Are You a Tilty Kinda Person?

This past year a Greenville couple booked us as their professional wedding photographer due to someone else who used the “Dutch Tilt” on too many of their engagement shots. Generally speaking, we’re not tilty kinda people.

Dutch Tilt wedding photo
The tilting technique is a movie angle used, and too often overused, to create tension or motion in a shot. Movie makers have been doing it for almost 100 years. Some still photographers have just discovered it and think they have to use it on darned near all their shots. Continue reading »

Posted in Uncategorized

Placing the Wedding Cake

Almost every wedding has the cake cutting. Let’s talk about where and where not to set up the cake. This is based on our professional experience from the many weddings we photograph every year.

Greenville Couple Cutting the Cake

You’ve probably paid good money for the cake and the decorator/designer has put a lot of pride into this work of edible art so let’s not ugly up the pictures…

  • Please don’t put the cake in front of lattice work. It looks gosh awful in pictures. Leave the lattice for climbing roses for underpinning the house.
  • Not in front of a mirrored wall. Mirrors add depth to a room and can be pretty. They can also be found on ceilings and behind people cutting the cake. I don’t know which is worse. It is a nightmare for a photographer because the flash reflects right back into the camera lens.
  • Not in front of a window. Continue reading »
Posted in Wedding Tips

A White Christmas

It is indeed a rare sight… snow in our area. But, on Christmas no less! Around the city of Greenville it was nice enough, but the further north, the more there was. This is Campbell’s Covered Bridge, not all that far from Furman University.

Campbell's Covered Bridge in snow in Greenville, SC

Posted in Uncategorized

A December Wedding

There were elements of Christmas with the wedding of Kellie and Adam a couple of weeks ago. The warmth of the giant fireplace, the holiday lights, and Christmas trees all added a festive flair.  Here is a slide show from their wedding:

Posted in Video Slideshows

What Makes a Nice Baby Photo?

Baby Portrait PhotographIf you find yourself in a position to photograph your own child… or someone else’s, there are some things to do so your photos will stand out.

For me, it is all about the face… specifically the eyes. That’s where I like to put the attention. Using a telephoto Continue reading »

Posted in Family and Babies

It’s a Baby Day

We don’t shoot weddings every weekend. A couple of weeks ago I sent out a message to all past couples offering a family shoot. A number of folks took us up on the offer… including Kristin and Matt. We were the photographers for their wedding at the Gassaway Mansion in 2007. It was great to see them again… but this time they had a new member in the family!

Portrait Photograph Of A Baby On A Blanket

Portrait of a smiling baby

Posted in Family and Babies

Kellie and Adam’s Wedding

Megan, Rod, and I shot the wedding for Kellie and Adam yesterday. They chose to see each other before the ceremony and get all of the pictures done early. It did seem to make things easier by not dividing the day up with photos before and after the wedding. I think they will really like what we got… hundreds of shots of family, friends, and the ceremony. It took place at Hampton Park Baptist Church. As usual, we did our Hollywood style lighting for the posed shots… and this is the result:

Wedding portrait of bride and groom

Posted in Lighting, Venues

Making You Look Your Best

We are trained that when photographing people, it is best to shoot just a little from above and with a tilt of the head a certain way (the subject, not the photographer). Now research is showing that people do indeed look better with a tilt and when shot from certain angles. Photographers who have been professionally taught have likely been doing it right all along. Hate your headshots? Maybe the photographer just didn’t know how to make you look your best. Tilt a guy’s head a certain way and he will look very feminine.  Some brides think they don’t want “posed” pictures at their wedding. If they want to look their best, sometimes some occasional posing is needed and a pro knows how and when to do it.

Posted in Why Use a Professional?

A Wedding Day Thank You

Stephanie says we “went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that my husband and I, family and friends had the best day of our lives. When I say our day would not have been complete without these wonderful people, I mean it. Gene and his fantastic staff capture those special moments.” Stephanie Sulligan

Her wedding was a lot of fun. The backstory is, her photographer cancelled within a week of the wedding, so the Hilton (where the reception was) called their preferred photographers. We were the first to answer and said “yes”. The couple had a budget to work within (especially since the other photographer wouldn’t give them a refund). So we helped with that issue. Truth is, the other photographer had a trip planned for the beach and didn’t want to stay even an extra hour… nor would she allow anyone else to shoot. So, she just quit. What a bozo. Stephanie was one of the greatest brides ever.

Greenville wedding photo of bride and grrom

Posted in Testimonials

A Note from a Bride

I got an email from Karen and Brian. We were the photographers for their wedding a couple of months ago at Greenville’s First Presbyterian Church. Do you think we did a good job for them? We delivered their album to them about a week ago. She writes, “The album is incredible! Brian and I could not be more pleased. We greatly appreciate the job you did. We have something that will always be very special. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Posted in Testimonials, Venues