BRAND NEW BLOG!

Welcome to our cooler, better, bigger, BRAND NEW BLOG! I've been photo-blogging for years. I love passing on information, sharing my passion, and highlighting favorite images I've created throughout this journey called LIFE. But we sort of outgrew the limitations of our old blogging system along the way. Here then, is our totally customized new blog! www.chrisandcami.com/blog. A wonderfully gifted designer and photographer named Danella, built it for us...to be totally and uniquely "US". Bookmark it. Visit often. We hope you enjoy this new window into our world as we continue along this journey with you!

(We have imported ALL the posts from this Blog into that one. Although we won’t delete it, please note that we will NO LONGER be updating this old one at http://www.chrisandcamiphotography.blogspot.com/. So if you have that address saved in your Favorites folder, kindly change that address to the new one listed above!)

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Fine-Tune your Focus

Professional level cameras like the Nikon D3 and D300 that I use have the ability for fine-tuning the focus parameters of each lens.  I just spent all day yesterday re-calibrating every lens to every camera body combination.  It was a chore.  But now all my glass will be at peak sharpness as we head into wedding season.  J 

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Mission Trip to Tanzania

Come hang out with me at the Chic-fil-A on Magwood (West Ashley) between 5:00-8:00 tonight!  Chic-fil-A is generously donating 10% of all sales for our mission trip to Tanzania this summer!!!

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Mission Trip to Tanzania

Come hang out with me at the Chic-fil-A on Magwood (West Ashley) between 5:00-8:00 tonight!  Chic-fil-A is generously donating 10% of all sales for our mission trip to Tanzania this summer!!!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Samantha Stosur Family Circle Cup Stadium Banner

World No. 8 and defending champion Samantha Stosur has officially entered the 2011 Family Circle Cup. Stosur, the first player to commit to the tournament, returns to Daniel Island where she set the event’s mark for the fastest championship victory on record by defeating Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3, in just 52 minutes. Marking the tournament’s 39th consecutive year, the Family Circle Cup, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier event, will be held April 2-10, 2011 at the Family Circle Tennis Center in historic Charleston, South Carolina.

Samantha Stosur, the 20th champion in the Family Circle Cup’s storied history, said, “I’ve always enjoyed competing in Charleston, and I really look forward to defending my title at this historic event. The city is beautiful and the fans are very knowledgeable, so it’s always exciting to play this tournament.”  She added “Winning the Family Circle Cup has certainly been an important highlight of my career”.

As one of the Official Photographers of the Family Circle Cup, I’m always honored when one of my images is selected for the Stadium Banner!!!  This shot was taken on a rooftop overlooking the Charleston city skyline during a private photography session Samantha granted us after winning the title.  I used a Nikon D3 with 70-200VRI.  Since she was back-lit by the sun, I used an SB-800 off to my left to light her and placed a second one behind her to add a little bling to the trophy.  Flashes were triggered via RadioPoppers and a camera-mounted SB-900 in commander mode. 

Chris Smith

Chris & Cami Photography, LLC

www.chrisandcami.com

843-324-8900

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The Eyes Have It

I was goofing off with my good friend and fellow photographer, Gary (www.colemanphotography.com) while he was doing a series on “Eyes”.  Here’s a couple of the shots he did of mine.  Pretty funny stuff!!!  J

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Photo Guest Books

Last year Cami & I started offering Photo Guest Books to our brides and grooms.  We can’t BELIEVE what a huge hit they have become!!!  These beautiful coffee-table books are printed on fine-art silk paper, containing each couple’s favorite images from any of their Signature Shoots...like The Proposal, their Engagement Sesssion, or the Bridal Shoot.  Each page has space around the images where guests can sign the book, leave fun comments, or write a few words of wisdom.  Folks just love looking through all the pictures, often passing the book around the reception.  And the couple loves all the personal comments and well-wishes that make the book a very special keepsake instead of just the generic guest book with blank lines as a record of all who attended.  It’s a win-win and we love being a part of that!

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Australian Open: Vera Zvonareva & Caroline Wozniacke are Out

Last year at the Family Circle Cup, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva were locked in a semi-final battle when Caroline slipped and twisted her ankle…a very scary moment for ANY athlete.  But she recovered quickly and both players had an excellent 2010.  This year at the Australian Open, Caroline came in ranked #1 and Vera was #2!!!  They’ve both played some exceptional tennis throughout this first Grand Slam of the year.  So I was pretty sure they were going to be our finalists!!!  But Na Li, who has been on fire in 2011, and Kim Clijsters, who’s always a tough competitor, had other plans for the top seeds.  Yup, I’m sad to say Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva are out of the 2011 Australian Open Tennis Championships.

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Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award 2011

Press Release:

Charleston, SC – 01/26, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Chris & Cami Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Photography! Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation. Chris & Cami Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year. “WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Chris & Cami for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.” We are happy to announce that Chris & Cami Photography is among the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. Chris & Cami remarked, “We would love to thank all our wonderful past clients for nominating us to receive the prestigious Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011”.

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ALL THINGS NIKON with Mark Suban at CCforP

Many thanks to the incredibly knowledgeable Mark Suban from Nikon Professional Services for teaching the “All Things Nikon” Seminar yesterday!  It was held at the Charleston Center for Photography, graciously hosted by Stacy Pearall & Andy Dunaway.  We really drilled down into the dark recesses of our menu systems, and talked about the myriad of tools and settings at our disposal in these amazing cameras to help us make the most use of them and get the best images in every situation!  Plus of course it’s always fun to play with the latest new lenses and accessories that are out.  J

(Some of these were shot on my new Nikon Coolpix P-7000, which I love!  Others were shot with one of my D3s and either the 50mm f1.4G or the 14-24 f2.8.)

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Portfolio Head Shots

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting Walt Dunlap.  He’s done quite a bit of stage acting in his career and is looking to re-focus on the TV/Film industry.  So I had the privilege of helping him create a new Portfolio Head Shot.  You know the old adage…you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Hopefully, capturing Walt’s fun and engaging personality in this portrait will make for a good calling card as he moves forward.  I wish you all the best in all your new adventures, Walt!

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Charleston Photographers Lunch Group

We had a nice turnout for the February gathering of the Charleston Photographers Lunch Group today.  It’s always a wonderful gathering of fun, friendly, and amazingly talented photographers that Cami & I enjoy hanging out with, sharing ideas between, and encouraging each other as we all strive to excel in our creativity and dedication to the craft of creating amazing images for our clients.  This month our very own Rick Dean and Ron Montgomery brought back news and information from Imaging USA to share.  It’s such an honor to be a part of this giving and supportive community of awesome Charleston Photographers!

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"Game, Set, Rock!" with John McEnroe is Back

It’s the NEW YEAR!  So as one of the official photographers of the Family Circle Cup, you’ll start seeing a few announcements pop up about this wonderful tennis tournament!  J

“The Family Circle Cup and InsideOut Sports + Entertainment  announce the return of Game, Set, Rock! Tennis. Amplified presented by Dove, an evening of music and tennis entertainment featuring John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Todd Martin, beginning at 7:30pm on Saturday, April 9, 2011.  McEnroe will defend his Game, Set, Rock! singles title during this tennis exhibition, which will feature singles and mixed doubles action.  Marking the tournament’s 39^th consecutive year, the Family Circle Cup is scheduled April 2-10, 2011 at the Family Circle Tennis Center in the Best Tennis Town in America, Charleston, South Carolina.”

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OOPS!

I love shooting reflections in mirrors, through natural vignettes, and with unique angles throughout the course of covering a wedding.  Here’s one time where I made a booboo and caught myself in the shot.  J  It was taken during Alexis & Nick’s beautiful wedding at St. Luke’s Chapel.  Fortunately I was able to crop myself out during editing so that the focus remained on Alexis and her bridesmaids.  I realized my error as soon as I shot it though…and re-composed so that the rest of the shots I made in that mirror didn’t include my ugly mug.  J  Hey, we all make mistakes!

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Separation for High-Key Backgrounds

The best way to get a pure white, high-key background, is to separate the subject from the background and light it independently.  That way you can control the light falling on the background separately from the light falling on the subject.  I routinely expose the background at a stop or two higher than your subject to get that super white look. 

Here’s the setup for a shoot I did for Anchor Commercial recently.  I set up my Savage White Seamless background in their lobby.  Two SB-800 flashes were aimed at the background and gobo’d so as not to spill onto my subject, Lindsey.  She was lit independently by two more SB-800 strobes as master and fill lights.  All four were controlled via an SB-900 on my D3 in Commander mode, and triggered via Radio Poppers.  I shot with my favorite 14-24 f2.8 mounted to the D3 and stood on a chair to create that elongated look they were going for in this image.

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Super Lawyers Magazine

Super Lawyers Magazine is a nationwide publication catering to the world of law.  As their photographer for South Carolina, I enjoy photographing a number of interesting shoots each year.  The other day I had the honor of photographing Gedney Howe.  As lawyers go, Mr. Howe certainly needs no introduction…his reputation in the industry speaks for itself.  A native of Charleston, Mr. Howe began practicing with his father in 1973 and has been focusing on representing plaintiffs in personal injury litigation as well as criminal defense litigation ever since.

My good friend and fellow photographer, David Strauss, assisted me on this shoot.  All images were shot with the Nikon D3 and either the 14-24mm f2.8 or 24-70mm f2.8 lens.  Lighting was provided by either 1 or 2 Nikon SB-800 strobes, on Bogen stands, with Westcott umbrellas, controlled by an on-camera SB-900 in commander mode, and triggered by my trusty Radio Poppers. 

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Alexis & Nick's First Kiss!

Last weekend Alexis and Nick had their FIRST KISS!  They are both in the military, stationed in Germany.  And when they met, they knew early on there was something special between them.  So they decided to start a relationship with the intention of marriage.  And part of that covenant they made with each other included keeping themselves pure before God and saving their first kiss until their wedding day.  I absolutely LOVE that!!!  Their ceremony was truly Spirit-led and such an honor to be a part of! 

They were married at St. Luke’s Chapel with their reception following at The Summer House.  After the ceremony, we stopped at Cannon Park and White Point Gardens for some dramatic images in the setting sun.  Check out the fun slideshow at www.chrisandcami.com/blog and the rest of their photos at www.chrisandcami.zenfolio.com.  

CONGRATULATIONS Nick & Alexis!!!  You guys are a living testament to what TRUE love is!

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