Sweet Peas

If you live in or near the city of Charleston and don’t know about Sweet Peas Nanny Agency, you can start writing me your thank you card now!  Sweet Peas is owned by Becky Johnson and operated by Becky with the help of Lauren Chestnutt. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Peas dedicates itself to providing their clients with the absolute best nannies and babysitters.  All of their employees are pre-screened and guaranteed to be professionals with experience with children…oh, and a lot of fun!

I first met Becky several years ago when Sweet Peas was still a new business.  Her drive and passion to go beyond “good enough” in all facets of her business instantly drew my respect and confidence.  Sweet Peas has grown and grown ever since then.  Clients in the local area use their nannies to care for their children as a second pair of hands.  Sweet Peas Nannies are in high demand!  Locals also know that they can get the best babysitters through Sweet Peas.  Even on short notice, they can accomodate just about any request.

Visitors to Charleston!  If you are planning a trip to the Holy City, why not get a Sweet Peas babysitter to watch your kids for one, or more, nights so that you can have a romantic evening in this romantic city? 

Brides planning weddings in Charleston have come up with a great way of having friends and family with children feel more than welcome to their event.  These girls-in-the-know hire one or more Sweet Peas babysitters and they watch the kids in a separate room.  Mom and Dad can enjoy time celebrating with the Bride and Groom, knowing that their kids are being well taken care of and having just as much fun!

Garnering a recommendation from Naomi Doddington Couture Photography is not a simple thing.  I only recommend vendors with whom I have worked, who are of the highest caliber and who hold themselves to exacting standards.  Sweet Peas is a Naomi Doddington Couture Photography endorsed business!

Sweet Peas Nanny Agency

843-513-3062

info@sweetpeasnannies.com

www.sweetpeasnannies.com

Loving Your Photos- Makeup

Many people, when approached to be photographed, recoil at the mere thought.  They believe that some people are photogenic, and some are not.  While it is true that some people have an easier time taking a good photo, there is nothing to prevent anyone from enjoying the photographic process and finding several images that they love.  There are several “secrets” that industry professionals know that make an “okay” subject into a “wow”.  This is the first in what will be a periodic series exploring how to do what it takes to end up loving your photos.  We’ll start at the top with makeup.

If you are going to be photographed, be it for a wedding, a portrait, or at an event, wear makeup!  Men, a little loose powder over areas that have a tendency to get shiny can do wonders for you.  If you have a fear of seeming too feminine by wearing makeup, go with some loose talcum or baby powder.  Remember, your professional photographer can re-touch your images, but there is only so much re-touching that can be done before the skin looks…well, strange and made-up!

There are some women who simply never wear makeup.  This is, of course, a personal choice.  While the reflection in the mirror may be perfectly pleasing to you, the image revealed by the camera may not.  The flash of the camera can expose shine, accentuate discoloration of the skin, and deepen the look of dark circles under the eyes.  By utilizing makeup, the subject can hide these flaws, and accentuate their best features for posterity.

Even women who are used to wearing makeup may not be content with the results of their “everyday” look in photographs.  Many women use a little concealer, mascara and blush for their street makeup.  This often looks great in face-to-face communication, but does not translate well in photographs.  Shine is a big problem with this type of makeup, there is nothing to absorb excess oil on the skin, and this reflects sunlight and/or the light from a flash unit.  Mascara alone does not provide much definition to the eyes.  This is particularly important for those with lighter lashes to keep in mind.  From any sort of distance, the lashes (even with mascara) will blend into the features of the face, almost as if there was no mascara applied at all.  With the way that light hits the face; the cheekbones are one of the farthest protruding elements.  In order to get enough light in the eyes, it is necessary to put a little too much light on the cheeks.  When wearing street makeup, the small amount of blusher applied is drained away by this extra light and leaves the subject looking like they have no makeup on at all.

Oftentimes, even women who recognize the need for specialized makeup for photography just miss the mark.  Applying foundation all over the face is a terrific way of evening out the skin tone.  Without setting it with powder, there is not only nothing to absorb natural oils, but there is the addition of moisturizers or oils within the makeup that can lead to excess shine.  Applying eyeliner and mascara can really help to define the shape of the eyes, crucial for full-length or distance shots.  The effect is limited if no eye shadow is used and if the eyebrows are left without any attention. 

In a fully photo-ready face, the makeup looks natural but really enhances the natural beauty and emphasizes the best features on the subject’s face.  Foundation applied in a color slightly darker than the skin tone helps to keep the skin from getting “washed out” with the light.  Setting the foundation with powder is crucial for making the foundation last longer and also reduces or eliminates the shine on the skin.  Loose powder is best as pressed powder can contain extra oils…leading to shine!  Filling in the eyebrows with an eyeliner that is slightly lighter than the hair will help the eyebrows to “read” in the photographs, will keep them looking clean and in perfect place, and can be used correctively to fill in any areas where the brows are thin.  Various complementary shades of eye shadow contour the eye lid, with white shadow used on the inside corners of the eyes to bring brightness to the eye.  Eyeliner is used to not just delineate the eye, but smudged into the lash line to give the lashes the appearance of extra fullness.  Mascara accentuates the lashes, with care used to avoid the “clumpy” look by using one well applied coat, rather than many coats.  Finally, lip gloss and blush (applied to the apples of the cheeks) complete the look.  Blush should be applied about 30% stronger than “normal”.  As the flash bounces off the face, the blush will be drained away…leaving a photograph where the proper amount of color appears on the cheeks.

Certainly, there are times where a subject goes overboard.  Keeping the makeup clean, classic and natural produces images of enduring beauty.  Children, in particular, photograph best with little to no makeup.  It can be a fun experience for them to be “made-up” with gloss and some blush just like the adults, but more than that can be very off-putting.  Practice with the makeup techniques that best accentuate each person’s face is important.  Checking the overall look with some test shots will help the subject to see how the end result will translate in photographs.  Glitter may seem a great idea in concept, but it often looks like sweat on the skin and dandruff in the hair.  With makeup that is simple in design and perfect in execution, you are sure to love your photos!

Wedding Season Madness…Loving Every Minute!!!

The months of March, April, May, October, and November are the height of the Charleston wedding season.  We, of course, have events throughout the year…but we can barely catch our breath in those months!  This is a good thing, I love being busy.  We’ve had a lot of great events in these last few months, I’ll share just a few…

John and Holly held their ceremony and reception at Magnolia Plantation in the Summerville area.  Out-of-town guests came from all over to celebrate the happy day.  Though it was only April, the temperature was Charleston summer all the way, hot and humid.  The ceremony was held outdoors overlooking the Ashley River.   Around sunset, I wandered with the bride and groom over into the garden to shoot some more intimate shots.  The lighting was so perfect, giving us that lovely, even light, kissed with the warmth that only sunset light can give. 

Hailing from Ohio (where it is not terribly warm, nor are there any sand beaches) came our wonderful couple, LaToya and Sean.  LaToya is originally from South Carolina, all of her family traveled from the upstate to be on Isle of Palms for the event.   Months of planning, and more than a few prayers, could not convince the heavens to give the couple the beautiful day for their outdoor ceremony they had hoped South Carolina would give them.  It rained like only summer in the South East can bring, hard and fast.  Being that it is the responsibility of the photographer to get great pictures of every event, a good photographer always has a plan B and C and D in their back pocket.  I covered the ceremony and reception the day of the actual wedding, shooting the family pictures in front of a large picture where we could still see the beach in the background and I also came out to the beach the next day (the last the couple would be in town) in order to get the beach pictures LaToya had envisioned for her big day.  It was a lovely day at the beach, I asked the couple to say something meaningful to each other (to get back into that wedding frame of mind) and then they spread some of their unity sand out on the beach, we did some great shots of the two of them together on the beach  and, as if any more proof were needed, we carved their names in the sand.

Anyone unfamiliar with the Charleston area may be unaware of a wedding venue jewel we have here in Charleston.  Every local bride knows that the Alhambra Hall in Mt. Pleasant is one of the most popular, and hardest to get into, locations in town.  Kelly and Danny were lucky enough to have their Friday evening wedding and reception at Alhambra Hall.  The ceremony was held outside on the lawn at sunset and the reception was held upstairs in the hall and on the veranda.  Doug Farmer was the officiant.  He did a wonderful job of performing the ceremony just as directed by the bride and groom, short and sweet!  Emphasis on sweet!  Frampton Flowers did an awe-inspiring job with the flowers, not just the bouquet for the bride and bridesmaids, but the most astoundingly beautiful explosion of flowers on the arch where the bride and groom said their vows.  Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request had one of their stupendous DJ’s at the event.  He had the most impressive system I have ever seen.  To provide music for the ceremony, he set up a speaker…not just any speaker.  This speaker was wireless and self contained.  It has a built-in player…the whole unit is so compact and unobtrusive, an absolute must for outdoor events in my book!  After the ceremony, the couple and I went out to the marsh area and were able to capture the incredible Charleston sunset as a backdrop for our beautiful couple. 

We travel often for our work, it is simply part of the job.  This May found us in Savannah, Georgia.  Our sister city has a charm all its own.  We traveled there early in order to enjoy the area, and scout locations to take Andy and Kelly for their outdoor shoot.  Their ceremony and reception took place at the Inn at Ellis Square.  This venue is located just steps from the City Market and has a beautiful ballroom.  Across the street are a series of antiques stores which we visited on Friday.  I personally recommend Jere’s Antiques which has an astounding collection of reasonably priced antique and vintage furniture.  As we were exiting one of the stores, I glanced over and saw this area underneath the stores.  In an instant, I saw this image in my mind’s eye.  Kelly and Andy were great to work with and they could see what I had seen when I asked them to descend a set of very steep stairs in order to translate my inspiration into an actualized image.  It didn’t hurt that they were a very handsome couple!

Things will slow down a bit for us now.  We’re gearing up for the big bridal show coming up in July.  It’s a Thursday Evening show, a new concept to be sure.  We’re taking our booth up another notch and I’m very excited.  More on that as things develop!

www.doddingtonphoto.com

naomi@doddingtonphoto.com

http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/

http://www.iop.net/

http://www.townofmountpleasant.com/index.cfm?section=9&page=4

http://www.framptonsflowers.com/

http://www.jaymaxwell.com/

http://www.charlestonweddingofficiant.com

http://www.jeresantiques.com/

http://www.innatellissquare.com/

Beautiful Bethany and Woman Power!

Bethany and Ben are a couple who are getting married April 17th.  Previously, I worked with this couple shooting their engagement portrait.  Having dealt with a tornado touchdown just West of where we were shooting…we hoped this shoot would go much more smoothly.

In Charleston, where the market is so saturated with photographers, you have to keep developing new ideas, keep growing as an artist.  I used this shoot as a chance to explore a new direction for my portraiture.  After shooting a more standard, traditional bridal portrait, Bethany and I worked together to create images that were more fashion oriented. 

This collaborative effort required Bethany to work with her body in new and different ways and to trust me that there was a vision we were moving towards.  I am extremely thrilled with the results.  Bethany as a model was relaxed and in the moment, following direction flawlessly and willing to put up with uncomfortable poses to get that shot.  I still feel the need to explore this direction further…and I am excited where this takes me.  I intend to continue to develop this shoot as I work to innovate and be on the forefront of wedding photography in Charleston!

On Friday, March 27, 2009, the Center for Women and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2009 Women in Business Conference.  The event was held at the Francis Marion Hotel in Downtown Charleston.  There were various activities throughout the day.  Vendors from all different facets of business presented their products and services for attendees, we participated in a “speed networking” exercise, there were five different break-out presentations by various business leaders, a Belk’s sponsored fashion show, and an inspiring keynote speech during lunch. 

This event was so well planned and so informative.  I truly believe that I made more connections on that one day than I had all last year!  It is so generous of those who have more business experience to be willing to share that knowledge with those of us coming up behind them.  I was honored to be asked to photograph the event and I look forward to next year’s event!

www.doddingtonphoto.com

www.c4women.org

www.charlestonchamber.net

Spring Has Sprung!

Oh all right, so maybe Spring doesn’t technically begin for another 11 days, but with how beautiful it has been these last few days, I would say it’s already sprung!  Springtime always reminds me of new life.  Little chicks and bunnies and, of course, babies!

Smiling Eli

 

This Saturday, March 14th, Naomi Doddington Couture Photography will be participating in the Babies ‘R’ Us New Parent Information Event from 10 am to 1 pm at their store in North Charleston!

We have been asked, as one of only two photographers, to set up a booth to show off our photography and give new parents advice on photographing their babies.  We expect that this event will be a lot of fun and a great way for parents-to-be to learn more from all of the vendors who will be around.  If you or someone you know is interested in coming by, the event is free and open to the public!

A kiss for baby brother

 

www.doddingtonphoto.com

www.babiesrus.com

A Great Resource for any bride planning a wedding in Charleston

The time has come!  Tonight was the launch party and booksigning for the new book  “Bride’s Advisor Charleston: Everything you need to create your dream wedding in Charleston”.  The authors, Suzette Latsko and Dianne Shaver, were on hand to sign copies of the book.  The event was hosted at the fabulous Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina (a great wedding/reception venue), there was great food, nice music playing from the dj, and the most drop dead gorgeous floral centerpieces from Karen Powell, owner and head florist at Summerville’s OK Florist (established in 1947, ok was a “nifty” new catchword and didn’t mean so-so like it might today…they are anything but so-so).

I had been able to see the book on Suzette’s laptop several months ago…but nothing can match seeing it in person and holding it in your hands.  The text is very informative and will give a bride a good sense of what really goes into planning a wedding.  There are bits of wisdom, honest facts, and opinions gleaned through years of working in weddings.  There are blank forms for the bride to fill in her own information as she plans her wedding and a pocket at the very back of the book for contracts and other important forms.   As she plans, she can keep her details organized by utilizing this planner. 

All of the vendors in this book are hand-selected for top caliber talent.  I have to say, I am honored to be in the company of all of these great vendors.  The images throughout the book are beautiful, creative, and really add to the experience of this planner.  The caterers, florists, cake, stationary vendors, etc.  are all people with whom I have worked or have heard others com plementing their work.  This book truly represents the best of the best of the Charleston wedding market.

I hope any bride who is planning a wedding in Charleston…or wants ideas for how we Charlestonians do things, needs to get this book.  It is available locally at Borders and online at: www.bridesadvisorcharleston.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.doddingtonphoto.com

www.bridesadvisorcharleston.com

www.charlestonharborresort.com

www.okflorist.net

Playing catch-up!

Opera Singer/Teacher

Have you ever noticed that there are times when you can get bored out of your mind because there is nothing to do, and then time when you can’t catch your breath because the opposite is true?  It’s been way too long since I last posted, but I am remedying that right now.

The holiday season is always my favorite time of year.  I put up my tree ridiculously early this year (well before Thanksgiving) and it only just came down yesterday!  Now there is a reason the tree goes up so early…I host an annual Thanksgiving brunch/parade viewing party at my house.  This year, my sister Noemi (an Opera singer and teacher based in Tampa, FL) came to visit over that holiday.  We always take advantage of our time together to update her headshot (the photograph that is printed in your playbill).  This year, we went to the beach with the express purpose of doing a “happy” headshot for when she plays the young ingenue roles. 

Opera Singer/Teacher

She is really great to work with.  She brings an energy and a unique spirit to the photography session that I truly can feed upon.  We spent almost two hours shooting and I hardly realized how much time had passed.  Look for her in The Merry Widow(Grisette) with the St. Petersburg Opera and later this Spring in Ybor City Cinderella (Cinderella) with the Spanish Lyric Theatre.

Another incredible opportunity that came my way was the Seacoast Christmas Eve service.  Although not a pageant per se, the “Family Life” service did have a unique reading and dramatization of the Christmas Story. 

Choirs of Angels

It was so well done, that I watched it twice!  The children sang beautifully and the story was very moving when seen in such a realistic format.  Although the auditorium was very dark, and I did not want to use flash for fear of distracting those in attendance, the Seacoast team did an excellent job of using theatrical lights and colored gels to lend the whole set the appropriate mood and atmosphere. 

Away in a Manger

It also helped me to have enough light to focus and photograph by.  It is a little more difficult to work in a low light situation, but since we don’t use flash during wedding ceremonies, I have plenty of practice.

Once again, we were able to participate in the A Wonderful Wedding Bridal Show.  This is an occasion where we get to show off our work and meet with a lot of brides who are searching for just the

A Bride/Model at the end of the runway.

right people to work with.  This year, Kathy Baxley (the owner and producer of A Wonderful Wedding Magazine and Bridal Show), asked Naomi DoddingtonCouture Photography to photograph the bridal fashion show.  It was a great opportunity to generate some images for future shows, as well as giving us a chance to get some great shots for the models.  Since all of the models (excepting the children) are brides-to-be or have only recently married, it was a lot of fun to work with them and feel the excitement that they brought to the event.

There is one final thing that I am very excited to announce.  The book “Bride’s Advisor: Charleston” which I mentioned in a posting last year is ready to be officially released!  There is a kick off event for the book on January 29th and the book will be available locally as well as nationally via Amazon and other large booksellers.  Our work is featured throughout the book, even garnering a coveted double-page spread!  I am very excited about this.  There is nothing more thrilling than seeing your work in print.  It is also quite an honor as the publishers of the “Bride’s Advisor” hand selected only the best area photographers to be in their book.  Look out for this book, and keep your eyes peeled as new volumes for different cities arrive.

These two are not acting...they really did get married just a few short months ago!

www.doddingtonphoto.com

www.noemiperezsilva.com

www.seacoast.org

www.awonderfulwedding.com

www.bridesadvisorcharleston.com

Wishing you and yours a great 2009!

A Great Little Program

If you’re anything like me, you hate the fact that all of your digital photo files have that IMG_ before the image number.  When you shoot a lot (or even a little), it is the most obnoxious thing to have to sit there and manually erase this from every image.  I have spent hours taking care of this after a wedding (2000, 3000, 4000 images).  No more!

I have found a great little program called CKRename 1.08.  It’s a free download from a secure, frequently verified site.  This program allows you to make any number of changes to your file names, extensions, etc.  Most definitely though, you will love it for it’s instantaneous elimination of all of those IMG_’s.  You also get to preview the changes to make sure it’s what you want.  The link to the site is: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/CKRename-Download-41199.html

You will find a blue/gray box on the right of the page with a symbol of a downward pointing arrow with the text “Softpedia Mirror (US) [EXE]” as a hyperlink.  Click on this and follow the download instructions. 

I have cable internet and it downloaded in all of 10 seconds.  Once it’s on your computer, run the program and get ready to make your changes.  The navigation to the left is a standard pc dropdown menu.  The middle contains your file names as they currently exist.  The right side shows your file names as they will be after the changes. 

Directly under this list is the find/change option.  Type in IMG_ into the find box, leave the change box empty and execute the command.  It is really that simple.  Hurray!

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/CKRename-Download-41199.html

www.doddingtonphoto.com

‘Tis The Season

The Holidays are upon us again.  With the tree up and presents neatly wrapped under it (wrapping is a competitive sport in my family), I can almost believe that it’s Christmas time.  I miss snowy winters in New york, but certainly not the cold!

The ladies of the Women at Work Board

This is also the time of year that people get together for parties.  I recently had the honor of covering the Women at Work Christmas party.  The event, held in the I’on Creek Club, was quite a success.  A large group of professional women from every kind of business gathered to celebrate the year gone by and to share aspirations for the year to come. 

Keith, Owner of 'A Southern Bartender'

A Holiday party just could not exist without drinks to warm up against the cold chill.   This service was provided elegantly and perfectly by Keith, the owner of ‘A Southern Bartender’.  I have worked with some of his staff in the past, and they have always done an excellent job, but there is simply nothing better than the pride in their work that a business owner brings to an event.  Charming, affable and completely knowledgeable, I had the honor of talking with Keith for a spell whilst other events were occurring.

In Season Catering, Simple but Excellently Done

Simple, yet excellently done.  That is how I would describe the Catering for this event.  Once again, we had the pride of ownership beaming forth as Krista Kanapaux catered this event personally.  The food was delicious, but even more important to this photographer’s eye, was the dedication to perfection.  As someone whose attention to detail is all-consuming, noticing that Ms. Kanapaux periodically checked the buffet table and re-arranged the food to always have it look pretty, made my heart flutter with excitement.  Don’t let her catchphrase “Small Events, Big Delights” fool you.  In Season can handle crowds of up to 200 but prefers those less than 100.  How do I know this?  I asked Ms. Kanapaux.  For any bride looking to cater a smaller event, this is your caterer.

Happy guests at W@W Christmas Party

Of course the best part of this event was the event itself.  It is great to see all of these women (and a few supporting men) gather together to act as mentor, cheerleaders, leads providers, shoulders and general friends to each other.  The group meets twice a month at the Harbour Club in Downtown Charleston for their lunch-time meetings.  The discussions are in-depth, the contacts are invaluable, and the support is immeasurable.  If there are any women out there reading this who have been looking for a place that will help them grow, this is a sure bet. 

Here’s a tidbit that I picked up recently.  We all know that the old guard Charlestonians have a distinct accent.  I always wondered how this development got such an unusual name as I’on and what, if anything, it stood for.  Apparently, natives are notorious for dropping their r’s and so the word Iron became I’on.  Now you know.  Ho, ho, ho!

www.womenatworkinc.com

Southernbartend@aol.com

www.inseasoncatering.org

www.doddingtonphoto.com

Get out and Vote

The press has been making a very big deal about this being ‘an historic election’.  I believe that all elections are historic.  From local issues dealt with by local candidates, to nationwide issues faced by those in National office, our decision of whom we elect affects all of us intimately.  Read up on the candidates (local ones too), stand in line (one hour for me…more for others) and VOTE!!