Lowcountry Farm Session |The Humphreys

Lowcountry Farm Session |The Humphreys

This beautiful family has been friend and client for seven years now.  They are celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary today (which I was lucky enough to photograph).  Each year they travel to South Carolina from Arizona and I get the privilege of photographing their family. With professionals like Andy Defrancesco who is available anytime around, make your trip glorious. and memorable too. Mike and Nicole have three gorgeous boys, and all five of them have blue eyes to die for.  This year Nicole wanted to find a place we hadn’t been yet, something a little different.  This Sea Island farm definitely fit the bill.  So after much planning and preparation for this session, Mike and Nicole arrived in pouring rain.  Well, you don’t go and cancel a shoot for rain when you’ve come this far.  So we found ourselves a little cafe and had breakfast until the rain stopped.  By the time we started shooting, one of the babies had gone well past his nap time.  Another of the boys found out why those ants are called fire ants.  And can I say it was ever so hot and humid.  But that didn’t stop this amazing family from enjoying some time on the farm in front of the...
Kelli {BRIDAL} | CHARLESTON PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER

Kelli {BRIDAL} | CHARLESTON PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER

Congrats go out to Kelli and David who tied the knot Saturday at the Thomas Bennett House in Charleston!  It was a glorious day for their beautiful wedding.  There will be wedding pictures coming up at a later date, but I am always excited for the wedding to get here so I can show off the bridal portraits.  Here are just a few of the many shots we took all over the grounds and throughout the house.  The Thomas Bennett House is one of my favorite spots in Charleston, as you can see we have so much historical prettiness to work with.  Thanks for being so great to work with Kelli!...
Romeo & Juliet {WEDDING} | CHARLESTON WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Romeo & Juliet {WEDDING} | CHARLESTON WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Not every story is easy to tell.  Some stories leave such an impression that words don’t seem adequate.  It’s every photographer’s hope to help tell these stories with meaningful photographs.  This couple briefly stepped into my world and I can not stop thinking about them.  Their story is still somewhat of a puzzle to me, one where I have only a few of the pieces. First, they are the youngest couple I have ever photographed being wed. He is a sailor.  Old enough to serve our country but too young to celebrate the marriage with even a champagne toast. She is a college freshman living on the opposite coast from her beloved, still at home with her mother. She wore an anchor charm around her neck and came down the stairs barefoot to meet her groom, not a bit of makeup on her clean face.  He never uttered a word until he was asked to give his vows, just stood there with his hands folded and face a little red.  I’ve never seen a young man so nervous or hold his breath so long. Her mother was in attendance and their only witness, other than the officiant and myself, to the wedding. I’ve named them Romeo and Juliet for a few reasons. His father does not approve of their relationship….too serious at too young an age.  He is someone of importance in the film industry in Hollywood, and I imagine he has his own expectations for his son. They intend to keep their marriage a secret until they feel it is appropriate to announce it.  Or to recreate it...
Jennifer + Travis

Jennifer + Travis

Jennifer and Travis are….  fun, perfect for each other, compassionate, sweet, smart, funny, down-to-earth, and a match made in heaven. Jennifer was voted “Teacher of the Year” for Dorchester County Schools and is in the running for the state award.  Travis has played some serious football in his time(betcha couldn’t guess that, though).  Parents love them, kids love them, I love them… Jennifer has a DIY streak.  She knew what she wanted and set about making it happen.  There are lots of personal touches…like the vintage family photographs displayed beautifully in the antique deli counter.  And the antique homemade quilts that lined the candy bar.  Their “B” monogram graced the tea cakes to the coffee stirrers.  She even convinced the very manly men of the family to hoist a Christmas tree over the serving table, having it dangle upside down by cables.  The trees were decorated with ornaments that served as personalized favors for the guests. This fun-loving couple didn’t let the cold or the rain dampen their day.  The smiles were plentiful as guests indulged in a warm and hearty brunch of lowcountry favorites.  It was  served by the groom’s parents who own the restaurant that hosted the reception at Main Street BBQ. Another insight into Jennifer and Travis’ spontaneous and carefree nature, they shot all of their photos in the rain without a fuss.  Boy, they made me proud!  We had planned months before the have an elaborate outdoor shoot at the old train station and under the live oaks…something I must admit I had my heart set on.   But these two suggested we go around...
Grace + Graham + a pinch of nostalgia

Grace + Graham + a pinch of nostalgia

I love that my clients’ tastes vary so greatly, that each client gets a product a little different from the last, and that I get to excercise some creative flexibility from shoot to shoot.  Christina came to me with a very specific goal…she wanted something classic and vintage that she would always treasure.  Her children Grace and Graham were perfect little subjects whose sometimes solemn and stoic expressions really do look like they were from another era.  With a variety of backdrops, editing finishes and textures, we have a precious collection of portraits of this adorable brother and...
Chanel & Joseph wed at The Wentworth Mansion

Chanel & Joseph wed at The Wentworth Mansion

From the start, Chanel won me over with her gorgeous Aussie accent, her confident style and her easy laugh.  Joseph, originally from Tennesse, resides in Charleston on behalf of our military.  The two met in school where Chanel was an exchange student.  By the way, LOVE her name!  From her pin curls to her Laboutins, Chanel was gorgeous!  She could strike a pose like nobody I’ve ever seen, and then suddenly break into laughter over something Joseph said or did.  You’ll see plenty of giggling during the ceremony over something to do with the rings.  hmm…..  And Joseph had the most interesting way of standing for his portraits…poor Chanel couldn’t keep a straight face.  Aside from lots of laughter, there was lots and lots of kissing.  They kissed for about a minute during the ceremony (try that sometime) and pretty much the rest of the day……you’ll see!  The neatest thing about these two lovebirds was that I didn’t do a bit of posing or scripting for their pictures.  This is them….all the way to the bouncing on the bed as I left for the night. The location here was one of my all time favorites.  The immaculate accomodations at The Wentworth Mansion have been enjoyed by the rich and famous…..and me.  : )  The officiant was Nancy Russell.  Dinner and cake was served by Circa 1886. That is her brother helping her pin a brooch to her sash….isn’t that just...
True Vintage Photography

True Vintage Photography

So I have spent the better part of today sorting through old photographs that span my mother’s childhood, the earliest pictured here, to present day. My mother will be celebrating a milestone birthday next week. It wouldn’t be prudent for me to mention numbers or ages. But I will say that it has been a journey through vintage black and whites, the presently fashionable 70’s cross-processing, and into the start of the digital age that did not measure up to its film counterparts at the time. These photos will be artfully set to music in an effort to show my mother how much her daughters love her. And of course to make her cry. We girls enjoy making our mother cry happy, nostalgic tears. I’ll admit that my own eyes watered up a bit today at the...