Charleston South Carolina Wedding and Lifestyle Editorial Photography | Red Shutter Studio

Rod is the creative lead in the shop. He is 1st Camera and sticks like glue to the bride on wedding days. You'll also see him on the shutter for engagement and bridal shoots. Rod is a retired infantry Army First Sergeant and combat veteran who served 22 years on the line. Fourteen of those years on active duty with the remainder in the California Army National Guard. Those 8 years in the Army National Guard allowed Rod to get great jobs in the design industry in the San Francisco Bay Area while still serving his country. He has worked as a designer for a major newspaper group, lead designer at a Silicon Valley magazine as well as teaching illustration courses at an art institute in San Jose, CA. Rod has always been into photography from an early age shooting and developing his own black and white film and using the darkrooms at school or a community center to develop his prints from negatives.

After moving to Charleston, South Carolina in March of 2006, his landscape photos were found by the staff at the Charleston Visitor's and Convention Bureau and as a result, he began to supply them with photography to use in promoting Charleston.

Tara is the backbone of the business. She is 2nd Camera and is assigned to the groom and his men. You'll also catch her shooting the guests and family members at weddings. Her real magic power is her administrative and organizational prowess. She meets with all the clients and handles all administrative issues. If you tell her what needs to get done, you can rest assured that it will happen. From the time you sit and meet with her months before your wedding to well after the big day, she'll take care of you. You'll see Tara managing the hundreds of pieces of gear they carry to an event, from the smallest battery to the biggest lenses to most importantly, every image file shot by all cameras.

Tara graduated valedictorian from Bullard High School in Fresno, California and graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Tara met Rod while working as sales manager at a Silicon Valley magazine. The company would send them out on business trips together as lead persons of the sales and design departments. It was after a many of these trips that they had the thought to strike out on their own and begin their own graphic design company, Newport653.

What you can expect on your wedding day

On wedding day, you'll see Red Shutter Studio about the time when the bride starts her hair/makeup. Rod stays with the bride and if logistically possible, Tara will show up where the groom is getting ready to get some shots of him and his boys. They'll link back up when the pre-ceremony family/wedding party photos start. After that, Rod stays with the couple and Tara photographs guests and venue details.

At the ceremony, Tara photographs the groom's reaction to seeing his bride coming down the aisle as Rod follow's the bride down the aisle. They stay out of view of guests as much as possible. If you want certain shots during the ceremony, let Tara know beforehand and they'll clear it with the church and/or minister. Some venues have strict rules.

At the reception, Tara will try and get as many photos of the guests as possible and Rod sticks close to the bride and groom. Rod will typically leave the bride and groom to their guests at the reception, but if there is a great photo opportunity like a stunning sunset, he'll ask if you want that photo and get you back to your guests as quickly as possible. They stay with the party until the newlyweds leave for the night.

After the wedding, Red Shutter Studio typically completes editing of the entire event in under 5 days. At that point, a gallery of select images will be placed online where the bride and groom can review. This is the gallery the couple can share with friends and family. A week later, all the images taken from the wedding will be available for friends and family for purchase on an ordering gallery. The newlyweds will send the link out to who they want. Within 2-3 weeks, the couple will receive all image files on a series of DVDs for their own use with a transfer of all rights.

The couple is responsible for selecting images for their wedding album. More information can be found at the ALBUMS page.

Red Shutter Studio likes people. And people seem to like Red Shutter Studio. If you like the photography, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Outstanding service is our secret weapon. The Rs2 team has a way of making their clients feel at ease and comfortable which makes for better photographs. Take a look at the Raves Page and see what folks are saying. We've heard "personable", "fun", "fast", "energetic" to describe us and we often get referrals at receptions before anyone has seen a photo we've taken and developed. Everything we do is all about our clients, not us. We're laid back and very accommodating. We operate as quickly as possible so your families and guests can get on with the celebration. And we have a lot of fun with our clients. By the end of a 12 hour day of emotional ups and downs of a typical wedding, we have made new friends and are sometimes sad for the night to end because they have to go home. The upside is we get to meet new friends the next weekend! We never forget the wonderful people we get the opportunity to work with.