Picture Perfect Prints: The Importance of Ordering Prints from Your Photographer

Kate Thorton with examples of Captured by Kate’s Professionally Printed Gallery Offerings

Step right into the enchanting world of Charleston, where love, joy, and playful moments abound. As a premier wedding and family portrait photographer in this charming city, we are here to sprinkle a little magic and show you why printing your Captured By Kate photographs with us is an extraordinary and immensely special investment. Get ready to unleash the magic as we present seven delightful reasons why printing your images through your favorite photographer will create everlasting memories filled with joy, charm, and a touch of enchantment.

1) Complimentary Edit Requests: Say "Abracadabra" to Perfection!

We believe that every family should shine like stars in their portraits. If there's something you'd like to tweak or adjust in your group images, fear not! With our printing services, we offer complimentary individual edit requests to make you look absolutely spellbinding. Our team of expert sorcerers will give special attention to fix any concerns (global or individual), ensuring your portraits are nothing short of magical.

Beautifully preserved pet portraits displayed in one of our folios!

2) Archival Prints: Capturing Moments That Stand the Test of Time:

Just like a magical time capsule, our archival prints are crafted to preserve your cherished moments for years to come. These prints are carefully created for longevity, ensuring that the colors remain vibrant and the memories stay alive. With our enchanting prints on your wall, you can revisit those special moments and share the magic with future generations.

Beautiful deckled prints add a little drama to your special photographs

3) Beautiful Framing Methods and Dimension- A Gallery of Wonder:

Prepare to be bewitched by the wide variety of beautiful framing methods and dimensions we offer. Each frame holds the power to transform your portraits into captivating works of art. Whether you prefer a touch of whimsy or classic elegance, our enchanting frames will add an extra dash of charm, turning your images into a gallery of wonder.

Different framing options for your printed photographs

4) Calibrated Devices: The Magic of Unparalleled Quality:

Our printing process involves the use of calibrated devices, akin to magic wands, that ensure the highest quality images for you and your family. Every detail, color, and emotion will be brought to life with astonishing precision. Immerse yourself in a world of stunning visuals, where the magic of your portraits truly shines through.

Captured By Kate beautiful black and white framed family portrait

5) 100% Success Rate - Casting Spells of Printing Perfection:

Prepare to be amazed by our flawless track record. With our printing services, we've achieved a 100% success rate, leaving every client spellbound with the results. Our commitment to excellence and attention to detail guarantees that your portraits will be nothing short of extraordinary. Leave your worries behind and trust in our spellbinding expertise.

6) Supporting Local, Women-Owned Magic Makers:

By choosing us as your printing partner, you're not just acquiring remarkable portraits but also supporting a local, women-owned business that thrives on spreading joy and magic. Your decision becomes a part of the whimsical tapestry that makes our community vibrant and full of wonder. Join us in supporting the magical artisans who bring dreams to life.

7) Boosting Confidence: Unleash Your Family's Inner Superstars:

Hang your children's portraits on the walls and watch as their confidence soars! Displaying these magical moments helps your little ones embrace their inner superstars. Each glance at their portraits becomes a reminder of their unique talents, beauty, and the love that surrounds them. Let your walls become a stage for their confidence to shine!

In the charming city of Charleston, printing your portraits with us is an invitation to embark on a personalized aesthetic adventure. With complimentary edit requests, archival prints that stand the test of time, beautiful framing options, and unparalleled quality, we promise to sprinkle a touch of enchantment on your cherished moments. By supporting a local, women-owned business, you become a part of the magical tale that unfolds within our community. So, wave your wand and let the magic of printing your Captured By Kate portraits begin!

Written by office and photo assistant: Chase Porter

How to Include your Pet in your Wedding

Kiawah Island Engagement Portrait

Pets are an essential part of our families so it is understandable that you’d want them to play a part in your wedding. Couples should check with their wedding venues if pets are allowed.

Next, you should consider your pet’s personality. If your dog is shy and is going to get scared easily, having your pet walk down the aisle may not be the best idea. Once you’ve locked in a pet-friendly location and assessed your pet’s personality, you’re good to go. Here are 5 ways to include your fur-baby in your nuptials.

1. Walking down the aisle with a bridesmaid or groomsman. It is very important to hire a dedicated sitter for your pet to make sure they are well taken care of prior to when it is time for your pet to walk down the aisle. On the wedding day, everyone will be busy getting ready so asking a family member or friend to watch your pet is not the best idea.

2. Include them in your wedding photos. Let your wedding planner know that you’d like your pet to be part of the photos so this can be included in your day of timeline.

3. Include them in the engagement photos. A fun way to integrate your pets without having them come to the actual wedding the day of is taking your engagement photos with them. The memories will be the same without the stress of big crowds for your pet.

4. Use their picture in the invitations or save the dates.

5. Incorporate them into your events on a custom cocktail napkin or signature drinks named after your pets!

This text is based on a post from: https://sjsevents.com/

Wedding Photographer, Charleston, SC

I have been a wedding photographer in Charleston, SC for almost 20 years. I've photographed dozens of weddings at locations like Magnolia Plantation, Boone Hall, The Mills House, the Kiawah Island River Course, Lowndes Grove Plantation, the Legare Waring House and many more. 

In the past few years, I have used interns to help with office tasks and assist on photoshoots. My current intern, Larry Dennis, a photography major at Trident Technical College, interviewed me for his homework assignment. Read below for some fun background knowledge on Captured by Kate Photography LLC. 

Kate Thornton photographing a wedding on the Isle of Palms.

Kate Thornton photographing a first dance at the Citadel Beach Club on the Isle of Palms.

By: Larry Dennis II (Fall 2019 Captured by Kate Photography Intern)

Today November 11th, 2019 around 8:00 am is the coldest day in Charleston South Carolina, but like most Wednesdays, I do my intern/ assistant work for Kate. Like always Brody, the family dog is at the front door, greeting you with a friendly bark and toy in his mouth. And the newest family member, little baby Sadie is here to greet me as well at the start of our interview. 

I took photography with Evan Sheppard and fell in love with the final class project and continued to shoot from that point on every day. He would bump into me around campus and asked if I would be interested in assisting a professional photographer. I jumped at the chance to get hands-on time and see what an actual photographer does and not just read about in books or online videos. 

I’ve been assisting Kate since middle August of this year. My first job with her was published as the cover photo in Charleston Magazine. The story was a center article for the October issue. In this interview, my goals are to find out the roots of her beginning career path and what tips I could incorporate into my own career as a photographer.

Kate Thornton has been a photographer for over 20 plus years in the Charleston area, but to understand her business and career path, you must start from the beginning. In her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, Kate had childhood ambitions of becoming a fashion designer. In 1996 she moved to Charleston South Carolina to attend the College of Charleston, she hadn’t locked down a career path just yet, but knew she was a very visual person. During her junior year of college, a friend introduced her to the official Grateful Dead photographer that toured with the band. He showed her that you don’t have to be tied down to an office; you could actually do something you’re passionate about as a job. She knew she wanted to be in action and took all the photojournalist classes in college and graduated with the Class of 2000 with a Mass Communication Degree.

Being a beach girl and joining the sailing team at the College of Charleston she met two friends that were from St. Thomas, Virgin Island, and this friendship would prove to be vital in the next phase of her career. After graduation, Kate was unable to land a photography job here in Charleston, but if you know Kate will not stop her. Kate then moved to St. Thomas Island for a year and got a job as a wedding videographer. She built up her portfolio with shooting three weddings a day at all the beautiful, exotic, and breath-taking locations the island had to offer. But she also continued to shoot stills on her off time because that’s where her true passion was. During this time in 2000, the tabloid magazine, The Globe, used her photos for an article, and this was her first actual paid job with many more to come.

She moved back to her hometown to figure out her next step and choose to become a photojournalist for a local newspaper called the Progress Index in Petersburg, Virginia, as a part-timer. While there, she worked her way up the ranks and became full-time. But being a true beach girl, she missed Charleston and in 2003, moved back to South Carolina.

Her first job in Charleston was in Mt. Pleasant for Portrait Innovations, and this is where she would cut her teeth in the business side of photography. She learned about sales, shooting more for the clients, and different tips and tricks to posing families and large groups that she continues to use to this day. After eight months into this job, Kate had learned as much as she needed and continued to her next phase in her career.

While in the Virgin Islands she had already thought of the name of her soon to be business and grabbed the domain name. So, in 2004, Captured by Kate was officially ready for business. Currently she has Captured by Kate and Kate Thornton Photography, one dedicated to weddings and families the other towards editorial and candid moments with an updated blog and social media accounts to keep her clients updated on her current and upcoming projects in the future.

Her typical day to day task is answering e-mails at 6:00 am in the morning, working on marketing with sending out Mailchimp, and updating her blogs. Editing is next, and since it comes easy to her, she will listen to podcasts or music to set the vibe of the task. Towards the end of the day, she will work on social media and submitting photographs to magazines.

When it comes to business and greatest failures, she wishes she had followed more of her intuition. Like learning social media early on with Instagram and Facebook or buying a really good lens like the canon 70-200 early on the lens, she really wanted.

Her biggest success is being published in the National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, and having been sent around the world to capture photos. In her job field education-wise, she gained the fundamentals in school and honed her skills in the real world. Some great advice is she feels you should go to school for business and not for photography. With the business degree, you would learn about the ins and outs, what to charge, insurance, and just things creatives don’t think about.

She’s a member of a lot of groups local and worldwide. As a member of the Charleston Junior League, she helps mentor young women in the community and gives back, American Society of Media Photographers, and The National Press Photographers Association. Most of these groups have fees and dues and monthly meetings to keep members updated. These groups help protect photographers’ rights in congress, lawsuits, and contracts that creatives would never think of. These groups are good to network and meet your peers and learn pricing structure, photos techniques, and gain bonds that could benefit each other.

When it’s time to meet new clients, she takes them out to lunch or coffee to discuss their needs and wants from the upcoming project and to get the vibe for the event. Once the event is in place, she has all of her prices and structure online on her website. She keeps in contact with clients checking in until the wedding date approaches.

The skillset that makes her stand out from others and is very reliable and on top of things. She’s been a photographer for over 20 years and plans weddings in advance of a year. All of these tasks take a person to be on top of it all and have constant great reviews and working relationships.

She sees the future of photography going more into video because people want the storytelling aspect of the event, not just photos and more mirrorless cameras and smaller lens. She loves the flexibility of her current career and set her own hours. As a mom, her family time is important to her. But the downside is booking weddings and events a year in the advice she misses some of her family and friends' weddings and big life events.

Over the years she has had different addresses for her business. Having shared workspaces, office buildings in downtown Charleston, in the beginning, were a great idea. It was great to have these locations in the start but now, since a lot more work is done and displayed online traffic, and she had fewer and fewer show up to her office. Now she just keeps a P.O. Box to keep her business and personal mail separate.

Over the years her pricing structure has changed as she’s talked to different photographers and bounced different ideas. She is also working on her Sales strategy by listening to better sales podcast, and maybe hiring a salesperson in the near future.

There’s no definitive way she gets her new customers it’s always something different. She ranked high on Google search, word of mouth, and being referred to from other brides, Instagram, and mail chimp, all combined to help her in marketing. She’s not big on using social media, but in 2019 she knows people want to see any and everything of your life and work before they hire you or meet in person. Social Media is important to different age groups, but to another group being on time and prepared. Being published in credited magazines is helpful as well.

This interview helped me learn so much more quickly about Kate. We work together now but I have so much more insight. From first-hand experience, if you look like a photographer with the gear and you're on time, you are treated like a professional. Even if you’re just a student and never been published. 

I’ve learned that I need to become a member of some groups with my peers because learning from others and creating bonds could lead to other opinions and ideas I never thought of.  Also, as she stated before, to learn from her mistake and listen to my intuition and instinct. I always wanted to do I.T. and cybersecurity but my intuition said to say yes to Evans offer and here I am now on the path to a career that I’m passionate about.

Candid Wedding Photographer

What is a candid wedding photographer you might ask? My background is in photojournalism. I graduated from the College of Charleston with a BA in Mass Media. I worked for a daily newspaper for two years as a staff photographer before I opened Captured by Kate Photography LLC on Archdale Street in Downton Charleston, SC in 2004. Yes, I have been at it a long time, and I still love every wedding because they are filled with emotion and action (as well as fashion and design, but that's a bit off subject).

I also freelance for national newspapers. The New York Times is one of my biggest clients. I have been their Charleston stringer for 12 years.

Here are a few recent articles I photographed. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/business/a-vibrant-turnaround-for-a-neglected-charleston-neighborhood.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/style/tile-mosaic-design.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/jobs/garden-gun-magazine-office-design.html

I also have a marketing and editorial website www.katethorntonphotography.com

Back to candid wedding photography, I do direct you a bit. For couple shots before or after the wedding, I will put you in an ideal backdrop and ask you to hang out. I might also suggest you hold hands, walk along a scenic path, stop and kiss, wrap your arms around each other and talk. Yes, you will need a little prompting. But I’m also looking for the in-between, true moments when the wind takes the veil, or the groom is holding the brides' bouquet while she fluffs her dress. 

Group and family photos are not candid, but they do have sweet moments to look out for: the ring-bearer being silly, the grandmother congratulating the couple. I do speak up and direct the family photos quite a bit. The goal is to get them done as swiftly as possible. Think large groups. Smaller groups like the brides family or the bride and each of the bridesmaids can be photographed before the ceremony. 

The most important thing about candid photos is, they are timeless. You are going to enjoy looking at them for generations, and they will tell the real personalities of your family and friends. 

Read more Resource https://www.pixpa.com/blog/candid-photography-tips