The Year of Ups and Downs
Going into this year, we didn’t know what was going to happen. It didn’t look good at first, then started to look better, then went back to being harder than expected. But in the end, we had one of our busiest years since we started Chrisman Studios back in 2005. Although our international travel was limited to Mexico, Bahamas and St. Barths, our travel throughout the country was never ending. From Maine to San Francisco, and all around the Southwest on a five-day road trip, we wore masks, took hundreds of thousands of photos, and somehow managed to deliver everyone’s photographs before the holidays.
This slideshow is what 2021 looked like for us, with at least one photo from every single session we photographed, from weddings to business headshots to news assignments to boudoir to yoga classes to families to soldiers coming home from war, we photographed more things than we ever have. Also in the slideshow are lots of behind-the-scenes photos and personal photographs of friends, family, photographers and videographers who we worked with, and people who dropped into Charleston to share their life with us.
It Definitely Took a Village
Thank you to everyone who came into our orbit and made life more fun. I want to specially thank a few of you who we could not have survived without:
Erin’s parents – Sidonie, Mark, Carolyn and Mike – who took care of our little girl when we were on the road. There is no Chrisman Studios without the four of you helping us.
Vlad, Mauricio and Ryan, our wonderful friends and partners who continue to floor us with their creativity in any situation.
Matt, who handles all our retouching and my insane requests for minute details only we would notice.
Kay, and the entire Luo-Arison-Olvason family. In addition to being a home for Ben on his CA trips, you continue to give in ways that we just can’t ever be more grateful for. We’re still not sure what we did to deserve you all.
Boz and April, who reached out to us in the middle of the pandemic and came up with creative ways to rescue us. You continue to surprise and delight (and truly overwhelm) us. Thank you for choosing us again and again, for your personal photography and as friends. We are the luckiest to be in your orbit.
The Van Valkenburghs, who continue to be our muses and Covid family every day.
And a Top-Knotch Team
Fujifilm, and especially Stacy Moore, who help make photography fun for us and challenge us to always be more inventive (just like they are).
GraphiStudio in Italy, which prints every photo we take and turns it into artwork. Maureen, you are an absolute angel to work with. Thank you for fixing everything I screw up without questions.
Profoto, who keeps developing new ways to light our beautiful clients.
Fundy, for the software that powers our albums.
Smartslides, who gives us the slideshows that make our clients cry.
Holdfast Gear, whose camera straps and bags keep us from breaking everything we own.
We Are Nothing Without Your Trust
We love being photographers, and we feel so lucky to be able to do this as a career. To everyone who trusted us this year to document their lives, even during the worst of the pandemic, there’s no greater honor for us. We hope everyone has the best holiday ever, and can stay safe and healthy.
See you next year!
XOXOXO,
Ben, Erin, Roxy, Mauricio, Ryan and Vlad