Bales Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island

I love an adventurous family!!! In spite of the afternoon thunderstorms, the radar indicated there “might” be a break in the showers just long enough for us to get our family beach session in. So I called Tammy and she said “LET’S GO FOR IT!!!” 🙂

I met up with the Bales’ clan at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island. With ages ranging from 15-21, and potentially serious relationships blossoming, who knows when the next time everyone will be together again? Some will be heading off to college? Others might be starting their own families soon? Maybe one of them decides to travel Europe next summer? You just never know at this age. So it was particularly rewarding to be a part of this wonderful evening, with the proud grandparents surrounded by their lovely daughters, their handome sons-in-law, and all their amazing grandchildren!

The weather was touch-and-go, with dark clouds all around us, and dim lighting conditions to work with. But strategic use of higher iso settings on my Z9, combined with careful use of an off-camera Flashpoint eVolve 200 flash, brought out the gorgeous colors of their outfits, and lit up their beautiful smiles. The photos actually turned out extra dramatic as a result! The best part was, the rains stayed away long enough for us to complete our session. I’m so glad we took Tammy’s advice to go for it!!!

Garman Family Beach Portraits on Kiawah Island

What a SMALL WORLD!!!

Last evening I had the pleasure of photographing beach portraits for the Garman family while they were vacationing on Kiawah Island. The amazing part is they are from Troy, OH…which is where Cami is from!!! In fact, Cami’s family lived on Dorset Rd…which is where one of the Garman daughters and her family lives! I met Cami while she lived in Troy. We were married in Troy. And one of her brothers still lives in Troy. What a cool coincidence to meet up with this beautiful family from “back home”!

The afternoon showers swept through Kiawah earlier that afternoon, cooling things off a bit for us. Plus the beautiful clouds and nice soft light left behind from the storm made for a lovely evening to be on the beach. We could still see the distant lightning lighting up the sky across the ocean as the rain clouds drifted away.

Many thanks to Moxie and her family for bringing back fond memories of Troy for me!!!

South Carolina Convenience & Petroleum Marketers Association at Sweetgrass Inn

Every summer I look forward to photographing this fun event at the Sweetgrass Inn on Wild Dunes Resort for the South Carolina Convenience & Petroleum Marketers Association.

SC-CPMA is the voice of the petroleum & convenience store industry in South Carolina. They serve their members by lobbying the General Assembly, multiple state agencies and the Congressional delegation on issues that impact the industry. Among the top issues they address are: underground and above-ground tank regulations, the SUPERB Fund, tobacco, alcohol, lottery sales, fuel taxes and much more.

The photography for this program is sponsored by Coca Cola Consolidated. What I do is bring out two photographers with two separate Portrait Stations for guests to choose from…one location is outdoors with an environmental background, the other is indoors with a studio background. My good friend and amazing photographer, Robbin, always photographs the indoors setup…while I sweat to death photographing the outdoors setup! 🙂 After we’ve photographed each couple or family, we print out beautiful 5×7 portraits of each, and place them in an elegant black folio. The prints are placed on a table for guests to take home as a keepsake at the end of the evening. Everyone loves the instant gratification!

Eva’s Bat Mitzvah Portraits

In a few short months, I’ll have the honor of photographing Eva’s bat mitzvah!!!

Bat mitzvah is Hebrew for “daughter of commandment.” When a Jewish girl turns 12, she has all the rights and obligations of a Jewish adult, including the commandments of the Torah. From that date forward, she takes her place in the Jewish community. This milestone in her life, called a bat mitzvah, is often celebrated with creative projects, meaningful gatherings, a special ceremony and of course a joyous celebration afterwards!

To help commemorate this special chapter in Eva’s life, her beautiful family joined her for a fun photo session at Hampton Park. She’ll be able to use these photos in her announcement cards for her celebration later this year. But more importantly, the whole family will have these wonderful memories preserved for all eternity, as Eva grows from this amazing girl she is today into the even more incredible woman she will become!!!

Brandy & Dan’s Hampton Park Engagement Photos

WOW!!! What an amazing sight greeted me at Hampton Park when I arrived for Brandy & Dan’s engagement session. The rains had just passed through Charleston, the sun was out, and a gorgeaous rainbow stretched across the sky!

Brandy & Dan arrived shortly thereafter. And we had an AMAZING time exploring the park, getting to know each other, and creating beautiful images together. As we returned to our cars, we realized there was a great chance for a brilliant sunset. So we zipped over to Brittlebank Park to capture a few dramatic silhouettes against that colorful sky!

CONTRATULATIONS Brandy & Dan! I can’t wait to be there for you guys on your wedding day!!!

Sarah & Andrew’s Wedding at Meadow Wood Acres

I am SO OBSESSED!!!

Photographing & Sarah & Andrew’s magical wedding day at Meadow Wood Acres in central Michigan was an absolute delight! These two are a match made in heaven!!! But of course I knew that when I had the honor of photographing their Surprise Proposal in Charleston! Check out that story here: https://chrisandcami.com/andrews-surprise-proposal-to-sarah-at-waterfront-park/.

The whole flight home I was madly going through all the photos and picking out some of my favorites to share. It was so much fun getting “glances” from other travelers when they would see a particularly cool shot pop up while I was editing in the waiting area for my flight to board. My favorite was when an outgoing young lady, probably in her early twenties, looked over and said “Did YOU take that?!?” 🙂

CONGRATULATIONS Sarah & Andrew!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together as husband and wife…

Sarah & Andrew’s Wedding Rehearsal at Meadow Wood Acres

As a full-time professional wedding photographer for over 30 years, I’ve covered a LOT of weddings!!! However, every single one of them is still unique and different. For this reason, I like to attend the Wedding Rehearsal whenever possible. It’s not something we charge for. It’s just part of the customer service we provide.

The Wedding Rehearsal usually takes place at the wedding venue the day before the main event. So if it’s a location I haven’t been to in a while, I get to scout the area for pretty backgrounds and good locations I can use for photos. I also get to introduce myself to the venue staff and the wedding planner, which helps put them at ease. But most importantly, I get to meet the families and get to know the wedding party! I’ll make notes about who is who in the wedding party, what the parent’s names are, how old the ring bearer or flower girl is, and any unique events that will take place during the ceremony. All of this information allows me to anticipate key moments better, position myself in the right places at the right times, and just be better prepared to tell the story of their day. Plus just being present and introducing myself to key individuals helps them think of me as part of their “inner circle”, making them more comfortable with me on the wedding day. I’m always seeking genuine moments and natural emotions. Breaking the ice at the rehearsal allows that to happen more fluidly on the wedding day. Last but not least, it’s helpful to the bride and her wedding planner to have me there in case they have questions about the photo schedule.

The best part about attending the Wedding Rehearsal is that often times…like with Sarah & Andrew’s fabulous rehearsal at Meadow Wood Acres outside Lansing, Michigan…the couple will invite me to join them for the Rehearsal Dinner! YUMMM!!! 🙂

Center for Birds of Prey – Why Use Off-Camera Flash?!?

I frequently get asked: “Why do you use flash for outdoor portraits?” There are a ton of variables that I evaluate before starting a photo shoot. But paramount to them all is the QUALITY of the lighting. Whenever possible, I seek out beautiful natural light. For outdoor portraits, “open shade” is one of my favorites to work with. For indoor portraits, I look for soft “window light” to work with. But when the location is surrounded by trees, creating a gloomy greenish-blue color cast to the light, I pull out the flashes. If I don’t have beautiful natural light to work with, I create my own with speedlights!

That’s what happened in this photo session at the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey. In the first test-shot, you can see how muddy and unflattering the natural light is. Because we were in a clearing surrounded by trees, the only available light is coming from directly above Angelina, creating those sunken “racoon eyes” and a hotspot on her nose. So I mounted a Flashpoint eVolve 200 Pro in a large softbox on a Manfrotto light-stand, and placed it about 30-decgrees off to her left (the camera’s right). This gave me a fantastic directional main light, which created a soft contour to her face, cleaned up the skin color, and produced a nice catch-light in the eyes. Then I mounted a Flashpoint Zoom LiOn II on another Manfrotto light-stand, and covered it with a CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gel, which mimicks the color-balance of the late-afternoon setting sun. This speedlight was positioned behind the subject, aimed at the back of her hair, in a cross-light pattern opposite the main light. The result is a warm rim-light, which gave a golden glow to her beautiful hair, and helped separate her from the background.

Now that I had the lighting the way I wanted it, I mounted the Nikon Zf with the 70-200 f2.8 Z lens and a Flashpoint wireless trigger on a Manfrotto tripod…and the rest is magic!!!

The nice part about using this lighting setup is that it’s consistant and repeatable! Next time I show up to photograph a new staff member, whether it’s an overcast day or a bright sunny day, it doesn’t matter…the light hitting my subject will always be the same.

Kristin & Phil’s Wedding at The Estate at Sunset Farm

Photographing every wedding is ALWAYS special to me. But they are TRULY meaningful when it’s for family!!! This weekend I had the incredible honor of photographing my beautiful niece, Kristin, as she married her best friend, Phil, in a gorgeous ceremony at The Estate at Sunset Farm! Here are a few of my favorites from their amazing day. CONGRATULATIONS Kristin & Phil! We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new journey together…

Country Club of Charleston – 100 Year Anniversary Gala

What an AMAZING EVENT!!! This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the Country Club of Charleston’s 100 Year Anniversary Gala!

The club is actually 125 years old. However, on the night of the big gala, it had been at its current location on the Wappoo Cut for exactly 100 years! My friend Fran has been working hard on the planning committee for over a year to organize this incredible party. Since the club would have opened at its current location in 1925, the committee decided to go with a “Roaring Twenties” theme. They spent 3 days completely changing EVERYTHING inside the club…right down to swapping out the chandeliers. They even created a speakeasy downstairs for the “after party”. The place looked incredible!!!

The guests looked fabulous as well! Everyone took the theme to heart and really dolled up in 1920s outfits, accessories, hair styles, and shoes. The food was fantastic. There was a full brass band, keeping the dance floor hopping. And the Speakeasy had a colorful piano player who took requests and got everyone to sing along.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Country Club of Charleston for 100 years of history! Here’s to another century of success…

Savannah’s Graduation Photos at Clemson University

We’ve been photographing Kristin’s family photos since her girls were knee high to a grasshopper! It’s incredibly hard to believe these giggling little girls are all grown up!!!

Last week Savannah graduated Summa Cum Laude from Clemson University. She had just returned from a semester abroad, studying in Australia. So she had an AMAZING tan! 🙂 It was such a pleasure exploring her campus and capturing a variety of portraits to commemorate her time at Clemson. I know she’s going to miss it, and all the friends she’s made there. But we are super excited for whatever the next chapter in life brings Savannah’s way…

Headshots for State Farm

Kevin’s father-in-law, Troy, was a well-known State Farm agent in Charleston. After Kevin joined the family, he followed in Troy’s footsteps, opening his own very successful State Farm office in Bluffton. Fast forward to today, and I had the pleasure of photographing Kevin’s son, also named Troy, who has joined his father’s firm. It was almost surreal to see “little” Troy all grown up after knowing his parents from before he was even born!!! While I was there, I had the pleasure of photographing a couple other fun staff members as well.

If you’re looking for a new insurance agent, I HIGHLY recommend Kevin: https://www.statefarm.com/agent/us/sc/bluffton/kevin-sevier-g738v1ys000. He has the nicest staff. And he treats his clients like family!