romantic

Couple about to kiss leaning against the pier at state park

Engagement pictures at the Myrtle Beach State Park after the flooding

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I’m sure everyone has heard about the severe flooding we had in SC about a month ago. Myrtle Beach wasn’t hit as hard as some areas, but we still had flooding in many locations. You might have heard me complain that in Myrtle Beach state park, they are incredibly particular about photographers getting anywhere near the dunes. They don’t have to worry about it anymore because many of the dunes’ front slopes are completely gone. The dunes are now just cliffs with the roots of sea oats sticking out of the sides. The water must have been so high that …

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Guy getting a really big hug after surprise proposal - Myrtle Beach State Park

Surprise engagement proposal with the whole family at the Myrtle Beach State Park

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I’ve been doing a lot of surprise marriage proposals recently. I think it’s because I’ve blogged about it several times, and clients must be seeing my posts. Whatever the reason, I always enjoy doing these, so I hope I keep getting more. I believe this engagement proposal was a real surprise. She was under the impression we were doing portraits of the whole family. I took pictures of the five different couples, including parents and grandparents, up by the oak trees and then by the dunes. When it was the about-to-be-engaged couple’s turn for pictures, he picked up the ring box the family had …

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Bride and groom sitting together of golf course greens

Early afternoon wedding photography at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club with a fun couple

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Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club is one of my favorite locations where I photograph weddings often. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the site is excellent for photography. There isn’t much I can say that I haven’t said in some of my earlier blog posts about the area. This wedding ceremony was in the early afternoon, so we had some harsh sunlight during the ceremony, but it wasn’t too bad. The golf course behind the clubhouse is a great place for a wedding and pictures after. It is nice to do everything in the same area instead of traveling …

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First dance at Wachesaw Plantation

Beautiful Afternoon wedding at Wachesaw Plantation

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It’s been a while since I’ve been to Wachesaw Plantation for a wedding. It’s a beautiful wedding site on the Waccamaw River, especially lovely at sunset as the light filters through the many trees. The bride and groom at this wedding wanted to do a first look so they could get most of the wedding pictures done before the ceremony. That is an excellent way to do things because the couple can start having fun after the ceremony. This also means that most of the pictures would be done earlier in the day when the sunlight is much harsher. Thankfully at Wachesaw, …

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Dipping girl back in front of the ocean

Cold and windy day for engagement pictures at the Myrtle Beach State Park

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There are always a couple of winter months when no one wants portraits done outdoors or on the beach. During those months, I always have some things to do, like wedding album layouts and catching up with clients about orders from the previous year, but it’s nice to be getting busy taking fresh pictures again. I seem to be getting an early start this year with some engagement sessions and even a wedding this coming weekend. I’m highlighting the engagement session this time for a couple with an upcoming wedding I’m photographing this summer. It was a freezing and windy …

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Leaning fiance back for a kiss at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach

Surprise engagement proposal at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach

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This was another surprise engagement proposal I was asked to photograph, this time at the Ripley’s Aquarium in Broadway at the Beach. I was contacted by the young guy to hopefully get some surprise pictures of the proposal to his girlfriend. It’s usually hard for the girl not to know something is up by the time I spot them.  I’ve done a number of these types of surprise proposals recently, they are always really fun to shoot, and so far, the girl has always said yes!  So maybe it’s a good idea to have me there :). I’ve been to …

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Portrait of bride and groom kissing behind the sea grass at the Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach

Another fun couple getting married at the Grande Dunes Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach

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I’ve been going to the Ocean Club for weddings a lot this year, not that I’m complaining. It’s a beautiful location. The club is located at the north end of Myrtle Beach, so there is a small area with dunes and sea oats with no hotels in the background.  This was a small ceremony down on the beach. I always like smaller ceremonies because they are usually more relaxed and flexible on time. I also prefer when they have the ceremony on the beach instead of the Ocean Club veranda. The veranda can get pretty tight to move around and …

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Putting on the engagement ring in front of the pier

Engagement pictures with an emotional marriage proposal on the beach

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I had another fun couple that hired me for their engagement pictures and a marriage proposal on the beach. This one was a bit different than my last couple of proposals because his girlfriend knew that he was going to propose. This made it a bit easier for me because I didn’t have to try and be sneaky with my pictures of the proposal.  I also got to set the position of the couple up a little bit so there wouldn’t be people in the background.  We started doing my typical style engagement pictures around the oak trees and sea …

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Couple laying together in the sand - Litchfield Beach

Engagement pictures at the Litchfield Golf and Beach Club

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I had the opportunity to do engagement pictures for this very nice couple staying at the Litchfield Golf and Beach Club. I’ve done weddings in this area before, but I’ve never been there for engagement pictures. I’m glad they suggested doing them there because it is a really pretty area. I knew some of the spots I liked out in front of the club from previous weddings, it’s always great when you can get some nice light coming through the leaves of oak trees. Using a really good lens blurs out the background sunlight in a really pretty way. The …

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High contrast black and white under the pier

Secret pictures of an engagement proposal again!

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I recently had another chance to do pictures of a wedding proposal along with engagement pictures after. This client saw my last blog post and wanted to do something similar, so I guess people do sometimes read my blog. Something cool about being a photographer is you can count all your camera gadgets as a business expense, which, if you are like me, is where a lot of money goes anyway. I mentioned before that I recently got a small Olympus OM-D mirrorless micro four-thirds camera, mainly to take hiking and for fun, but I’ve been able to incorporate it …

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