Referral Program: We’d Like To Meet Your Friends!

March 15, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Our referral program is a great way for our wedding couples to get additional gifts from their wedding day. It’s a great way for all of our clients to enjoy special memories with new products that are exclusive to our referral program!

Tell your friends, family, and co-workers about Carl Kerridge Photography! When they become part of the CKP family, you’ll receive a very nice “thank you” gift and always our gratitude. All the details about the our referral program are above. Have a question or other inquiries?

Call: 843-333-1212 or E-mail: [email protected].

Renting a Studio, At Home Office, or Buying a building?

January 26, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Renting a studio, staying home, or investing in a building is a fork in the road every business owner crosses in their career and it’s a big decision. Consider every time a new client comes to your home office, you prepare delightful snacks with hot tea and your decor tastes are second to none! However, do you ever wonder if your client having to walk through the ‘comforts’ of your home to get to the bathroom hindered your sales pitch?

Maybe, maybe not. You can research for hours and there are pros and cons to home-base and professional studios. Most boil down to the the separation/balance of work-family life and costs. Then, there’s the middle of the road option. The happy place and new trend for entry and mid-career photographers is renting a studio when they need them so that they can budget their costs while still giving their client a highly professional experience.

What does renting a studio look like? Glad you asked! Here’s a rental price sheet for Element Marketing Company:

Just like buying a home, there’s nothing wrong with renting a studio until you know it’s time for your to invest in your own photog castle. So what are the perks of renting?

Renting a studio offers:

-Fully controlled environment
-Access to props and equipment
-Creature comforts
-Experienced help

So as much as we all enjoy natural landscapes and how the weather can set a composition, let’s face it, Mother Nature enjoys throwing any curve ball she wants just because she can. Controlling your photography environment allows you to shoot without regards to time (unless you’re late for dinner, then that’s on you). Especially good for entry level photographers, some studios allow the use of their equipment which lets you try before you buy, and many of the studio owners are great wealths of knowledge and are willing to give you a crash course. Not only that, many times there are options for you to have an assistant while renting a studio.

Let’s not forget, modern commodities are luxuries we take for granted. Go camping just once and you’ll fully understand gratitude for bathrooms.

But, also, renting a studio can allow you to give yourself and your clients a:

Great location and a Great price

If your want to make it, you need to be professional from the get-go. It’s the same mentality of dressing for success. So how do you know you’re ready?

-You’ve taken the time to look around.
-You understand the costs, how it affects your business, and if your business can handle the expense.
-You’ve considered and discussed what is expected out of this partnership.
-You know where you stand on wanting store front visibility or just a space to work in.
-Your insurance reflects your added liability.
-You’ve evaluated the available space and parking.
-You embrace the potential to grow and go beyond your current boundaries.

If you would like to discuss this topic more, visit me at 514 Broadway Street in Myrtle Beach and give me a call at 843.333.1212.

With that, I’ll leave you with my favorite quote, “What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail?”

Wedding Hope, Faith, and Love

January 20, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Gatsby Themed Wedding
“He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

While looking through Mallary and Travis’s wedding images, I pondered all that could be said of them and their wedding. I know that there is a gentle quietness of respect for all who choose to serve for their country and who marry and support that service. Thinking about Mallary’s bridal shoot, I began flipping through The Great Gatsby, wondering if Fitzgerald could spark my creativity, and then there it was – a quote that set the imagery for their wedding ceremony at The Cooper House.

When Travis told us to “rock on,” the other side of this strong couple came out to play. Avid Clemson and music fans, there wasn’t doubt they knew how to party, and the crowd threw down at Inlet Affairs in Murrells Inlet. At the same time, I enjoy thinking back about how simple the two wanted to keep the wedding details. Nothing is better than for a couple to focus on what truly matters, that the two of you are marrying each other. That is the sacred memory you’ll share forever.

As Mr. and Mrs. Haynie begin their future together, I have much admiration for them both and give them my best. There will be challenges, there will be beauty. There will be calmness and there will be spurts of energy.

My wish is that every time the two of you are close enough to touch, you rest against each others foreheads, remember your wedding to each other and feel all that matters – Hope, Faith, and Love.

Destination Wedding Photographer

January 19, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

What don’t I love about being a destination wedding photographer?

Their really is only one thing about being a destination wedding photographer that I don’t love – hauling lots of equipment through airports and hoping it arrives safely. But the rewards pay that off from the minute I check in.

There are plenty of reasons for couples to consider destination weddings: A mini vacation, family resorts and maybe beaches or mountains that you don’t live close to. Not only that, they can mean more exciting wedding pictures for the bride and groom! Who wouldn’t want that?

As a veteran photographer, I’m going to be honest and confess that I am guilty of shooting at designated spots that I know all wedding parties will love. I call them my “frequent flyer zones”. They are beautiful spots, have great available light and they always work! However, after 15+ years in this business, I can tell you from personal experience that I value new and inspiring locations that offer exciting challenges. Being a destination wedding photographer and traveling to a new location offers an opportunity to break out of the box, open your eyes to a fresh terrain, and tempt the visual senses. If you are one of our wedding couples planning your destination wedding, you have challenged us to work with this blank canvas and make it awesome. It’s thrilling and of course we accept!

One of the best things about being a destination wedding photographer is that when we get home, there’s a sense of newness to everything around us. Those frequent flyer zones? Well, all of the sudden we have a new set of eyes for those too. We find ourselves seeing everything “for the first time” again. Experiencing the magic of your wedding day makes its impact on us. We are able to serve you more dynamic and incredibly creative memories just because we’ve restored our mind, body and spirit. It drives the heart of every destination wedding photographer to guarantee you a successful wedding with photojournalistic and fine art images.

As water is the essence of the body and wisdom the essence of mind, then travel is the essence of spirit. To book your destination wedding with us please contact us via email – [email protected] – and we can make the travel arrangements!

St. Augustine, Florida

Norwich, England

New York, New York

Allahabad, India

Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina

Montreal, Canada

Loveland, Colorado

Belin Methodist Church, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

West Point, New York

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Winter Garden, Colorado

Dunes Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Wachesaw Plantation, Litchfield, South Carolina

Pawley’s Island, South Carolina

Myrtle Beach Mickie and Minnie

October 12, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

It’s not often you find two souls designed completely for each other, but when a passion for Taylor Swift unifies a couple, you know they play for keeps. I am so thankful this couple chose Myrtle Beach as their wedding destination.

Christina is a Northern-Southern belle. I still can’t get over how beautiful her bridal pictures were on the bridge taken at the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach! Her groom, Nathan, is a man of many talents. From playing in the band, swinging golf clubs to keeping a smile on Christina’s face, he just rocks it. One of my favorite moments of the day was their first look. As Christina came around the corner, the two joined hands and made a pinkie promises to each other before turning to see the other. When Nathan saw his bride, all words left him because of her beauty. Christina rested on the arm of his chair and presented his groom’s gifts, Nathan kept saying that they were the best presents ever. That softness and gratitude engulfed the two of them and was shared through the entire day.

You could tell the couple planned each symbolic and meaningful moment for themselves and their guests. We couldn’t have asked for better weather either. I loved their portraits on the golf greens and the sunset. One in particular mimicked the bride’s mother’s wedding picture. Her father was holding her mother in his arms. For generations to come, I hope they share enjoyment at seeing the images side by side.

Myrtle Beach has been the couple’s favorite vacation spot and its vendors helped their ceremony and reception become a masterpiece. The bride and their families baked approximately 3,000 cookies (a Pittsburg tradition) as the couple’s wedding favors and I think that everyone who came from out of town would agree they had more than enough sugar to take with them for the drive back to Pennsylvania.

As for every couple meant to be, there was Disney’s Mickey and Minnie….oh, and of course a Rolls Royce!