Children 
Engaged
Families 
Weddings
Posted on March 28, 2013
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The weather’s been a bit flaky lately. (Wimps, the lot of us. We Lowcountry dwellers really prefer daytime temps that don’t dip below 70, or 60, at least.)
I’ve had a few beach photography sessions this month that haven’t really turned out as warm as we anticipated back when we scheduled them.
But my clients are troopers, I’m telling you.
Nicki and her fun, sweet family were visiting from Arkansas, and we had a wonderful time, despite the chilly wind.
Doesn’t Collin have the sweetest little face? Such an adorable boy. His grandfather definitely won the “get natural smiles out of him” contest.
Posted on January 22, 2013
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Last year was a good year.
I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats!
At a 2012 wedding, I was walking past a groom who was waiting in an alcove for his wedding ceremony to start, in mere minutes. He was a little verklempt, and I raised my camera, then paused, looked at him, and said,
“Is this OK? Or would you prefer privacy?”
And he said, “No, stay. I want the truth. Well… I want the truth, maybe just a little bit more beautiful.”
Yep. That’s why I do this.
The truth, maybe just a little bit more beautiful.
With that philosophy in mind, here’s a look back at some of the sessions and weddings I shot over the year– a good mixture of both candid and posed and/or planned shots.
My goal for 2013 is to shoot candid moments with more intention and purpose, so that I produce single images that can stand alone and tell stories.
Here’s what we did in 2012:
Hung 0ut in the good light
Kissed a little
Got up offa that thang
Held hands
Primped
Showcased the Lowcountry
Walked around
Modelled for Mom
Goofed off
And called it a wrap!
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Posted on October 2, 2012
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I met up with the Parrot and Hopkins family last month at Seabrook. They were celebrating their parents’ anniversary, and were such lovely people.
I know I say that about all the families I photograph on the beach. Of course they’re wonderful-they’re on vacation, having a great time!
But this family was particularly warm and fun. I had a great time with all of them.
Escapees!
If your young children do this at your beach photo session, no need be embarrassed. ALL kids do this.
Probably not a surprise to mention that this ended badly. But it was fun to capture anyway. I love boys being boys!
Posted on August 14, 2012
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I photographed Sarah and her extended family last month out at Folly. When Sarah, who handcrafts fanciful, customized wedding cake toppers, contacted me, I checked out her blog and saw that the bar was set high. They’ve been shot by some awesome photographers!
Hopefully I did their wonderful family justice. I know I had fun.
Posted on July 25, 2012
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I met the Thompson family on Memorial Day at Folly Beach. They were a super laid-back crowd. I really enjoyed meeting their mother, who introduced herself as the family matriarch and told me that her four children now lived in four different time zones. She had great stories about her kids in their younger days. Honestly, that’s one of my favorite parts about doing extended family shoots. I generally have one person who kind of briefs me about everyone else; their relationships, the last time they saw each other, whether they fought when they were little kids, what their talents were, where they went to college, etc. It’s fun to get somebackground info. 
I love this one. It says Folly to me. Someone in a pretty dress, someone flying through the air, and someone drinking a beer.
Posted on June 10, 2012
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1) I am doing a quick edit on images from Jane’s first surfing lesson this morning. So much fun! Never mind getting excited when she got up; I squee’d like an idiot from the moment he put the leash around her ankle. I’ll probably blog them tomorrow.
Speaking of Jane, I just noticed this on Uncentered’s Facebook page:
Isn’t that sweet? It was a win-win, too, because in addition to helping someone in need, (their belongings were lost in the Goose Creek apartment complex fire) and donating some of her beloved clothes (including her very favorite shirt-she insisted) , she also cleaned out her drawers of all the adorable preppy clothes I favor and she isn’t interested in. You can raise the girl in the Lowcountry but you can’t make her wear madras plaid.
Please head over, check them out, and “Like” their page. You never know when they’ll need something you have!
2) After a weekend with You Don’t Know Jacques by OPI on my toes, I realized that this color resonates with me because it’s the exact color of pluff mud. Relatedly, in terms of hue, my husband and I ate at Il Cortile Del Re on King Street Friday night. He highly recommends the lobster ravioli, and as a connaisseur of caprese salads, I can say that theirs is absolutely fantastic.
Anyway, he was telling me a story about an old couch that wasn’t gray and wasn’t brown but was somewhere in between. “Right, I said. ‘Taupe.”
“Yeah,” he says. “That in between color.”
“It’s taupe. Now you know the correct term! Try it out.”
“Yeahhh…” he says, “That color between gray and brown.”
Maybe real men don’t say taupe.
3) There is a chocolatier in Charleston. Like, a dude who uses fresh high quality ingredients and whips up chocolate bars and sauces in his kitchen, and hand-delivers them to select merchants. How did I not know this? How was this not #1 on my list? I tried the Sea is for Caramel. Just doing my part to support local small businesses. And, you know. Antioxidants.
Yum!
Check it out. The packaging alone is worth buying a bar. I didn’t want to take off the paper.
https://shop.sweeteethchocolate.com/sea_is_for_caramel.html
Posted on March 5, 2012
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Happy Monday!
I am cross-posting today, so I just put a new set of images (my middle child posing for me) onto my Facebook page. Check it out!
http://www.facebook.com/sallywattsphoto
I am so pleased with how my work schedule is coming along for 2012.
I have some wonderful weddings lined up and room for only a few more on the calendar.
Totally looking forward to the Charleston beach portrait season.
Definitely want to shoot more film.
I’ve taken a workshop and watched a few free three-day online classes and I am so excited to implement all that I’ve learned.
And even after all that good news, I still want more.
So why not just put it out there?
1) I want a family to hire me to do a completely candid lifestyle session. A fly on the wall, on a random Tuesday. I want dogs whining to come in and dinner coming out of the oven (or out of a pizza box-it’s all good!), and a meltdown because we can’t find the blue sippie cup and clean little freshly bathed toes and bedtime stories and night lights.
All of it.
(I keep talking about wanting to capture real life, but, duh, I’d still shoot in the most attractive direction and make sure I don’t capture clutter in the background of the images.) :)
2) I want to do a John Hughes movies themed couple or engagement session. Sitting on a table, kissing over a cake, or slouching outside a high school gym, cavorting in a library or walking across a football field with raised fist. Fedora and a clarinet. Sunglasses in the back of a cab. Laying around in the front seat of a convertible Rolls. (Yea, I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding one of those.) Not an absolute re-creation, because Lord, couldn’t that end up cheesy? But inspired by, let’s say.
3) I want a back yard wedding. Your parents’ back yard, yours, a friend’s…wherever. I want to shoot a wedding with a truly homemade feel, not necessarily only in terms of the details (although homemade decor is great too!), but with regards to the space and vibe.
4) I want to shoot someone in the water. I love those dreamy, lovely, atmospheric shots where a compelling woman in a flowy dress wades around in a lake or ocean. (I’m thinking it would have to be a woman. Dude hair is not nearly as pretty/floaty.)
5) I’d love to do some more boudoir. I don’t advertise it on my site, but I do shoot it from time to time, and I do it in a really nice, tasteful, flattering way, if I do say so myself. If you are interested in a boudoir shoot, email me and I’ll send along some (pre-approved by past clients, of course) samples of my work.
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So there you have it.
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Posted on February 14, 2012
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Posted on January 23, 2012
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Tammy and all the women in her family meet up once a year for a no boys, no kids allowed vacation. Spending a mere hour or so with them, I could see their collective bond, and their loving, vivacious, goofy zest for life.
The wind was a bit of a problem, but it did create some adorable candids.
Posted on September 30, 2011
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I was scheduled to meet Patty and Grant for their engagement session at the pier on the beach at 7 pm.
Both parties arrived at 7, but in what must have looked, sped up, like a Benny Hill episode, I was under the pier and they were on it. I hunted and they hunted, and we somehow comedically managed to keep missing each other. We didn’t find each other until 7:25 pm, when the remaining slivers of the day’s light were fading very fast. However, it turned out to be a good thing. We were able to shoot on the beach like we wanted to, and then I used the near-darkness as an opportunity to find interesting ways to light them with whatever light sources we came across, plus a little bit of flash when needed. It resulted in a bit of a dramatic-looking, out-of-the-box (for me) set of images for the second half of the engagement session, and ultimately I loved having to regroup and think on the fly.
This couple is awesome. Like my wonderful previous engagement clients Elizabeth and JD, Grant is an Air Force pilot. Patty actually spotted them on my blog and turns out they know each other. Small world!
