Posts Tagged ‘South Carolina’
Family Photography: David & Susan Faith
This is an especially special post for me because I absolutely adore the people and the story behind it. OK, so take a look at David and it’s pretty clear that he’s adorable:
Yeah, I told ya’.
What’s not readily apparent is that David was born with a large ventricular septal defect and a patent ductus arteriosus–congenital heart defects that kept his blood from circulating properly and, thus, kept his body from getting the oxygen it needed. This was keeping him from growing the way he ought to. Fortunately, at the end of October, David went down to the Medical University of South Carolina where they were able to surgically repair the problems with his heart. This little guy was bathed in a lot of prayer and, as you can see, he’s coming along quite nicely now.
While recovering from his surgery, David wasn’t able to go out in public, and as I followed his story I kept wanting to see better pictures of him, so I got in touch with his mom, Melissa, a friend of mine from back when I was in high school, and asked if she’d like Wendy and I to get some pictures of David and his big sister, Susan Faith. She liked the idea, and so here are the photos!
This is Susan Faith with her mom. She has the cutest little nose!
Susan Faith and her dad.
Boys + bonnets = unhappiness
Finally, I thought I’d close with a shot of what David’s parents call his “zipper”, the scar from the surgery that has allowed him to grow and develop those adorable rolls you see over the top of his diaper.
To learn more about David’s story and the wonderful people at MUSC who helped to make it one with a very happy ending, I suggest you check out his Caring Bridge site. His mom also has a new blog about children, books, and children’s books called Growing Up Reading. (Susan Faith taught herself to read before she was twenty-one months old, so I’d say Melissa is someone’s advice you might want to consider when it comes to children’s literacy.)
Wendy and I are so thankful to have gotten to play a tiny part in David’s story and we look forward to seeing the wonderful young man he’s going to become.
Thanks for hanging out with us for this week of blogging! There are some cool photos in the pipeline and two shoots coming up this month we’re really excited about, so check back soon!
Ben + Angel: Engagement Session
The new year is now officially in full-swing, and for some of us, our first full week of work looms darkly ahead. If recent bowl games and the last few days’ spring-like weather weren’t enough to lift your spirits, hopefully Ben and Angel’s photos will help dispel some of that gloom and get you ready to face the week with a spring in your step. I’ll offer some pointers along the way in case you need a little nudge.
Of course, the best way to start off any week is with coffee.
Like Wendy and me, Ben and Angel spent a good bit of their courtship hanging out at a coffee shop together. However, while Wendy and I stared adoringly at each other over cups of Cool Beans coffee, Ben and Angel were doing much the same across the river at Cafe Strudel. So, tip one is: Start your week at a local coffee house. You’ll definitely find good coffee and you might find love…
Ben and Angel didn’t actually meet at Cafe Strudel, though. They met at a show at New Brooklyn Tavern. You might have guessed from the photo that Ben is a musician and you’d be right. (Sorry, Angel, for the times I monopolized your future husband talking about music!)
So, even if your Monday doesn’t get off to the greatest start, you can take the edge off by following tip #2: Listen to music that makes you feel good. (For bonus points, add “local” to this tip as well.)
If even the sweetness of caffeine and the sweet balm of melody can’t get you ready to face the week, I’d suggest tip #3: Do something kind for someone else.
Getting them a diamond engagement ring may be overdoing it…a cup of coffee or a smile will likely suffice.
If you’ve followed along the plan this far and still find yourself in the doldrums, you may be forced to engage in tip #4: Go outside.
Ah yes, the sun, the fresh air, the need to take a Claritin…
Finally, if you’re outside with a delicious cup of hot, local coffee, listening to great music while reflecting on the many old ladies you helped cross the street and the idea of a full week of work is still getting you down, the only tip left I have left is #5: Give your beloved a big kiss.
Yeah, that makes everything better.
We hope these tips were helpful and that you have a fantastic week to come! Come back to visit on Thursday and please, kiss responsibly.
Kendra – Bridal Portraits
Happy new year!
The Lumos Studio blog has languished for far too long, and so, as a new year dawns, we’re returning to the web with a vengeance. We have a year’s worth of beautiful brides, cute couples, bouncing babies, wonderful weddings, and annoying alliteration to share with you, dear reader. But it’s not just photographs we have to share. Oh no! There will be glimpses behind the curtain at Lumos Studio, tips and tricks, and perhaps the occasional philosophical musing. So, as you plan for this new year, ripe with possibilities, we hope that you’ll include coming along with us on our journey and saying “hi” from time to time.
The first stop on our adventure takes us back to March, when we took these photos of Kendra around the campus of the University of South Carolina. I’ve known Kendra’s family since high school and even taught with her mom for a time. They’re a great family that turns out beautiful, sweet daughters like it’s their job.
I have a confession to make about this next photo: I didn’t think we could pull it off. My lovely wife Wendy, though, was more confident in my abilities than I was and gracefully persuaded me to keep working with it until we captured this frame. I suspect the little jig I danced when I looked at the back of the camera suggested to her that she was right all along, but a little public validation never hurts, does it?
Kendra had a long and gorgeous veil that I think gave an air of mystery to these photos.
It always feels good to repose after a long shoot in a fairly heavy dress. The Inn at USC is one great place in Columbia to find that.
Wendy and I hope that your new year is filled with joy and beauty that is uninterrupted by the Mayan calendar. There’s lots more coming up, so please join us on Wednesday for our next post!
Jessica + David: Columbia, SC Wedding
A bride in a birdcage (veil), a groom in Chuck Taylors–what better way to return from a break from the blog?
Quite apart from the photography, I’m going to take credit for this marriage. (Not the wedding, the credit for that goes to the bride and to the charming and talented wedding planner Robin Cannon, who made sure that the whole lovely evening went off without a hitch.) No, I’m claiming the marriage. You see, several years ago, before David and Jess had even been on a single date, I told them jokingly that, because the two of them were about to begin leading a house church together, they were bound to get married. The two of them were sitting on a couch across from me and Jess responded to my prognostication by placing a throw pillow between the two of them. That pillow, though, couldn’t stop their love…
Seriously, though, everyone who knows these two knows that they’re made for each other. They are creative and funny, thoughtful and silly, and both look fantastic in black.
It’s always fun after a wedding when Wendy and I compare her pictures of the girls getting ready to my pictures of the guys getting ready. I was able to correctly predict in this case that the girls were not smoking hookah as they prepared for the ceremony.
The night before the wedding, the girls got together a collection of movies to watch in preparation…
…and so did the guys.
I like that Jessica and David had a color palette that even I can understand–red and black.
Divided by Friday: Santa ain’t the only one who flies
In May of 2009, I photographed a young band from North Carolina called Divided by Friday. They were on a tight schedule and I was in the middle of a very busy week, so they skipped class (shhhh!) and I came straight from school (still wearing a button-up shirt and khakis) and we had a shoot that I blogged about last year. Well, 2010 has brought great things for the guys in Divided by Friday. Earlier this year they released their first video and in November they announced that they’d signed with Hopeless Records. With the signing came the need for new pictures, and we were thrilled that they called us up.
Shooting a band is oh-so-slightly different than shooting a wedding, and it gives us a chance to play in ways we normally don’t. We love the playful aspect of shooting musicians, but the other side is that there are a lot of clichés to avoid (think railroad tracks and brick walls). For this shot, we decided to draw inspiration from the same source that the band did. The title of Divided by Friday’s new EP, The Constant, is a reference to Lost–specifically the fact that Penny (the one whose boat it isn’t) is Desmond’s constant–the thing that keeps him anchored in time/reality/whatever was going on. If you haven’t seen Lost, go ahead and watch all seven seasons. The rest of us will wait.
Okay, I guess you’re back. Wasn’t that great? Well, yeah, maybe not the last episode, but otherwise, awesome!
Anyway, Wendy and I were discussing the idea of a constant–something that draws you back to a central point, like home. We decided that food is something that draws people together (think holidays like Thanksgiving), and it could be cool to see the guys drifting away, yet pulled back together by the fellowship of a shared meal. Admittedly, I also liked the idea of putting a rock band in my mom’s kitchen (thanks, Mom!). This is what we got:
If you have some free time, feel free to use this like a Highlights magazine and circle all the floating food in the image.
If you prefer your band pictures with more gravity and fewer calories, here’s another from the shoot:
Now, the event that actually inspired this post is the release of Divided by Friday’s latest video, their version of “O Holy Night”. Are you looking forward to Christmas? Do you like to rock? Yes? Then check it out!
After that, go check out the rest of their music on Myspace.
Stephanie + Matt: Columbia, SC Wedding
You may want to go ahead and fix yourself a beverage, because this is a long one…
The alternate title for this post was: “Our Svelte, Stylish Greek wedding”, but since anybody can just wander in here from Google, I opted for the less challenging title from a vocabulary point of view.
You will no doubt remember Stephanie from her bridal post a couple of weeks ago. Well, here are some images from her wedding to Matt.
Matt is an artist and Stephanie is a total style-monger, and so Wendy and I knew that the two of them were going to have a very cool wedding, and as you’ll see, we were spot-on. First off, take a look at their wedding favors. Matt hand-made these. Unfortunately, the word for them escapes me right night, but you may have seen them before in the film Sleepy Hollow. You spin the disc using the strings on either side and, through persistence of vision, you see the images on both sides overlaid on one another. That should give you some idea who you’re dealing with.
Here’s Stephanie’s lovely wedding dress.
Groom and groomsmen: powered by sugar.
Puppy: powered by cute-fusion.
And what kind of shoes does a bride like Stephanie wear under her gown? These, of course.
Matt and his groomsmen watched USC take on Tennessee until it was time to get ready. Note that there are four visible clocks in the background. I’m thinking this may be part of the reason this location was chosen for them to get ready.
So you’ve seen Matt now. Big, burly dude, covered in ink, probably a real tough guy, right? (Okay, maybe scratching the puppy undermines that image a little.) Truth be told, Matt is romantic to the bone. This is his wedding gift to Stephanie–it’s a scrapbook commemorating their entire relationship through photographs, notes, and memorabilia. This page contains a ticket stub from every movie they’ve ever seen together. Ladies, if you’d like to take a moment to get a tissue, feel free.
Guys, it’s time to step up your game.
At this point, the girls were mostly ready, though Steph was still getting her hair done. The guys were, well, still watching the USC-Tennessee game.
Matt’s sunglasses are my favorite.
While Stephanie finished up with hair and makeup, Wendy took the bridesmaids outside at the gorgeous Millstone at Adams Pond for a few group poses.
Once Stephanie was ready, she joined in, too.
The wedding was held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox church.
Here’s Steph with the book Matt made for her. Stephanie is such a magnificent fit for Matt! She attempts to fight her romanticism tooth and nail, but it’s a losing battle. She kept cursing Matt, saying he was going to screw up her makeup by making her cry.
Matt and Stephanie didn’t want to see each other before the wedding, but they did want the chance to talk, so we put a door between them.
