Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!

I wanted to share a story with you about one of our families.  The Kessler family first visited us in 2006 for a family portrait with their three boys.  We had the privilege to update their portrait this summer with their extended family at the Carsten home. While every family has a story to tell, this one caught my eye.

The Kesslers are missionaries. After their portrait session, they moved to Costa Rica to be immersed in the Spanish language. Then, in about a year, they will make the move to Honduras to work full time for Forgotten Children’s Ministry.

Family portraits are high on the priority list for the Kesslers. Trips to the states will not come as frequently as visits when they lived 10 minutes from each other. In my opinion, with the constant changes that families go through, portraits are the best way to take our mind back to a memory just as the feeling of warm wind can flood your mind with memories of the beach.

This family had a wonderful zest for life and their willingness to go as a family and do what they felt they needed to do just brought me all kinds of warm and fuzzies! Here are a couple of photos from their shoot. Enjoy!

The Grand Strand has proven itself to be a wonderful location for family getaways, couple’s retreats, and large reunions. The atmosphere is perfect for family beach portraits and we have enjoyed giving families the ability to take a little piece of their vacation home with them.

Not only have we photographed family beach portraits, but we have even taken some senior portraits this summer. A senior portrait at the beach is sure to stand out!

All of our locations have been a hit but there is something special about Surfside Beach and Pawley’s Island.  Beautiful dunes, a great pier, and less crowded beaches have made these two our top picks.

We wanted to send out a special congratulations to Christina and Gary, who tied the knot in a beautiful June wedding.

The atmosphere during the entire day was filled with smiles, laughter, and an occasional sheepish grin that was brought on by a unique game at the reception. (What happens at the reception stays at the reception, lol!!)

They were a fun couple to photograph and we really enjoyed the unique blend of culture throughout the entire evening.

We wish you all the happiness in the world!

Have a little fun and see if you can spot the 15 things that are different in Gail’s office!

I would encourage you to take the time to bring dad and the family in. Celebrate his hard work and kind heart with a gift that will not be able to be recreated. That gift would be a memento of today!

Here is a poem just for the Dads.

Dad

He never looks for praises

He’s never one to boast

He just goes on quietly working

For those he loves the most

His dreams are seldom spoken

His wants are very few

And most of the time his worries

Will go unspoken too

He’s there…. A firm foundation

Through all our storms of life

A sturdy hand to hold to

In times of stress and strife

A true friend we can turn to

When times are good or bad

One of our greatest blessings,

The man that we call Dad.

What’s next? A natural progression is nature. Nature is a great way to practice with natural light, different angles, and composition. The best part about it, nature is everywhere.  

If this is you, I want to introduce you to a photographer who has revolutionized the art of photographing nature. Many have heard about him, most have seen his photos, but rarely do people actually study him and his work.  His name is Ansel Adams. He is known for his beautiful black and white photographs of the American wilderness.

I want to encourage you to look at his work and understand how he brought his passion for preserving the great outdoors to the attention of the public through photographs. The next time you visit Arizona, go to see Adams’s work which is featured in the John P. Schaefer Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Tucson. 

Our very own Charlotte portrait photographer who stays busy doing family portraits, baby portraits, and corporate head shots, always finds the time to surround himself to get outdoors and be further inspired.

A great reference for Ansel Adams would be http://www.anseladams.com/index.html

Contact Us for Availability!

If you need a beach portrait photographer in Myrtle Beach, SC, on the Grand Strand, you’ve come to the right site. There are plenty of beach portrait photographers to choose from, but only a small group of professionals have the beach photography experience that you will find in Jeff Carsten at Southern Light Photography.

We have beach photography locations in Cherry Grove, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, and Pawley’s Island.  Private proof sessions may be held at the customer’s beach house or at the studio in Charlotte. Southern Light Photography provides you with custom packages, outstanding service, and a friendly, helpful staff that is dedicated to your satisfaction. Whatever you are looking for in a beach photographer on the Grand Strand,  Southern Light beach portrait photography is your best choice!

In contrast, it no longer is required to have a special occasion to bring out the camera. A new parent will have 100’s of photos of babies first nap, first smile, first poop face, baby napping again, baby with new toy, baby with doggie, baby chewing on doggie, baby… you get the drift.

Now comes the question, what do I do with 4 gigs of pictures worth of Tommy’s first tooth fairy visit? Here are a couple of helpful tips:

1. Edit - If you have tons of images from the same event, delete the bad ones and keep the ones that truly speak to you, or tell the story the best. To this day, my mother has a drawer full of all the best photographs of my childhood, but they are jumbled up with an overwhelming amount underexposed, blurry, and meaningless pictures that we never attempt mess with them because we don’t want to sort through the mess. It’s ok to edit out the ones you don’t like.

2. Make a back up – Photos can take up a lot of space on a much needed hard drive. Burn a copy of your pics to a dvd and also put them on your backup hard drive. Remember, the better you organize the files, the better off you are!

3. Make prints – I know, it seems so 1900’s, but facebook should not be your only family album. Out of the 100 pictures of you and your family at the lake, edit them down, then print the top 10 favorites and put them in an album. It makes for great conversations that can be centered around the coffee table with a lot of people, instead of around a computer with a couple of people.

4. Make a children’s album with your professional portraits – I have never had a parent tell me that they regret buying multiple prints of their family from a photo shoot. What I do hear is, “What am I supposed to do with all the ones from the last session?”. I recommend a childrens album. Put your portraits on your wall, or in your personal album. Then, take the duplicates and put them another album to give your kids when they head out on their own. This is the only way that I personally have been able to have photos of my family and childhood in my own home. Momma will not give up her portraits, but she will share if she has a duplicate. (Thanks mom!)

In the mean time, enjoy the technology of the modern day cameras and try not to get too overloaded!

Happy clicking!

Family portraits have been on Catherine’s mind for a while now. She said she is in need of getting her family photographed, or at least getting someone to do some children’s portraits for her kids. With buying a package like this, not only will her needs be met, but the money she spent will be donated to the Simon Youth Foundation.

Personally, I really enjoyed the relaxed environment of the event. Most of the people who attended were picking up their award and mingling with the rest of the winners from other categories. While the band played in the background, you could overhear conversations that were filled with congratulations and more information on the background of the participants.

I brought my husband with me and he had met Josh Elmore, the winner of the best personal trainer, and his wife, who is also a personal trainer. They laughed and carried on as if they grew up together. Over all, it was a fabulous night.

Take the opportunity to go to silent auctions when you hear about them. It’s a great way to meet people in your community and participate in the growth and development of the surrounding areas.

Congrats to all the B.O.B winners!