Styled Photo Shoot – Members Club

October 17, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

Oh The Great Gatsby, a tale of impossible love, dreams and tragedies….thank goodness the iconic style of the 20’s and 30’s is what mostly influenced our styled photo shoot! We did have a hiccup, but overall the day was just as successful and beautiful as part one of our styled shoot at the Dunes Club last week (incase you missed it here is that blog).

Here’s the preparation list of contacts for our styled shoot

Check list:

Location – Vasilika at The Members Club at Grande Dunes
Model – Whitney
Make up – Mary Chestnut with Makeup Artistry on location
Hair -Wing Wong with Salon and Spa 18
Flowers by Robert Gerba with RSG Event Designs
Dress – Nichole at The Little White Dress

Our model was superb. Mary and Wing transformed her in to a classical and elegant beauty. The dress! I will never forget that stunning design, how it fit our model like a glove and fitted perfectly to our Vintage Gatsby inspired theme. When she walked out of the changing suite, even bystanders awed as we exited the building. We marveled at her hair, makeup, and how well the dress complimented her and the look we wanted for this shoot.

Then came the tiny tragedy, “Rollsmarie” (a 1930’s Rolls Royce) had a flat and the sun had already started to set. Were we going to have enough time to capture the essence of our location?

Making ample use of our time, we began without the classic car and Whitney moved beautifully in her vintage gown. Then, just as dusk hit, Robert cruised up and parked in front of the Members Club’s front doors.

With the car on site, our models boyfriend lending his support as our groom to be, we all decided to continue shooting as the light dipped in to dusk. The cool breeze in the air with night approaching gave the shots more vibrancy and atmosphere that we anticipated!

Remember from our other blog, I said I intended to make this styled photo shoot entrancing? Well, see for yourself! Thanks to the Members Club for allowing us to shoot at your beautiful location and to all the vendors involved for the time and effort to create such a wonderful series of images.

Styled photoshoot at The Dunes Club

October 14, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

In the past I have shied away from any kind of styled photo shoot. I prefer the authentic feeling of a real wedding day and the emotions that come along with it. However, there are times when you just can’t say no! When the opportunity for a custom fitted 1930’s White Rolls Royce styled photo shoot came through, I did jump and say a big,” hell yes!” Icing on the cake was the car’s owner is a good friend and fellow Myrtle Beach wedding vendor, Robert Gerba with RSG Events Designs. He offered the car and I put on my planning hat! Then came the dream team of Myrtle Beach wedding vendors along with my model for the day and my lovely wife Jessica.

Here’s the check list of contacts for our styled photo shoot

Location – Nicole at Dunes Golf and Beach Club
Model – My wife, Jessica, owner of Whereismyguru.com
Make up – Mary Chestnut with Makeup Artistry on location
Hair – Meg Hendrix with St James Salon
Flowers by Robert Gerba with RSG Event Designs
Dress – Nichole at The Little White Dress

For the actual shoot we had no rules, guidelines or preconceived notions of the final image. Ultimately we wanted to showcase the car as it is a new addition to our local wedding offerings but also create the images for a variety of marketing pieces that all the wedding vendors would appreciate.

With all the flowers in bloom and crisp skies, August is just a gorgeous month to shoot in. Now, raise your hand if you’ve had a South Carolina wedding in August… yep it was that hot and yep, we did swindle a golf cart to carry our model around and keep her cool. Everyone involved helped make the shoot a huge success. From Mary dabbing and touching up lipstick, to Nicole helping fan out the dress to perfection, we even had Robert working the model’s veil like a pro.

Robert would hide behind the Rolls Royce and spruce up the veil before I clicked my shutter. This brought the attitude into the images, the rest of the crew would cheer away, and our model’s smile made the moment. If you could have heard the sound of “Rolls Marie,” I’d say she even revved her engine nicely for us too!

As we got ready to call it a day at The Dunes Club, I knew that we had to do another shoot. The next styled photo shoot needed to have a grandeur Gatsby theme, perhaps the infamous novel could help spark our imagination….

Friendship and a Photography Gift!

January 22, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

2015

Plays back like video film, spotlighting highlights in my friendship, personal life, and business growth. I can honestly say that we hit all of our goals last year, and I learned more about myself and the breath of my business than in any of the past 15 years in business. Becoming the Regional Director for South Carolina’s Professional Photographers of American has also added it’s charm, stressing the importance of staying inspired and recognizing the need to grow with a community of photographers.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the quality that comes from separating the person from the contract.

I want to talk, for just a minute, to all the lovely couple’s I had the pleasure to document this year. You have been inspirational to me. I want to let you know that I recognize your love in it’s many shapes and forms and that I see it’s most important element is friendship. Friendship is the foundation for hope and gratitude, it unlocks the door allowing for a deeper and more human connection. You were the greatest of friends to each other, that’s how you impacted me. If there was a theme for 2015, for you guys it would be rain…and the good omen it brings.

Every couple I met, I saw you and your stories of triumph, even against the odds. You would be able to hold it down even if it was in the midst of a hurricane. In your happiness, you all reminded me how grateful I am to have found my partner and how deeply rooted our friendship is at our love’s core.

So I want to say a special ‘Thank YOU’ and I want to pay it forward.

When you guys met me, I wanted to provide something for you that is so dear and special to me, something that goes beyond the business/client relationship. It’s called a ‘human experience’ and I have been creating more emphasis on building a friendship with my couples because I want it to be that personal. Getting personal allows me to get closer with confidence, to get to know who you are, and to be able to tell your story instead of only handing you pretty wedding images.

So let’s have some fun together to start off 2016. As a token of appreciation, I want to offer a special give away to my remarkable couples:

The couple with the greatest number of voting comments on this post will receive a stunning retouched 16×20 print for their first year as newlyweds. In addition, any couple that has over 50 votes will receive a $50 gift certificate to our A La Carte menu items. To all my readers, feel free to leave some love too because your are equally valued to me.

Tay and Roosevelt

Sarah and Davis

Wendy and Joe

Kathy and Alan

Hillary and Adam

Allison and Roddy

Mary and Stoney

Amanda and Cash

Emily and Joey

Stefani and Justin

Michelle and Patrick

Every individual who comments will be entered into a separate giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card. Share to Facebook, Tweet about this post, and get creative with spreading the word!

I love a good laugh and I’ll be counting comments on ONLY this page’s comment section – one per person – until February 11th.

The Winner will be announced Friday, February 12th!

Everything isn’t about the perfect pose or the magazine-style shot. For me it’s about creating a memorable experience, one that my couples and clients will remember forever. I do this in hopes it will lavish a future that distinguishes between a photograph and a memory.

Young love: Wedding at the Train Depot

November 21, 2015 by Carl Kerridge

As a photographer along the Grand Strand, I thoroughly enjoyed this once in a lifetime wedding at the Historic Myrtle Beach Train Depot. The train depot is cherished in the hearts of many locals. It began as a transport hub, bringing families to the coast. Through its journey, the depot was always a part of travelers’ memories. It’s restoration was its own love story, one that blossomed with patience, determination, and everlasting merriment. As the City of Myrtle Beach would say, it is an, “active link to the city’s past and a focal point of its future.”

Speaking about past and future, I personally knew Roosevelt before his nuptials. He supported me and my wife’s venture in to charity work under Global Awareness Project. I was not surprised when the train depot’s timeless history spoke to our sweethearts wedding plans too. The couple mixed the vintage style of the Train Depot with a multi-cultural guest list and used the area’s natural attractions and landscape to personify the wedding theme of “Endless love.”

The beauty and innocence of young love is a powerful emotion – it can leave you speechless and with very wet handkerchiefs. There’s something about when a bride lets a tear slip during her vows, it has its own volume in silence. Those tears of joy became contagious.

Don’t think this crew doesn’t know how to party, though! I saw friends doing impressions for song lyrics, female friends hoisting the groom in his photo, and “cheers” springing up in regular intervals. Tempered with laughter, the reception showered us with sass, class, and attitude!

As I relive the day, I just want to say, “Cheers with happiness and longevity to this beautiful union.”

If you would like to see more and learn about Carl Kerridge Photography, please visit my Website or find me on Facebook. Want to know my favorite photo from the day? Well of course, I’d save the best for last.

Fine Art Photography: Rain on the Wedding Day

November 19, 2015 by Carl Kerridge

Love and Fine Art-

It has no limitations and touches gently in every way.

Before I was contacted about the wedding, I knew Hillary from SeaBlue Restaurant. When I saw her, I always felt as if I were chatting with a friend. When I first met Hillary and Adam together, their personalities just bubbled in front of me. The fact that they knew my fine art from the restaurant was great. They loved my style from the get go, they wanted fine art compositions, lots of black and whites and to have fun, tons of fun.

One thing I remember from their engagement shoot was how easy they were to photograph together. It was obvious which way he was going and which way she was going. They just molded together. As a wedding photojournalist of Myrtle Beach, every image spoke volumes of their dedication to and for each other. And the morning of their wedding? Smiles, jokes, and (of course) shots!

It’s one of the best good luck omens for there to be rain on the wedding day. The sky kept at bay as the bride and groom said their “I do’s,” and their family and friends “returned to the sea” blessings and best wishes for the happy couple. We ended up waiting for the limo to pick the bride and groom up. In the meantime, I shared a nice moment with the couple just talking about their favorite things. It was just another chance to get to know them better. Then… we started placing bets on how the party was about to go down.

Arriving at SeaBlue Restaurant for their reception, the coupled entered with a dance that set the mood for the entire evening – light-hearted, fun, and hilarious entertainment. Everyone was on the make shift dance floor, tables were moved to the side and even the furniture became a prop to help you shake it – which gave new meaning to Momma’s got her groove, and Papa’s got a brand-new bag.

You should know that it did, indeed, rain.
How do you pick a favorite image? It gets harder the closer I become to my couples. Scroll to the bottom so see the beauty between them!

If you would like to see more of my fine art pieces visit my Website or find me on Facebook.