.com/workshops/private-mentoring/) would be the perfect ruse for his proposal. HE WAS RIGHT!!!
It’s been so much fun secretly scheming with Tyler over the last few weeks to come up with the perfect plan to surprise the love of his life. Finally the BIG DAY arrived! I met up with Tyler & Melody at the famous Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park. After going over Melody’s camera settings, and practicing a few techniques, we went on a fun walk-about around the picturesque back alleys and colorful walkways of our historic city. Melody and I would stop periodically to shoot photos together. And I would suggest they do a nice portrait in front of whatever backdrop had caught our eyes. Since they are moving into a new house soon, and wanted photos to decorate it with, the “let me get a shot of you guys here for your house” excuse was a natural part of Tyler’s plan.
Now let me back up here for a minute. Believe it or not, Tyler & Melody got together because of the pandemic! Originally from L.A., Melody moved to Dallas, where she enjoys her career as a financial planner. Tyler travels a lot for his work as a medical consultant. Originally from Michigan, he lived in the same apartment complex as Melody. In fact, they were neighbors on the same floor, and kind of knew each other in passing. When the pandemic shuttered a lot of travel, forced everyone to quarantine indoors, and curtailed extra curricular activities, Tyler & Melody began hanging out and became good friends. Then they began hanging out a LOT MORE!!! Until…well…here we are today.
Tyler really wanted to propose with the gorgeous Charleston Harbor behind them. So we had planned to conclude our photo walk down at the dock with the soft glow of twilight. Arriving at our location, it was miraculously void of all tourists and fishermen! Tyler and I had a secret sign arranged so that he would know when to make his move. Right on cue, as we stood on the open dock with the famous Arthur Ravenel Bridge standing as witness, Tyler NAILED IT!!! Melody was so surprised! It was a beautiful moment I’ll never forget.
Some heartfelt words were spoken by Tyler. A GORGEOUS ring was placed on Melody’s finger. And SHE SAID YES!!! Please help me in congratulating this amazing couple! 🙂
It’s been 10 years since I photographed Danielle & Matt’s beautiful wedding at the Grand Dunes Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach: https://chrisandcami.com/danielle-matt-at-the-grande-dunes-ocean-club/. So I was SUPER EXCITED when they called from Ohio to let me know they were returning to Myrtle Beach for a vacation, and asked if I would help them commemorate the occasion with a family portrait session? How could I say not to THAT?!?
Before their wedding, I had photographed Danielle & Matt’s engagement session at the historic Atalaya Castle ruins inside Huntington Beach State Park: https://chrisandcami.com/danielle-matts-engagement-session-at-atalaya-castle-ruins/. So we decided to bring things full circle by re-visiting this gorgeous park for their family session.
The threatening weather from earlier in the day made us nervous, but passed out of the area in time to leave us a delightful evening of soft warm light to work with. I had so much fun meeting and playing with their two adorable children! Both sets of proud “grand-parents” joined us as well, which made it even more special. But the best part was catching up with Danielle and Matt! They hadn’t changed a bit since their wedding day. It was like no time had past. It felt like we had just seen each other a week ago!
Congratulations on your beautiful family, Danielle & Matt! You guys were one of my FAVORITE couples to photograph!!! And now I can say you’re one of my favorite “families” as well. I can’t wait to see what amazing humans Charlie and William grow up to be. 🙂
