Wireless Lighting Workshop

My good friend and fellow photographer, Matt Daniel, shared these scenes from the Wireless Lighting Workshop earlier this week. Yes, the nice policeman really did ask us to move the vintage limo off the historic brick street. J

Posted via email from Chris & Cami Photography

Imaging USA Day Three

WE SURVIVED! Imaging USA was fantastic as usual. Cami & I are so pumped up and inspired by all the great speakers and beautiful images and ideas we've seen and heard. Here are a few fun shots from the final day with some of our FAVORITE photographers in the whole world. :-)

Cami cuts the rug with Rick Dean at the closing party.

Cami with the always sweet and lovely Kay Eskridge.

Ed Pierce shares his knowledge.

Mike Corrado gives me the universal symbol for Rock-n-Roll during his presentation.

Jose Villa answers questions with Liz & Kip Bulwinkle in the background.

Cami & I with the generous Garrett Nudd after his exceptional presentation.

Kellie McCann, Rick Dean, Cami & I, Kate McKinley, Kip Bulwinkle inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Kellie, Rick, Kate, and Kip all demonstrate Flow Posing. :-)

Posted via email from Chris & Cami Photography

Boone Hall Plantation

"I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible." ~ Richard Avedon

Coastal Kids Dental

Last week I had the privilege of photographing Dr. Driggers of Coastal Kids Dental. She was so much fun to work with that I KNOW she does an amazing job with her kids. :-) Here's one of my favorites...LOVE the Dansko shoes!!!

'Tis the Season

I still remember Anne-Magill & Brad's wedding like it was YESTERDAY! When they found out little Merritt was on the way, they signed up for our "Welcome To The World" collection. So I've had the pleasure of photographing their beautiful girl since she was just a part of Mamma's belly! :-) She's now 6-months old. Here are a few of my favorites from their Christmas session on their beautiful property.

Old Friends Become New Again

I photographed Sara & Jordan's wedding about 4 years ago! So it was really fun and exciting to see them again when they asked me to do an updated family portrait. They hadn't changed ONE BIT...still as much fun as I remember!!! :-)

Lee's Baby Dedication

I recently had the honor of photographing Lee's 4-month portraits. His baby dedication was this past weekend at Ashley River Baptist. This was one of the photos they selected to be projected on the huge LCD screen of him during the service. What an ADORABLE young man!!! Congratulations Chad, Denise, and big brother Thomas! :-)

High Dynamic Range Photography

High Dynamic Range (or HDR) photography has fascinated me for some time. So I finally decided to take a crack at it. It involves photographing a series of bracketed exposures of the same image, then merging them together.


I used a popular HDR program called Photomatix. Here are a couple of my first attempts from last week. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I could do different?!?

Depth of Field

Here's an interesting question I received this morning:

"Hey Chris, I had a question about something I've been struggling with when taking pictures. In short, how do you get good background blur yet maintain good sharpness in a group shot. I know increasing f stops (or closing aperture) will help but I don't know what range i want to be in to get uniform sharpness through the group and blur the background. What looks good on the LCD screen isn't always translating when I upload on my computer. Hopefully, this makes sense and any advice you could provide would be greatly greatly appreciated. I'm really enjoying your posts on your blog and FB. I never realized that setting up shots was so complicated. thanks for sharing your knowledge!

J.

And my response:

"Hey J! Great to hear from you. There are lots of variables when it comes to DOF in group photos...how big a group, what focal length you're using, and how far away you're shooting from, for example. My general rule of thumb when doing wedding parties and family shots with 2-3 rows of people is f5.6. Rows of 4 or more I move up as high as f8. I'm usually shooting with a moderate wide angle from 10-15 feet away. (Also remember I'm shooting on a full-frame camera, which is important since you get slightly more depth of field at a given aperture when using a camera with an APS-C sized sensor.) One key to getting the most use out of your available DOF is to focus 1/3 of the way into the group. Logic would have you focus 1/2 of the way in. But DOF doesn't work that way...there is more "in-focus" room behind your point of focus than in front. So put your focus point on someone 1/3 of the way into the group and you'll be maximizing your available DOF and be able to use a smaller aperture to still get everyone in focus. (And another tip is to position your group as far away from the background as possible.) There will definitely be some variations between your cameras LCD and your monitor...like brightness and color temp. However, DOF should NOT be one of those. If there is a difference, it's probably just because your camera's LCD doesn't have enough detail to properly show exact DOF. Do you have a DOF preview button on your camera? Try using that if you have enough available light to see the image at that dim an aperture. Hope all his helps. Cheers!"

Here's a group photo I did yesterday for Anchor Commercial's holiday greeting card they sent out to all their clients. Nothing fancy, but it's got enough DOF! ;-)

Photoshop Magic

Here's a problem I encounter all the time! I photograph a number of corporate team photos. But it's an ever-evolving process...people leave the company, new employees are hired, etc. Here's a team photo I took for one of my favorite clients, Caldwell Commercial, last year.

Larry just joined the team this year. Instead of dragging everyone back down there, I met up with him at the same spot I had taken the team photo. I brought along the previous team photo on my iPhone so I could position him and light him as close as possible to the original group shot.

Finally, he gets merged in with the others. MAGIC! :-) The key is, by paying attention to details and photographing Larry's image with the same variables as the one I'm trying to fit him in to...the Photoshop work is a piece of cake!

Claudette Bell

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing the AMAZING low country artist, Claudette Bell. Those are her beautiful paintings behind the lamp and above the mantel. Her husband, Bill, has commissioned me to do several shoots for his company. So it was neat to see their beautiful home and get to meet his lovely wife. Visit her website at http://www.claudettebell.com/ or stop by Spencer's Art Gallery and the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery where her fine work is featured.

The Character of Color

"One very important difference between color and monochromatic photography is this: in black and white you suggest; in color you state. Much can be implied by suggestion, but statement demands certainty… absolute certainty."
- Paul Outerbridge

Tara & Will's eSession

I had an AWESOME Engagement Shoot with Tara & Will the other day. Will drove all the way down from Charlotte to make this thing happen. YOU ROCK, Will! It was one of those days that less "adventurous" couples would have called off due to weather...kind of overcast with pockets of rain throughout the day. But Tara & Will were all hyped up to create some unique and dramatic images. I get excited when clients are willing to push the envelope a little bit! Everything just clicked and the three of us knocked this one out of the park! :-)

Apryl & Ben at The French Huguenot Church

Apryl & Ben were a kind referral from my friend and wonderful fellow photographer, Karyn Iserman. We originally met on Valentines Day last year. As much "in love" as these two are, I thought that rather fitting. :-) Since then I've enjoyed getting to know them through their fun Engagement Session and Apryl's gorgeous Bridal Shoot. We photographed the Bridal Shoot on historic Church Street since that's where Ben proposed to Apryl. Awww....

Apryl grew up in Charleston. Ben's family moved around a bit, but finally settled here. The two met in high school. But they didn't really start dating until they re-connected at a football game during her senior year of high school when he was home visiting from college. How romantic!

Their wedding day was absolutely perfect. After a rainy week, the weather was beautiful! They were married at the very photogenic French Huguenot Church downtown. The fabulous Melissa of Charleston Celebrations kept everything running smoothly. And the reception was at the Society Hall, just a few blocks away, where the Mighty Kicks rocked the house!

Apryl & Ben were so much fun to work with and so photogenic in front of the camera! Click Here after watching the slide show to see the rest of their photos. CONGRATULATIONS, Apryl & Ben!!!

Rindy & Josh at Blessed Sacrament

Last Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day! What better place to be than at Josh & Rindy's wedding! I've had so much fun getting to know them over the last year through our get-togethers, phone conversations, engagement session, Rindy's bridal shoot.

Josh proposed at Disney World by having the divers in the big tank at dinner hold up a sign asking Rindy to marry him! Isn't that AWESOME!?! He and Rindy's brothers are really in to motorcycles. Since I used to be a motorcycle fanatic myself (owned a half-dozen or so in my life) we had an instant connection. Plus Rindy's Dad is a big photo buff...how cool is that?!? On top of all the mayhem of planning a wedding, Rindy was studying for her MCATS....now THAT's impressive!

Josh and Rindy have been dating since middle school. They truly are a match made in heaven. After the slideshow, CLICK HERE to check out the rest of their pictures. CONGRATULATIONS you guys!!!

Adrienne & Corey's eSession

Adrienne & Corey are getting married December 12th. So the other day we hooked up downtown to do their Engagement Shoot! It was a FANTASTIC afternoon with the sunlight sifting through the trees and buildings with a magical glow. Adrienne & Corey were fun, easy going, and a gorgeous couple. I CAN'T WAIT to photograph their wedding!!!

Bulow Plantation

For those who are planning a Wedding Reception, Rehearsal Dinner Party, or Corporate Event in Charleston...and want a more rustic venue to...I HIGHLY recommend looking into The Plantation at Bulow. I photographed the NACE Meeting there this week and captured this image at dusk. It really is a beautiful location!

School Portraits

Something I LOVE about my profession is that no two weeks are alike. One week I might be shooting a beautiful wedding, the next I might be shooting Serena Williams at the Family Circle Cup. This week, I was photographing the school pictures for the Child Development Center at Ashley River Baptist Church. Since I'm truly just a kid at heart anyway, I felt right at home. :-)

Many of you have asked me how I set up for assignments like these. So here's a couple shots of this year's set up. We decided to do an all-white high-key setup this year. To properly do high-key, it's CRITICAL that you light the background separate from the subject. This allows you to over-expose the background by a stop or so to give it that angelic glow. I have two Alien Bees with umbrellas lighting the white seamless background, and one AB in a large soft box lighting the kids.

Another great tip when working with kids is to always use a remote triggering device. Children are just TOO FAST to try and jump back to the camera to get the shot. Their smiles light up their face for an instant, the next they're digging for gold or admiring the ceiling tiles. I use a Pocket Wizard, attached to a PW Caddy, strapped to my belt. When I get the reaction I want, a quick tap to my hip transmits the signal to my receiver, which is picked up by the receiving Pocket Wizard, instantly firing the camera.

Strobist Gathering

Recently a bunch of us Charleston photographers, David Hobby followers, and Strobist aficionados got together for a little "Strobist Gathering". My good friend Charlie Thiel did a great job organizing it and helping the Canon folks with their questions about E-TTL. My buddy Robbin Knight set up an outdoor location-type shoot and helped show off what Radio Poppers can do. My friend Mahmood Fazal helped folks with Pocket Wizards. And finally, I set up a completely wirelss studio and helped answer questions about Nikon's CLS system. It was a total BLAST and we all had a great time...especially once we hit the pizza joint at the corner after we were done. :-) Part of the purpose of the gathering was to raise awareness and support for http://www.charlestonkidswithcameras.org/.

Here's a "before" shot while I was setting up, taken by my friend Kip Bulwinkle.

Here are a couple shots I took with my lighting setup.

I used my Nikon D2x with the WT-2a attached. This allowed the images to magically pop up on my laptop, allowing everyone to see exactly what I was getting.

Here's a crude (HA...understatement!) diagram of my setup.

Here's a quick grab-shot of the scene outside with some of the location shooters.