Bridesmaids Dresses Sparkle at 21 Main at North Beach

July 19, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

Look at those bridesmaids dresses! I love them! Nothing better for a wedding day than a little sparkle to go with the bling at North Beach Plantation.

I’ve known Lisa’s parents for a while now. They’ve always encouraged and supported my fine art and philanthropic work in the community, so I was thrilled to document the marriage of their eldest daughter (and to have just been booked to shoot the youngest daughter’s wedding next year).

Lisa and Ryan are a true class act, their wedding was a great blend of friends hanging out, family involvement and dance floor shenanigans. Even the bridal party introductions, with DJ Ryan Robinson from GlobalTruth Entertainment, became a break dance contest and these bridesmaids and groomsmen really knew how to get down. One thing that really stood out was how Ryan was crazy about Lisa. His best-man even told how Ryan began ‘designing’ himself around the husband he intended to be. During ‘toast time’ we also learned how comical Lisa and her sister are and got a feel for how much teasing goes on between the two girls. Oh, their poor brother, he must have grow up being double teamed.

And hey, the only way to end the night was to have a Red Viper as the get away car. I know Lisa smiled as Ryan handled the beauty like a pro (without striping the gears), after all, he’d drove a manual for the first time only 3 days before.

We wish Lisa and Ryan many happy years to come and hope their friends and family keep the laughing.

Vendors:

Location: North Beach Plantation

Caterer: 21 Main at North Beach

Music: Global Truth Entertainment

Cake : Buttercream Cakes & Catering

Flowers: Darrell Senter with D G Senter Designs

Hair & Makeup: Hair by Orlando

Dresses: Gown Boutique of Charleston

Imaging USA 2016

February 8, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

My very first trip to Imaging USA and what an experience!!!! (I don’t usually use that many exclamation points so you know it must have been special!). I mean how could a conference packed with industry leaders, both young and old, not entertain thousands of photographers. From the top fine art photographers like Clyde Butcher (www.clydebutcher.com), legendary photojournalists and life long National Geographic photographer Sam Abell (www.samabellphotography.com), modern masters of weddings, portraits and fashion like Jerry Ghionis, Lindsay Adler and Peter Hurley and Commercial photographers like Dean Bradshaw and John David Pittman and who could forget the keynote speaker Mrs Amy Purdy who’s inspirational story of overcoming obstacles in her words “forces us to get creative”. Below you will find my top 5 takeaways that I will be putting into action this year and a series of tips from the photographers and speakers whose classes I attended.

Now to put it all into action with my 5 top takeaways from Imaging USA!

For starters I learned to never be scared of putting my full personality into my work and marketing. Not that I feel reserved now, but, I do sometimes feel like I hold back with some clients, scared that my personality will not be a perfect match for theirs. Allowing the ideal client to accept me totally as a human being and totally loving my style is definitely worth working towards and will positively affect the images we create together.
Never stop learning! Yes I know this is as much a life lesson as is it a reason to continue to educate myself in my career. But seriously, with technology changing at lightning speed now, and software updates happening every other day it is vitally important to stay competitive and never loose touch.
Work to develop a style that is as unique as me. In a world saturated with images from mobile phones and apps like Instagram making it easier and easier to upload and share, how do your create a style of your own and how do you make images that will be recognizable as a ‘Carl Kerridge’ original piece of Art?. It’s a tough question to answer but this year I am challenging myself to define and embrace my style.
Think like a director. I am a still photographer, not making movies with huge Hollywood studio sets, but Dean Bradshaw’s explanation was that you still have to control your entire environment to make great images. The more I think about this one the more it resonates with me and I have made a conscious effort to examine the stories I am telling through the lens, looking for answers to the question behind the motivation for me to push the shutter button.
Compose the picture and wait. I have Sam Abell to thank for this one and I think it might just be the most important lesson of all. It is too tempting with digital capture and our growing desire for instant gratification to simply push the shutter button without properly taking the time to visualize the final image, set the composition, layer the photo and control the lighting. We are often too busy and simply moving too fast. So this tip from a photographer that worked with film his entire career and has 2 images listed in the top 50 at National Geographic is well worth paying attention too.

Fun tips from the teachers!

Begin at the back of the photo and work forward, see the layers and separate them – Sam Abell
The promise of photoshop is perfection, the promise of photography is truth – Sam Abell
The most important thing is insight, the curiosity to wonder and muse – Dean Bradshaw
Lighting should always serve the story, fit it with the concept – Dean Bradshaw
Stories connect us with a shared purpose – JD Pittman
Obstacles can either stop us in our tracks or force us to get creative to overcome – Amy Purdy
Connect your passion with your purpose – Amy Purdy
Put the technical stuff in your back pocket and learn the art of communicating – Peter Hurley
We are the clients mirror so tell them what their face looks like – Peter Hurley
Photograph subjects through the eyes of a loved one – Jerry Ghionis

With all these great tips I hope you are excited to get out and shoot something new, rediscover a passion that you have for image making or fine tune your skills in one area. Below are several photojournalistic images I made at the event, enjoy..

International students get there own lounge with free chocolate, I was so tempted to say I was from England..

Escalator filled with people at Imaging USA

Streams of people all day long attending one of the 70 workshops offered at Imaging USA

Staff member with 'photographers are awesome' sign at Imaging USA

Amazing staff helped us all weekend long, reminding us we were there to enjoy ourselves

Model posing on a chair at the Imaging USA convention

Test model for the ICE Light system by Jerry Ghionis

Instructor showing photographers lighting tips

Hands-on instruction at the Canon booth demonstrating back lighting

Photographer Lindsay Adler demonstrating lighting set ups at Imaging USA

On stage with Lindsay Adler for a lighting demo

Hanson Fong demonstrating his speed lighting with a model

Break out session with Hanson Fong demonstrating a two speedlight model shot

“Turn your nose towards China” says Peter Hurley

SC photographers represent!!!, there were a few more of us flaoting around but we loved this group shot

Bridal portrait with beautiful back light.

One of the model brides posing by the Omni Hotel

Yes Jerry Ghionis really did tell me to sit on his knee. Looking left and smiling cheesily at nothing at all.

Find your own inspiration at Imaging USA, the PPA’s annual conference and if you see me there don’t forget to say hello.

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.

The Lucky Yoyo and Rabbit’s Foot

December 10, 2015 by Carl Kerridge

When it comes to connection and this new couple, I am lucky and…

I have Mrs. Cheryl Saito to thank for our introduction. She’s a local wedding coordinator whom I’ve collaborated with and created professional photography for in the past, including her oldest daughters wedding. After introducing me to Amanda and Cash, the couple decided to book their photographer a year in advance. To all new couples out there, I highly recommend this for two reasons. One, you guarantee you get the photographer of your choice and two, you have time to develop a relationship with your photographer – something I am lucky to have time for with many of my couples.

Our first meeting was at Abuelo’s and I quickly found out that we had more in common than I could imagine, we had all worked in the restaurant/service industry, liked margaritas, and had the same taste in music. They wanted to put most of their investments into making their wedding fun. Their most important aspects were the photography and having a live band. Talk about lucky, when I heard Tru Sol Band was their choice, it was just meant to be!

We put together a customized package, and Amanda created a Pinterest board to show me her tastes and style. Having plenty of time to discuss all of their ideas and working with them for Engagement photo’s made it super easy to work with them and it allowed me to gain their confidence in my style and professionalism.

Amanda and Cash were initially shy when it came to the camera, believe it or not, I had the pleasure of shooting their first professional portraits together. I couldn’t believe it was their first time! They were so nervous about what to expect, but as we walked through the session, in downtown Conway, they started to blossom out of their uneasiness. By the end they were joking, having a good time and they were noticeably more relaxed.

Then the wedding rolled around, it was so fluid that the day couldn’t have gone any better. We already knew one another, they were comfortable with me, and we all just moved together through their sacred day. It was lovely capturing a traditional Greek Wedding ceremony at The Breakers Resort. The reception? Total party animals! The groom became the party stopper with the wicked dance moves. Where oh where did that shy guy go!. The bride was beautiful and having a blast, and the brother….well the boy was the comedian, that’s for sure!

The most memorable part of their celebration was the line of communication and connection. The father of the bride hit every heartstring in the room, mine included. His toast wasn’t designed as a tissue moment, but everyone was crying as he told the story of him and his wife’s first date. He symbolized how special he thought this new union was going to be. “How special he knew his wife is, and how he felt the same way about Cash being the same person for his daughter.” The he presented the new couple the most unexpected gifts, the very same gifts he exchanged with is wife so many years ago – A wooden yo-yo and a rabbit’s foot.

Lucky tokens handed down from the past to the future. It was a coming together of a new family, a new future, and I was lucky enough to bear witness to the intangible emotional presence amongst us. If there was anything at all that connected human to human, it was there in that room. At that moment and for a split second, all there ever was, was love.

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.