The Zottis {Mt. Pleasant, SC Children’s Photographer}

I felt so flattered when my dear friend wrote to tell me she was coming back to Mt. Pleasant for a visit around Thanksgiving and asked me to photograph her children.  Tamara moved away over the summer from her Southern childhood home to start a new adventure in the Garden State with her family.  Growing up in the South, you become accustomed to things like wearing flip-flops year-round, finding biscuits and fried chicken on nearly every menu, and saying things like “Bless her heart” and “Hey y’all!”.  We were worried that our southern magnolia wouldn’t be able to survive up there with the Yankees (AND without sweet tea!),  so I was delighted to hear that she loved it, the kids were doing great, and all was well.

To embrace her Southern roots, we chose one of my favorite locations for our shoot, Boone Hall Plantation (you can’t be a children’s photographer in Mount Pleasant and NOT use this amazing venue!).  As it happened, it was the weekend of the re-enactment of the Battle of Secessionville, and the place was swarming with Civil War-era re-enactors decked out in their hoop skirts and military garb.  So, we got a good dose of Southern culture along with our visit together!

Tamara and I met way back when my oldest daughter was two.  I was pregnant with my second little one, and I had joined our local MOMS Club so that I could meet some other nearby moms with little kids and schedule playdates.  Little did I know that Tamara and I would become the team to run the Club a few years later.  Who knew that becoming the president of a local moms’ group would be akin to being an (UNPAID!) event planner?  We planned fundraisers, playgroups, parties, and meetings.  We talked daily.  We bonded.  We laughed together.  We cried together.  She was my sounding board.  We had a great partnership.

Things change – the kids go off to elementary school, women go back to work, friends move away.  But I always have a place in my heart for this wonderful friend, this wonderful mother.  And, I was honored to be able to capture these kiddos for their mama.