Girl’s Weekend on Kiawah Island

One of the best parts of my job is meeting new, interesting, and FUN people!!!

This weekend, I had such a great time photographing this wonderful group of life-long friends, who all get together one weekend every year to catch up on each other’s lives, build new memories, and invest in the beautiful relationships they build over the years. For this year’s theme, they each decided to dress up as a different “month” of the year. Then everyone changed and we did a few patriotic themes. Last but not least, everyone just jumped in the pool for something really fun!

I love it when grown-ups choose to remember the value of being a kid at heart again! 🙂

Allman Joy on Kiawah Island

I had so much fun with the Allman/Musser family during their photo shoot on Kiawah Island last night!  (The two sisters coined the “Allman Joy” thing, which I thought was too cute not to use.)

Part of the reason for the trip was because the grandparents were celebrating their Anniversary. CONGRATULATIONS Brian & Kathy!  You have the most adorable grand-kids in the world!!!  Thanks for letting me be a part of this special time in your lives.  🙂

Alex’s New Headshot

Alex used to work in TV. But her life has taken a different path! She is the newest attorney to join the incredible team at the Clawson & Staubes Law Firm. It was a pleasure meeting Alex and photographing her new headshots. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Kane Family at Waterfront Park

I thought it was so sweet when Kelly called to book a photo session as a surprise to her mom and her sisters!!!

Apparently “The Girls” try to take a trip somewhere interesting every year. Since they live in Michigan, they usually pick somewhere warm. This year, they picked Charleston. And I’m SO GLAD they did!  We had so much fun exploring Waterfront Park and the surrounding French Quarter together. Since I spent some of my college years in Michigan, it was great to catch up on familiar names and places. But most importantly, I just loved the “connection” these three sisters had with each other, and with their mother.

What an honor it was for me to preserve these beautiful family memories for them!!!

MacNaught Family on Kiawah Island

It was one of the most beautiful days we’ve had this summer!

Instead of being overcast and gray, as so many afternoons have been lately, the sun was bouncing off beautiful cloud formations in the sky. Yet it was surprisingly cool compared to previous weeks  A gentle breeze was sweeping in off the ocean as the waves lapped the shore.

I met up with the MacNaught Family at their rental house just off the beach. Their three adorable children were excited for our shoot and ready to go! From the first family shots on the boardwalk as we made our way to the beach, to the candids of them playing in the sand as the sun slipped away…the entire session was so much fun!!!

Here are a few favorites from the evening…

New Attorney at Clawson & Staubes

Today found me capturing headshots for this amazing young lady on Daniel Island in the warm glow of mid-day light!!!

Alicia is the newest attorney to join the team of Clawson & Staubes. Alicia, her husband, and their adorable 7-month old daughter moved to Charleston last month. So far they love it here! 🙂

The image was captured on a Nikon D5 with the incredible Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 lens. A Manfrotto 055CXPro4 served as support for the camera. And a Manfrotto 367B light stand held an SB-5000 Speedlight, firing through a 24″ Lastolite EZY Box. This off-camera flash setup served as a directional main light, as well as providing a nice catch light. The open shade of the picturesque location I had chosen for the shoot served as a nice ambient fill light.

Welcome to an awesome team, Alicia!!!

Scharstein Family at DeBordieu Colony

I first got to know the Scharstein Family last year when I photographed their daughter Lauren’s beautiful wedding to Dan at Tanglewood Plantation: https://chrisandcami.com/lauren-dans-wedding-at-tanglewood-plantation/. They are such an AMAZING family and I had so much fun capturing their celebration!!!

After the wedding , Lauren & Dan moved back to Nairobi, Kenya. So when they told me they were coming back to the states this summer, and that the whole family would be together for a family reunion, I jumped at the opportunity to photograph some updated portraits for them at their rental house in DeBordieu Colony!

Because various family members were coming and going on different schedules, there was only one single afternoon that worked for everyone. As the storm clouds moved in that afternoon, I got super worried. But literally 2 minutes after I arrived, the rain stopped just long enough for us to get our photo shoot in. We had so much fun catching up, and capturing all these beautiful memories together! After everyone was worn out from pictures, Dan made sure I had a nice mug of authentic African chai tea before my long drive home. 🙂

Eventually I got back on the road. Not 5 minutes after I left, it started to drizzle again! All I can say is, the Big Man upstairs must have been watching over this wonderful loving family!!! 🙂

Headshots for DHG

I always enjoy working with the fun folks at Dixon Hughes Goodman. The company has such a healthy work environment, and genuinely cares about the happiness of its employees!

Here are a few favorites from my latest session of head-shots at the Charleston office. I used my trusty portable studio setup, featuring the Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, Nikon Speedlights, Westcott Apollo softboxes, Manfrotto support equipment (light-stands, tripod, and background stands), Savage background paper, Sony XQD cards, and Lenovo laptop.

Dilella Family on Kiawah Island

As the summer comes to an end, and schools start back up, I am critically aware that there are only a few “perfect” summer evenings left in the season. One of those was yesterday!

I met up with the Dilella Family on Kiawah Island on an absolutely perfect evening! The sun, which had baked the earth just hours before, had slipped into “Golden Hour”. And a gentle breeze was blowing off the ocean to drop the temps to “just right”.

The Dilella family was an absolute joy to work with! The grandkids were delightful and full of energy. It was such a pleasure capturing these beautiful family memories before their children head back to Cleveland.  To top it all off, as I was driving away I noticed these amazing crepuscular rays from the settings sun in the west, extending their fingers all the way to the rising moon in the east.  What a sight!!!   🙂

Piecewise Coffee Co

Yesterday I had the distinct honor of photographing Stan and Lindsey, the brains behind Piecewise Coffee Co in Columbia, SC. I was there to create images on behalf of the SC Community Loan Fund to tell their amazing success story.

Naturally, I arrived early to see what the experience was all about. Walking in, I was immediately hit with this wonderfully warm and vibrant atmosphere. This is clearly a place where “happy people” roam. I enjoyed an amazing cup of Chai tea with an organic gluten-free chocolate chunk cookie that was to die for!

Afterwards I introduced myself and we began shooting. Stan and Lindsey were absolutely fantastic to work with! We had a BLAST getting to know each other, and creating these beautiful images to go with the article.

I’d like to send out a HUGE Thank You to Victoria at SCCLF for trusting me to cover this assignment! And I’d like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Stan and Lindsey on following your dreams!!!

Parikshak Family on Kiawah Island

A few days ago, I had the great pleasure of meeting the Parikshak family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island to photograph their family reunion.

We had a beautiful afternoon with gorgeous light. With half the family coming in from North Carolina, and the other half from Indiana, it was great to see all of them together, renewing family bonds, and building new memories together!

The best part was, the night of the photo shoot was also Rita’s birthday. So after the photo shoot all the kids got to go have cake! Happy Birthday, Rita!!! 🙂

The Ocean Course Rainbow

Something truly magical happened at this family portrait session I had with the Cyrus Family at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island!!!