Favorite Quote From Your Hilton Head Photographer

The reality of having only 23 days left of summer has finally hit home. Our busiest family portrait month is behind us. We are all smiles when we think of the families from all over the US, Canada and Europe that are opening their gift wrapped portraits and deciding where they should be displayed in their home. Memories of Hilton Head will most certainly linger on.

For most, returning from vacation means settling into life's routine. Shopping for last minute school supplies, car pooling for fall sports practice, and for our northern friends, breaking out the sweaters for those chilly evening temperatures.What ever you may find yourself doing when not on vacation, remember this quote:

"Life is what you make it. Always has been. Always will be." - Grandma Moses.

Make the best of everyday!

Top 3 Portrait Tips For Babies - Family Portraits Hilton Head

The first smile, first steps, and first words are baby milestones that are highly anticipated. Along with these developmental stages are environmental and seasonal firsts... first snow, first trip to the pool, and first trip to the beach!


Here are our top 3 portrait tips for babies at the beach:

1. Greet The Morning - A sunrise session could prove as a miracle worker by

matching your baby's schedule vs waiting until late in the evening.












2. Keep Wipes Handy - Sand becomes a menace and babies

can't get enough of it!

3. Prepare For A Close Up - The beach can be a harsh environment for a little one. Close up portraits of the baby in a parent or siblings arms has proved to be a great alternative to putting a baby under 6 months old in the sand.

Birds, Lizards, and Gators, Oh My!! Wildlife In Hilton Hean

With a cup of coffee in one hand, a newspaper in the other, and a rocking chair on a back porch, mornings in Hilton Head are peaceful, leisurely, and often joined by a predictably active wildlife. Turtles sunning on rocks, lizards sunning on decks or stucco walls, alligators peering out of lagoons, and birds of all shapes, sizes and colors announcing their arrival to the morning. One might say it is therapeutic to watch.

Photographing in Hilton Head is truly a treat to us. We enjoy watching families from all over the United States and even the world come to the island and appreciate their surroundings. Our home town in Charlotte has many wonderful features, but the package that Hilton Head offers is truly unique.

A continuing tradition for returning families is the who-can-spot-the-first-alligator game. Understand that many folks do not live in areas where alligators commonly roam, here are some helpful pointers from Hilton Head Island to keep you safe when interacting with these big fellas.

We locals have an arrangement with the alligators: we leave them alone and they leave us alone. You would be wise to honor that arrangement. Alligators are not normally aggressive toward humans but they are dangerous. An alligator can outrun a horse for a limited distance. Human adults are too big to be alligator prey, but small children and pets are vulnerable, and an angry alligator knows no fear and will go after anything that bothers it. Here are some rules to keep you out of harm's way:

A mother alligator protecting its nest is about the only circumstance an alligator will attack without provocation. This could occur in wooded or brushy areas near lagoons. Nesting is typically May through August, and the mother protects the hatchlings for one to three years.

Feeding alligators is illegal for a good reason. If an alligator sees humans as a source of food, it stands to reason it will approach humans. Alligators lack social skills - they won't ask nicely for a handout. To feed an alligator is to sign its death warrant, for it will become aggressive and will soon be "removed" (yes, killed).

Never, ever, let small children or pets play in lagoons or on the banks of lagoons. Alligators are so fast a pet can vanish before its owner can take a deep breath.

If you catch a fish in a lagoon and an alligator wants it, give it up. Reeling in the fish close to you is a very bad idea, as the alligator will see you as competition for food.

If someone tells you there are no alligators in a given lagoon all they have done is display their ignorance about alligators. Alligators move around and frequently relocate. A male can cover 1,000 acres in search of mates.

There have been very rare instances of alligators at the beach. Alligators can stand salt water but prefer fresh or brackish, so an alligator at the beach is out of its normal environment and probably lost. Just keep away from it - if possible report it.

It has been said that the way to tell the length of an alligator is to measure the distance between its eyes in inches, which will tell you its length in feet. This sounds like a very bad idea if the alligator is alive.

For more information on Hilton Head's wildlife scene, click here.

photography Hilton Head

A Lesson From Hollywood

It is a long way to Hollywood California. 2,461 miles to be exact. We all know that we can't take

Hilton Head to Hollywood, but Hollywood sure can visit Hilton Head, and boy has it!

When you're looking for things to do in Hilton Head, consider visiting some of the destinations that have been showcased on the big screen. Before Adam Sandler could pick up a pigskin, the 1974 box office hit "The Longest Yard" staring Bert Reynolds was filmed in our backyard! Various locations around South Carolina were used to make the production complete but still yet Hilton Head Island recieved one of its first visits from Hollywood. In 2005, "Come Away Home" was filmed almost exclusively in Hilton Head and features many scenes around the Sea Pines Plantation, including Harbour Town.

Of course, how can we forget "The Legand Of Bagger Vance". This 2001 film brought home The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for best original score and took home the Golden Goblet from the Shanghai International Film Festival for best technology. The scenes in this movie give Hilton Head plenty of reasons to boast. When our portrait artist are photographing on the beaches or around the island, we know that each visitor will take home a little piece of their vacation through a family portrait.

Similar to how "The Legand Of Bagger Vance" wraps you up in another time, we want to do the same for our portraits. Our portraiture is designed to focus on your family and the bonds within it. When you see our photographers in Hilton Head, analyzing the conditions, setting up lights, walking around with meters, interacting with the families, or making silly voices to help children relax and enjoy themselves, it is all in the name of taking home a family portrait that best represents you in a location that is truly timeless.

After you get back from your family portrait and your day of scouting scenes from movies of the past, grab your family and your flip video and head to the shore to make a feature film all your own.