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!

Premier Physical Therapy

Getting 7 staff members to smile, look at the camera, and keep their eyes open for a new staff photo is hard enough. Adding 4 dogs to the mix makes it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!! But we pulled it off! 🙂

CONGRATULATIONS to Jill and her team at Premier Physical Therapy for another successful year…

Grant’s Senior Portraits at The Citadel

A couple years ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Senior Portratis for Grant’s two older brothers. They were twins! And they also graduated from The Citadel. I felt incredibly honored that Grant’s parents were so pleased with his older brother’s portraits, that they remembered me and called to book me for Grant’s portraits too!

It was a beautiful afternoon for our shoot. Grant had a great sense of humor, was super friendly, but clearly had leadership and organizational traits as well. He had some excellent ideas of shots he wanted, which were meaningful to him. And we worked quickly to be able to squeeze in 3 outfits into what would have normally been a 1 outfit session!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Grant! Whatever military project you land on after graduation is going to be lucky to have you.

College of Charleston Multicultural Graduation Ceremony

As a TCK (Third Culture Kid) myself, it was particularly enjoyable for me to be a part of the C of C Multicultural Student Union Senior Night this week! Because I was born in the Congo (DRC) and spent my formative years there, I was invited to join the MSU program when I got to Spring Arbor University. Transitioning back to America and college life was tough. The friendship and support I experienced with the MSU program at my school was extremely helpful in getting me through that process.

CONGRATULATIONS to all these College of Charleston students in achieving their dreams at the Multicultural Graduation Ceremony!!!

MAM 2025 with Hootie & The Blowfish – Charity Concert

What started out as a small get together to raise money for charity in 1994, has evolved into one of the top Celebrity Pro-Ams in the country. Thanks to the commitment of Hootie & the Blowfish, the MAM has generated millions of dollars for children’s educational programs and the South Carolina junior golf program. Darius, Dean, Mark and Soni remain true to their philanthropic roots in hosting this one-of-a-kind event.

After a short break from the golf tournament, it was time to head to the House of Blues for the main event! During the Charity Concert, Hootie & The Blowfish reunites to sing some of their most popular songs. Plus a whole host of their friends in the music business, legends in their own rights, come out to perform a few of their biggest hits. The place is always PACKED for this sold out event!!!

MAM 2025 with Hootie & The Blowfish – Golf Tournament

What started out as a small get together to raise money for charity in 1994, has evolved into one of the top Celebrity Pro-Ams in the country. Thanks to the commitment of Hootie & the Blowfish, the MAM has generated millions of dollars for children’s educational programs and the South Carolina junior golf program. Darius, Dean, Mark and Soni remain true to their philanthropic roots in hosting this one-of-a-kind event.

After the Welcome Reception the previous evening, everyone was out in full force for the celebrity golf tournament! Matthew covered the front 9. I covered the back 9. While Gary and Marie photographed and printed the official team photos at the 4th tee. It was a beautiful day. And everyone had a great time!!!