GREENVILLE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | THE FONVILLES

I had the pleasure of working with the Fonville Family recently. Sharlena (the beautiful lady in the pink scarf below) contacted me about taking family portraits of her family and also wanted to include her parents and her grandmother.  I was so excited because I love doing generational portraits! These types of portraits have so much meaning - especially as we get older and our loved ones leave us.

As with all of my portrait sessions, Sharlena and I started planning their perfect photo session.  I asked if they would like to do a landscape style session with trees and tall grasses or one that was more urban with an industrial feel.  She wanted something different, so we went urban and chose Taylors Mill (Taylors, SC) as the venue.  It could not have been a more perfect day or place for their session!

I had so much fun with this family!  And while I am only showcasing a handful of images in this post, the selected images do not tell the story of what went on behind the scenes.  There was lots of laughter (Sharlena's dad is a hoot!), giggles and smiles.  Their little girls were beyond adorable and were dancing and having the best time.  We even took a coffee and cocoa break at Due South Coffee (located in the Mill).

I hope you enjoy their family portraits - I know I enjoyed taking them! And can I just say, I really hope my hair is as awesome as Sharlena's grandmother's is when I am her age.  She is one stylish lady!

GREENVILLE PHOTOGRAPHER | BEN TOLEDO

It has been so long since I last blogged.  I hate to admit it, but this is my least favorite thing to do.  I feel like I never quite know what to say about how a session went.  I also don't like saying the same generic comments over and over again.  So what do I do?  I don't blog like I should.  I think it is time to remedy that.    

My first photography session in Greenville was with the handsome and charismatic, Ben Toledo.  He was everything I could have hoped for in a first time session in a new area.  Ben is not only good looking and ripped, he is also very funny, creative and was open to trying anything.  We did some shooting at The Taylors Mill in Taylors, SC - what a gorgeous industrial area that is being revitalized!  Then we hopped on over to Downtwon Greenville for some more poses and ideas.  We finished up the shoot at my place in Simpsonville (the first image below is in my backyard).

I hope you enjoy viewing some of the images we created together.  It was a lot of fun!

Greenville Photographer | Movin' On Up...Or Rather Down

For those of you who do not know already, I have relocated...again.  Carsten Photography is now located in beautiful Greenville, SC.  This is my 3rd relocation and 4th start since I started Carsten Photography in 2006.

When I began my business, I was located in the Dayton, Ohio region.  This is my home base - where I, my husband, and our children are from. Our children are actually the reason I started my business. I won't bore you to tears with the full background, as I believe there is a post about my start somewhere in the archives.  Once I started becoming established and gaining clientele (you'll notice a pattern with this!), my family relocated in 2008 to the Tri-Cities in Washington State.

I truly loved being in Washington!  Not only was it great for my family, it is also where I truly started growing as an artist - expanding my services to include high school seniors and real estate photography. My business was really growing, particularly in real estate work, when my husband was offered a job in Michigan.   We were in the Tri for 3 years - 2008 to 2011.

What can I say about Michigan?  I thought I would hate it - I loved it!  I thought I would not re-start my business again - I flourished the most here!  I thought I would only focus on family photography if I did restart - Senior and Real Estate photography are what I predominantly did and what I preferred.  I landed real estate clients like Pulte Homes and even did photos for their national campaign they do with Zillow.  I was published in creative magazine, Limme.  And I was the photographer for the Miss Farmington Pageant (pageant photography wasn't even on my radar!).  I had even gotten to the point where clients sought me out, rather than me chasing leads.  Business was great and I loved every minute of it!!!  I should have known change was on the horizon when most of my days were filled with shoots and my business was doing well. My husband was offered an opportunity in South Carolina that we could not turn away from.  And so....

Here I am Greenville!  I have not officially started back up yet, as I am still trying to get my family settled into our new home and routine.  I have even considered not re-starting.  But what would I do?  This is what I love.  This is what I'm meant to do.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared.  It seems that every time I become established, we relocate.  This, in itself, has been very frustrating.  But when I look back at my journey, as a photographer, and see what all I have gained (friends and experiences) that I would not normally have, it's hard not to want to continue.

So if you're in the Greenville area and are in need of a photographer - I am here and happy to work with you!