Honda True on Kiawah Island

It was a pleasure working with Lee  at Experience Holy City on Kiawah Island this week!

I was photographing all the beautiful details and decor she had created for Honda True, who was holding their annual sales meeting here on Kiawah Island. The first night was for their Welcome Reception in the Terrace Ballroom at The Sanctuary. The second night was at Mingo Point.

Honda True also had me photograph and print couple’s portraits at the Mingo Point Oyster Roast. Since it’s been raining all week, we had to get creative! I had the couples standing just underneath the covered patio area, with the marsh trees draped in Spanish Moss as the backdrop. Since it was a pitch black night, I placed 4 Flashpoint speedlights under the trees (covered in ziploc bags to protect them from the rain), with amber gels on them to give the lights an orange glow. The couples were lit with a Flashpoint eVolv 200 in an octabox. While I photographed the couples, my good friend Gary was making the prints on his DNP DS40 printer. Everyone loved the instant gratification of receiving their portrait that night!

Many thanks to Lee and Amber for making everything run so smoothly!!!

Mackenzie Family on Kiawah Island

The last time I photographed the Mackenzie Family was in 2020. Back then, the girls were only knee-high to a grasshopper! I was super excited when they called to let me know they were coming back to Kiawah Island this year and wanted updated family portraits!!!

We met up at The Sanctuary and captured some shots in the Butterfly Garden, which was one of their favorite locations from the last time. We also got a few fun ones in the Enchanted Forest out front of the hotel. Then it was off to the beach, following the winding wooded path. There had been some storm clounds in the area earlier in the afternoon. But our timing worked out perfectly with beautiful skies and gorgeous light from the late afternoon sun!

It was an absolute pleasure to catch up with the Mackenzie family, see how much the girls have grown, and capture these beautiful images for them…

Massey Family on Kiawah Island

With 29 souls, the Massey Family was a big group. But they were all so much fun to work with!!!

Cindy and Wayne got the whole family together to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island this week. It was an absolute honor to photograph their family portraits to commemorate this special gathering for them. We started in the “enchanted forest” area in front of the resort, then progressed to the beach as the golden light of the setting sun arrived. From the posed portraits to the candids of kids having fun…I had an absolute BLAST with the Massey Family!!!

Many thanks to Cindy for organizing everything and making sure everyone stayed in line.  🙂

Glenn Family on Kiawah Island

It was such a pleasure photographing the Glenn Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island last evening. We had beautiful weather and came away with some wonderful images to commemorate their time together!!!

Cyrus Family at the Ocean Course

It’s hard to believe how time flies!!!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was photographing the Cyrus family for the first time. Back then, Mason was only a year old! Fast forward to this year’s 5th annual family beach session with this amazing family…where Emma has joined the family, and the kids are growing like crazy!!! 🙂

I had so much fun catching up with everyone at The Ocean Course. It’s become a family tradition. And I can’t wait to carry our annual get-together onto next year…

Lamson Family at The Sanctuary

The Lamson family is a lot like mine…all spread out. In fact, some of them live in another country on the other side of the planet! But they all decided to vacation together on Kiawah Island this summer. So I was honored that they asked me to come out and capture this special time of “togetherness” for them!  🙂

Vida Family on Kiawah Island

What a lovely evening for a beautiful beach session with the Vida Family!!! I had so much fun playing with Andrew & Diana’s adorable kids, and capturing these family memories for them at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island. This was their first vacation together to the low-country. And I hope it won’t be their last!

Schiff Family on Kiawah Island

It has been such a pleasure to photograph the Schiff Family on Kiawah Island last night! Several years ago, Debbie & Russel started a wonderful tradition of having portraits made of them with their grandchildren. This year, we met at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island on a beautiful summer evening. It was so much fun catching up with everyone and playing with their beautiful grandkids again!!!

Guin Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island

It’s been a couple years since I’ve had the pleasure of photographing the Guin Family. But they made such an impression on me last time.  So I was super excited when Catherine reached out to let me know they were coming back to Kiawah Island this summer! 🙂

We met up at The Sanctuary Hotel on a GORGEOUS summer evening. Everyone looked amazing in their complimenting blue outfits. I was so bummed that their oldest son and his family couldn’t make it this year. But the rest of us had a BLAST and captured some fun family memories to commemorate this year’s family vacation!

The best part was, this was the 10-year anniversary of when Joe proposed to Catherine right on the same boardwalk in front of the hotel.  CONGRATULATIONS you two!!!

Powell Family on Kiawah Island

It was such a pleasure catching up with the Powell Family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island last evening for their annual photo shoot!

It was an extra special evening because “Nana” Suzanne was celebrating her birthday this week. And adorable Eloise just joined the family a couple months ago! 🙂

As is common during Charleston summers, a late afternoon shower popped up. But it sailed on out of here just in time for us to still have enough light for our beach session. It helped cool things off as well, which was nice. But the best part was, it left a beautiful rainbow behind for us to admire!!!

Wilson Family at The Sanctuary

Grace & Phil must be living right! After all the gloomy, soggy days we’ve had over the last couple weeks, the afternoon of their family portrait session turned out GLORIOUS!!! 🙂

I had so much fun catching up with them, and literally “chasing after” their adorable daughter last evening.  We met at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island. The temperatures were cooler than usual from all the rains that came through, which was a nice change. Eliza has so many “looks” that I had a ball trying to capture each and every one of them. And she certainly LOVES the water! As you can tell, she wasn’t afraid to get her dress dirty…much to dismay of Grace & Phil’s dismay I’m sure, since they were meeting friends for dinner afterwards.  🙂

Adorable Eliza will turn 2 years old later this week. Help me wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Nick & Nicole’s Secret Proposal at The Sanctuary

After weeks and weeks of planning every detail for Nick’s secret proposal, we had to call a last-minute audible!!!

Nick and I had worked so hard to come up with the perfect plan for him to ask his beautiful girlfriend, Nicole, to marry him. We had picked a pristine beach at the northern end of Kiawah Island as the backdrop. We had chosen the perfect time of day to catch that “golden hour” light before sunset. But all our plans fell apart minutes before our scheduled time when the skies opened up, pelting buckets of rain down from the sky!!!

Fortunately, Nick and Nicole’s parents had secretly flown in to surprise the couple after the proposal. Since his parents were staying at The Sanctuary, they quickly scouted out a secluded spot indoors and out of the rain. They even placed a trail of rose petals leading Nick to “the spot” where he would do his magic. It worked out PERFECTLY!!!

Arriving right on cue, Nicole said later that she could sense Nick was acting a little strange. But she wasn’t sure why? Then Nick hit his mark, turned to face the love of his life, and dropped to one knee. It was a truly magical moment. Nicole burst into a HUGE grin as she realized what was going on…and she couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night!

Afterwar she said “Yes”, we were able to incorporate the beautiful hallways, archways, and grand staircase of the famous hotel into a fun authentic engagement shoot. I got some neat candids of Nick & Nicole’s parents surprising them and checking out Nicole’s AMAZING ring. And of course we captured a few nice family portraits to commemorate the occasion.

CONGRATULATIONS Nick & Nicole!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together!