Madi & Connor’s Rainbow Row Engagement

Madi & Connor are ENGAGED!!!

I had so much fun catching up with them and photographing their engagement photos yesterday. Madi & Connor went to high-school together. He is now in his first year of medical school. And she is in her last year of dental school. They are an absolutely ADORABLE couple…about to embark on the biggest adventure of all.  I can’t wait to be there for them on their wedding day!!!

Please help share some love and encouragement for these two during this special time in their lives…

Loesch Family at Rainbow Row

13 years ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Erik & Julia’s beautiful destination wedding in St. Thomas. Earlier this week, I got to photograph some fun family portraits for them near Rainbow Row in the old historic area of downtown Charleston. It makes my heart full to see them with their two adorable girls, a loving home, and a happy ever-after…

Tyler & Melody’s Surprise Waterfront Proposal

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! 🙂

Danielle & Andrew are Engaged!!!

I had SO MUCH FUN meeting and hanging out with Danielle & Andrew this weekend during their engagement session!!! I owe a huge “thank you” to my friend, Kim, for her kind referral. 🙂

Although Danielle & Andrew were both born and raised in southern California, the two met while working in Washington D.C. They now live in Greensboro, NC, where Andrew works in infectious diseases, and Danielle does research on the long-term effects of tobacco use. They really like being closer to Charleston, where Andrew’s parents live now. Andrew lived here for several years in his younger days. And Danielle fell in love with our charming city during their visits. So they decided to have their wedding here!

Meeting up at Waterfront Park, we were overwhelmed by how packed the park was with young people dressed to the hilt. Turns out it was graduation weekend! But we ducked down some side streets to avoid all the mayhem, and had a fantastic evening strolling around and capturing fun photos of them to commemorate this beautiful time in their lives!!!

Paulina & Ben’s Engagement

You may remember Paulina & Ben from one of the most unique secret proposals I’ve ever had the honor of capturing: https://chrisandcami.com/ben-proposes-to-paulina-at-the-holiday-festival-of-lights/. Fast forward to springtime, when I had the pleasure of photographing their beautiful engagement photos last evening!!!

We met up at White Point Garden to take advantage of the gorgeous spring sunshine, and the amazing backdrops that this historic park and surrounding neighborhood has to offer. To make it extra special, Paulina & Ben brought their adorable 2 year-old Goldendoodle, Cooper. We all know what a big dog-lover Cami is. So of course she jumped at the chance to join us so she could play with Cooper when we didn’t need him. 🙂

For this session, I brought the flagship Nikon Z9, coupled with the incredibly versatile new 24-120 f4 Z-mount lens. This lens is in such high demand that it’s very hard to get. I’m lucky to have it in the bag! Attaching the WR-R11 wireless transmitter to the Z9 allowed me full control of the off-camera SB-5000 when needed.

We had an absolute BLAST exploring downtown Charleston and strolling along The Battery, photographing tons of great shots as we went! Paulina & Ben are such a perfect couple. I can’t wait to photograph their FABULOUS wedding!!!

Nina & Brendan are Expecting!!!

It has been such a joy for me to capture Brendan’s surprise proposal to Nina (https://chrisandcami.com/brendans-surprises-nina-with-a-proposal/), photograph their beautiful wedding (https://chrisandcami.com/nina-brendan-at-holy-trinity-greek-orthodox-church/), and now preserve this truly miraculous time in their journey as they prepare to bring a new life into this amazing world.

CONGRATULATIONS Nina & Brendan! You two are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! 🙂

Prapas Family at Rainbow Row

I had so much fun photographing Alex & Anastasia’s beautiful Greek wedding several years ago: https://chrisandcami.com/anastasia-alex-are-married-at-the-greek-orthodox-church/. So I was SUPER excited when Anastasia called to ask if I would photograph their first family portraits!

Adorable Elora came into their lives just over 7 months ago. She is the sweetest girl with the most captivating smile. We literally had other families and tourists walking by that would stop to watch and grin (and even jump in to make goofy faces and silly baby sounds)…all because of Elora’s incredible cuteness!!!

Strolling around the colorful Rainbow Row, the cobblestone streets by Waterfront Park, and the old historic alleys gave us tons of great backdrops.

It was so much fun catching up with Alex & Anastasia…and getting to know their beautiful daughter! They are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! And I can’t wait to watch Elora grow up to be another wonderful human like her parents.

Leslie & Colton’s Rainbow Row Engagement Session

I owe a HUGE thank you to Pam at First Citizens Bank for referring us to Leslie & Colton!

Leslie works at First Citizens. So after Colton proposed to her and she started looking for a photographer, Pam gave her our information. I am SO GLAD she did because these two are an AMAZING couple!!!

We met up at the famous pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park. Wandering through the French Quarter, up to Rainbow Row, and back down the cobblestone streets of Adgers Wharf gave us so many beautiful backdrops to work with. Our grand finale on the dock overlooking Charleston Harbor and the iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge coincided with the last glow of daylight. It was a PERFECT day with two beautiful human beings! I’m so honored that I got to meet and work with these two!!!

Leslie & Colton, we wish all the happiness in the world as you begin this new journey together…

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.

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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Majernik Family at Rainbow Row

Vacationing in Charleston from Bloomington, IL, is a smart thing to do in the middle of January! Although it was only 55-degrees when I met up with Matt & Liz and their kids, they said it was only 25-degrees back home!!! 🙂

We had so much fun laughing and playing as we strolled along Rainbow Row and that historic downtown area of Charleston. We discovered lots of colorful backdrops. The kids were absolutely adorable. And we came away with some beautiful images of their family to commemorate this trip to Charleston!

Many thanks to Matt & Liz for allowing me to be a part of their family for the day…

Izzy & Chance’s Senior Portrait Sessions

I love photographing Senior Portrait Sessions. But what’s even more fun is when I get to photograph a double-session for an AMAZING couple like Izzy & Chance!!!

I was so excited when Tena and Tammy (Izzy & Chance’s parents) called to set up a double photo shoot for these two. They are all from Thomson, GA, and had planned a family get-away this weekend. They thought it would be really cool to get some amazing photos of their kids that would be unique and different from the ones Izzy & Chance’s friends were getting back home. What a cool idea!

After driving into Charleston Friday afternoon, I met up with both families at Folly Beach for Part 1 of their photo shoot. We had decided to do some beach portraits. I love Folly Beach County Park for its perfect views of the sunset. We lucked out with a gorgeous evening and a fantastic sunset!

The next morning we all met at White Point Garden for Part 2. This was a great location from which to explore the heart of old historic downtown Charleston. We had a fun walk-about as we discovered great avenues of trees, black iron gates, and old brick walls to use for backdrops. As a grand-finale, we also zipped over to Rainbow Row to mix in some of those cotton-candy colored houses.

Izzy was so beautiful and had such a delightful smile. Chance was quite dashing and so much fun. We all had a BLAST and came away with some wonderful images to preserve this special time in their lives.  CONGRATULATIONS Izzy & Chance!!!

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