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Hangin’ with the big boys

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A few weeks ago, I was asked by Carolina Bride to attend the Charleston Fashion Week and photograph the wedding portion of the fashion show. I honestly thought I was reading things… Like, I must be dreaming. It’s one of those things that when you hear it, it sounds nice, but you can feel it in your gut that it won’t really happen. Except it did. And this is what happened.

It was late Friday before we could head out to the beautiful city that I can never get enough of. When we arrived at the Belmond Charleston Place hotel, I was basically in love. And in yoga pants. Which apparently isn’t appropriate attire for the club level that I’d get to stay on. YASSSS. And here’s where you guys get a great story of how my life usually plays out – awkwardly. I dropped Caroline off at her room, unloaded the cart of her things, and noticed that she had a lovely little tray of cheeses and crackers awaiting her, which I assumed was one of those “Hey, if you eat this, you’ll owe us $500” deals. She told me I HAD to check out her room, so I did, and it was beautiful!! And no TV on. I said goodnight to her, and headed down the hall to where I’d be staying. The first key card I tried didn’t work, so I tried the other, and it flashed green to let me in. I open the door to find all the lights off, a plate of food sitting out, and the TV on. I immediately about have a heart attack thinking I had just walked in on someone at like 12:30am… I honestly prepared myself to hear screams when I hit the button to turn the lights on… And yet I heard silence. K. We’re clear. I walked into the room kind of the same way a dog walks into the vet – wanting to hide just in case I was still mistaken for the wrong room, but absolutely wanting to check out what was going on. To my shock, awe, everything, there was a platter of pralines, truffles, chocolate covered strawberries, and a white chocolate shell all placed perfectly on a plate with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled around to look like a sandy beach. It was majestic. And I ate the whole thing right then and there, vowing to pay back whatever I needed because this was worth it. I was seriously way too excited to sleep, but knew I needed to because Saturday was THE day to show off my skillz.

When I woke up, I was greeted with the most gorgeous view of the city, and warm sunlight pouring in. I got ready, got my gear packed, and off we went. Now, my gear is HEAVY. And I don’t even carry much compared to others. Just the other day, my best friend who has assisted me on several weddings joked that she always has bruises after carrying the bags all day, but it’s true. By the time we arrived at the place where everything was happening, I was sweating my brains out, and my shoulder may or may not have been going numb. We were shuffled about in a sea of reporters and other media outlets, I was handed a pass, and then got the news that I’d not get to sit with Caroline, that I’d be in the “photography pit”. Can we just talk about that for a minute? Pit. Photography pit. What. We need a better term or something, because this was the most unappealing thing I’ve ever been told. It’s like one of those words that you HATE to hear because it just sounds gross. Moist. Everyone just cringed, right? Ugh. I look over to see about three platforms stacked up, and holding a slew of photographers – all with top-of-the-line equipment out. And then there I was – with my 5D mkII that has scratches “character” all over it, a dirty lens with a missing lens cap, and the red ring that shows it’s a decent lens missing along with every part of the lens that actually states what it is… because I use it that much. I took a breath in, walked over, and just made my way to the second level while trying not to be in anyone’s way. Because Amazonian woman photographer tall and block camera. I felt all the eyes on my when I got set up. By set up, I mean I threw my Kate Spade bag down, and held my camera up. No tripod. No 200-400mm lens (LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON THERE). Just me and my trusty pal that I’ve had since day one. The sound of all the shutters going off was deafening. Click click click click click. Spray and pray, guys. Spray and pray. That’s at least what I felt was happening. I was just casually snapping photos here and there. Checking Facebook. Admiring gowns. Trying hard not to cheer on the models that were clearly working. IT. “DAAANG. GO GURRRL.” You know, being a typical fashion photog. No big deal.

After the last show, they called up a photographer on stage to recognize him. They asked if they could take a photo of him with everyone in the crowd behind him cheering, and I thought that was weird considering you would not get the range of the entire room with the lens he had on…. And that’s when it hit me. This dude’s about to propose. So while everyone around me had packed their gear up, I was just chilling there getting ready – like a boss. I didn’t know who his girlfriend was, so I couldn’t be like, “YO GUYS. STOP. CALM DOWN. HE IS GONNA PROPOSE.” and figured we might not be allowed out of said pit anyway. I watched photographers leave all around me. And then I watched them all take off running because the speaker called the girlfriend up on stage so this photographer could “talk” to her. I think that’s when it became obvious. It was like a pack of  wolves going after their prey, people were even screaming out at their assistants to grab a different lens, and I’m surprised the DJ didn’t start blasting Ride of the Valkyries, because that’s definitely what was going on in my head. He got down on one knee, asked her for her hand in marriage, she said yes, it was adorable, and I got some great shots from my little spot in the pit. That dang pit.

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It got me thinking about the differences between doing these fashion shows and doing weddings. I watched them stare blankly at these gorgeous ladies walking down the runway, and just taking photos instead of taking photos of THE moments, which I’d honestly probably be like if I did their job. I didn’t feel passion and excitement from most of them. Like when one model ran her fingers gracefully down the edge of her dress, or did a twirl to show the layers off. Those were the moments I wanted. Real and enjoyable moments. I’m looking for the art and beauty of what these girls are showcasing. It’s what I’ve done for every wedding and session. And it was amazing. We were just different. No, I didn’t have the best of the best gear. I didn’t even have a brand new or freshly cleared memory card. I just had me and my knowledge. And it was good. It also validated that right now, I’m definitely where I’m meant to be. But I will say that I welcome fashion and models with open arms – it was my first love, and will always have a special place in my heart.

Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7903Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7904Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7902Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7899 Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7898 Charlotte NC Wedding and Boudoir Photographer - Casey Hendrickson Photography - www.caseyhphotos.com - Also serving Charleston SC RVA Richmond VA NoVa DC and beyond_7901To see more of this weekend’s festivities, be sure to check out July’s issue of Carolina Bride! It’s going to be AMAZING.

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