Tomme Hilton Gallery » Charleston SC Wedding Photographer and the life that shadows.

With very little prompting on my end. This is one of the weddings that the chemistry was there. Meet Sarah and Sam. They married at First Scots Church downtown Charleston on Saturday July 26th. The church was really beautiful! I mean, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I guess so beautiful you aren’t permitted to take photographs inside! Really bummed me out b/c they wouldn’t let me in just b/c I had a camera and I really wanted to hear one of the bm’s sing. But needless to say- Sarah and Sam are UNDOUBTEDLY in love. It was written all over their face. The few times Sarah didn’t think I was listening all she kept saying was ‘I can’t believe I’m married!’ She was smitten and he was too!

There are times people freeze in front of a camera and need prompting from us. That’s understandable, it can be daunting to be at the other end of that lens. But Sarah and Sam acted like I wasn’t there (good thing!) and interacted with one another b/c they were ELATED to be there and with each other! You can’t ask for more!

Sarah looked amazing! The flowers were really beautiful. It looked like rain but I happen to love the mood and ambience of the sky that the rain brings. I may be eeyore, but I LOVE RAIN! It only sprinkled here and there for a bit off and on and finally at the end of the night came a good cleansing rain! That’s good luck guys!

Sarah had her shoes off, a great sign of how comfortable just as a person she is! I loved that about her.

I LOVED her veil! I don’t know how long it was but it was long, picked up a good wind and it just looks ethereal! With all that stone and the mood of that church I just loved the mood it evoked. Let me try to fit ‘mood’ in there one more time.

At the send off- the guests blew bubbles, and then they RAN! and RAN! and kept running – across the street (don’t even think they thought about traffic!) and I caught up with them………………..

In the fountain! How cool was it to find them submerged? LOVE their adventure!

Congratulations Sarah and Sam! Have fun in Jamaica!

As for a personal note, my amount of blogging takes a backseat when I am busy- I am a self proclaimed terrible blogger and if I’m super busy like I have been the past week then blogging is what is neglected. I will be posting more from the past few shoots I’ve done, all in due time……

Oh, and If I say something stupid I just want you to know I lack that filtration process that dissects vocabulary in your brain to make things more eloquent. I’m terrible at sugar coating things and am just a very upfront individual. So if I ever say something offensive or just plain ‘dumb!’ shrug it off – I prob had no idea I even said it. 

xoxoxo

I have been getting several inquiries lately about albums. I LOVE designing albums! I even get inquiries from brides that have used other wedding photographers and want me to design their albums. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I am able to sit back and orchestrate the most beautiful photos in an artistic fashion so you can’t wait to show it off!

I use flush mount genuine leather albums. The sizes are 8×8 which typically are parent albums, 10×10 are the most common size and easy to carry, and the 12×12 are the big dads and pretty impressive! I have used a several different companies in the past and the company that has won me over does an OUTSTANDING job! I have learned through trial and error and they even exceeded my expectations (and I can be a tad bit anal about my products!). The most popular and classic color is black although you will see in my photo they do come in other colors. The largest album is actually a tan camel although may look orange depending on the monitor you are viewing it from. 

You also have a say in the design of the album, which I think is really a nice feature. If I think  you look fab in a photograph, but you aren’t diggin’ it then you have the final say before it goes to production! 

The pipe is there to give perspective to the sizes and isn’t included with each purchase. Just so you know.

If you aren’t able to see a large enough photo and would like more information please email me.

xoxoxoxo

So, just when you think you have defined my style and you know exactly one of my shots when you see it— well, there’s the FUN (which can be ‘R’ rated and why I haven’t posted!)  and the shots that define YOU!

Add a couple goofy photographers, a willing party, a few glasses of fermented sugars and this is some of the outtakes we have gotten from our photobooth. There are some really really really funny photographs but some of them should never be found again by human eyes. We set this up at the reception and we love doing it so much b/c everyone plays TO the camera instead of shying away from it! Most of the time, these are some of the brides favorite shots.  I love romance and I love fashion/editorial work but I am still a clown and love when people just let down their guard and have fun.

Don’t ask! The photos speak for themselves.

The guys usually go all out! They are shy and timid when it’s time for our standard wedding shots, but get out the photo booth and everything goes!  (Dude, watch your hand!)

Oh yeah? This is what you look like when you wake up in the morning? Oh, really? Don’t get me started on your alcoholic parents! Hmmmph!

Wooooo! I thought you said this was the last one!?

You just get better reception this way.. don’t gimme no lip!

And I always prefer to end with a TRUE laugh whenever possible!

Talk to me about the Photobooth. The photos are priceless! They are so fun for everyone involved and for a change your guests aren’t running from the camera but running FOR it!!

Brooke Lauer said for me to wake up and blog with pictures, this is no monologue. Gotta laugh. OK! Jeez already!

So I’m behind in my editing and postings, but remember I said I would frequent my blog at least by humpday of any given week, Brooke……but I guess she is going to keep me on my toes! 

After my well rested vacation Natasha was my first shoot back. Every time we have shot, we have encountered rain……so we did what we could do, and think we did really well.  We were at the Governor’s mansion in Columbia. It was really a nice location and now that I know it’s there- will be shooting there more often.

I have been chastized for using photoshop. Because those cynics feel that photography isn’t photography anymore and created therefore in photoshop. I can understand some folks unwilling to bend and change with the ages, and some people dig it and others don’t. I have to stay true to my self and I love the mood that photoshop can give a humdrum image. It happens to be where I feel like a photograph becomes an art piece. It’s where the masterpiece takes shape. It’s always rewarding when I happen to have my clients that hire me because of that look. Most of my clients hire me because they feel the same. I hope that is how it stays. My clients are UBER cool and love the same things I do. That is essential- to hire that photographer that fits. And for us photographers it’s bliss when our clients share the same visions and trust our work.

Natasha and AJ will be getting married in October. AJ is a super nice guy and always seems to shine a smile whenever I see him. I can’t wait until they get married. My job is alot of work,  but sharing the happiest and most fun day of someone’s life with them is a gift that I can’t even begin to share with you how much I love doing.

Well Brooke, I hope this soothes the savage beast. I will post more along the way, and I promise to have something by Humpday……a humpdate I should say, of each week. Sometimes it will be monologue b/c a blog doesn’t have to just be photos but can just be thoughts. My website and flickr site are more for photos and the blog will be a fusion of both. If you don’t already know the flickr site, check it out. Lots of stuffs on it. ( www.flickr.com/photos/tommehilton/ ) 

Ciao for now.