sc photographer

Amanda & David | Married at Greenbrier Farms in Easley, SC

You know how sometimes you meet those couples who you’re instant friends with? That’s how David & Amanda are for me. From our first meeting at Grateful Brew in Greenville, to their engagement session in West Columbia and finally their wedding day. Seeing them get married and sharing in their joy was like witnessing dear friends say “I do.” Thank you for allowing me to capture your big moments, Amanda & David. You two and these days will always have a special place in my heart. (Give the cats hugs for me!) <3

Sarah & Brecken | Downtown Greenville Engagement Session

Sarah & Brecken met me in downtown Greenville for their fun, early fall engagement shoot. This was my first time meeting Brecken, but Sarah is my cousin! So, I've known her my entire life! It's always so much sweeter shooting family and it made it even more sweeter because they will be married -today- at Larkins on the River. I know this is going to be an amazing party with some wonderful people and I cannot wait to meet all of their friends and get it started. Happy to have you in the family, Brecken! And happy to see my sweet cousin growing into this wonderful woman. Happiest for you both!

Taylor & Aaron | Lake Jocassee Engagement Session

Taylor & Aaron met me on a warmer than normal fall day at Lake Jocassee for their engagement session last fall. This was their first time being there, but I've spent many days kayaking and enjoying the water and amazing views the park has. We had a wonderful afternoon climbing rocks and exploring the landscape. Aaron was a jovial presence and I can see perfectly why he and Taylor are so happy with one another. I'll be blogging their 2018 wedding soon!

Miranda | Bridals at Craggy Gardens, Asheville North Carolina

Shooting one of your best friend's bridals adds an entire extra level of emotion to the entire day of shooting and the next day of editing. Even better than just shooting Miranda's bridals, I also got to make her bouquet and that made me SO HAPPY! I love playing with flowers and making arrangements and was delighted she trusted me to take not only her bridals, but also make her bouquet. My mom and I went foragaing in Piedmont, South Carolina a few days before and I made the bouquet with those flowers, plus a few from Miranda's own garden. We drove up to Craggy Gardens and danced around in the rhododendrons for a bit, shot some fun photos, and ate a delicious vegan lunch in Asheville to finish of the day. (I say that, but we really finished off the day by going back to Miranda's and taking a nap. Ha!) Miranda, I had the best time and love these images. Thank you so much for the perfect day of shooting and fun.  

Lauren & Rony | Gassaway Mansion Wedding, Greenville, South Carolina

Lauren and Rony were married on the coldest day in December at a Catholic Church off Augusta and then hightailed it to the Gassaway Mansion for one of the best parties I've been to. Their wedding was an intimate gathering of about forty people who ate a spread at the Mansion, danced late into the night, and wished the couple a farewell into the cold. I loved shooting this wedding for how beautifully intimate it was, how much love surrounded the couple, how much fun the guests had on the dance floor, and for the fun I had shooting all of it. Thank you, Lauren and Rony! This day was sweet. 

Kayla & Josh | Lake Hartwell, South Carolina Engagement

If you wanted to meet the sweetest couple in the upstate of South Carolina-then here they are! Kayla and Josh contacted me about photographing their wedding (which is TODAY!) back in march and I knew right away we would get along so well. We met up at Spill the Beans in Greenville and had the best time laughing and talking about the wedding. Kayla is extra giggly and Josh always knows how to bring her back to what we were originally supposed to be talking about. Hanging with these two is a great time and I couldn't be happier for them. Can't wait for the wedding, Kayla and Josh!! 

Hanging with Creatives...

Being a creative myself, I love to meet and hang out with people that are also creative! Whether it's photography related or not! Being around other artists is a chance to have open conversations about our work, get critique, share ideas, and to have a friend who understands certain kinds of struggles that come with being an artist.
 
I met Lauren, of LC Photography, back at the very beginning of the year. We met in a very large networking group one night at Coffee Underground and have gotten together several times since for coffee and photo hangs. We've even shot a wedding together! A very hot, very humid, very June in South Carolina wedding. She's a true delight and I've loved getting to know her over these past few months.

The last time we got together we went to a little park and took some portraits of each other for fun. Thank you so much for letting me shoot with you and for the coffee and the "I'm having an internal melt-down over business" talks that we've had, Lauren. I'm super excited to keep working together and sharing our business advice and woes and everything in between!    

Jess | Spring Bridals | North Carolina

It's not every wedding where you meet such a free spirit like Jess who says upfront "Let's just do it!" when you throw ideas at her for the photos. I mentioned I knew a place with a river and some mountains and she said, let's go and we did! This girl is an adventurer and my time with her had my heart singing. She climbed into a river bed and lugged a chair up a giant hill with me (in her wedding dress)!! You're amazing, Jess! I cannot say enough wonderful things about the time and adventures we had together! 

Emily & David | Spring Engagement | Easley, South Carolina

When Emily approached me about shooting her wedding I about scream/cried because I'd been waiting for this moment for YEARS! She and I were stand partners in our high school's orchestra class and have been long friends ever since. Emily and David are the sweetest and we had a BLAST shooting this 'Up!' inspired engagement shoot on David's family's land in Easley. There's nothing like hopping on the back of a mule with all of your equipment and a dozen balloons and having an enormous amount of land to choose from to shoot! Best part was I wasn't trespassing, or going to have to explain why I was standing in someone's yard shooting photos! Ha! Emily & David, I had such a wonderful time and every day we pass is a day closer to your beautiful wedding! I cannot wait for October!    

Shelley & Matthew | Camp McCall, Sunset, South Carolina

I met Shelley and Matthew at a small coffee shop in Easley over a year ago. We had some good coffee and laughs over remembering some yearbook staff days at EHS and got to business talking about their upcoming spring wedding. When Matthew began explaining their wedding venue I was very curious and excited at the thought of shooting their day at a boy's summer camp up in the mountains behind Pickens. The wedding day was everything I had pictured it to be! Quaint little chapel on the top of a mountain; filled to the brim with friends and family supporting Shelley and Matthew as they took this big jump into the future. They finished the night dancing in the mess hall and with a fun sparkler send off. Thank you so much for having me be with you on your big day, Mr & Mrs Trotter! It was a delight! Thank you, Sophie Hopkins, for being my second on this wedding! Some of her photos are below!

Things I Like to Document Besides Weddings...

Hey all! I'm here to make a confession! I love weddings. (Ya'll know that, right?!) I love the act of loving and the hope that comes with marriage. The hope that this is all we need: just you & me. I'm here to say I love all that good stuff! It's what I thrive on! But! While these are the moments I adore to photograph, I also have a passion for shooting fine art photography. Specifically using different mediums of film.

For the past four years I've been documenting my family and my life by way of film and a few moments of digital work. I love shooting this expensive as heck film for many reasons! Shooting analog (film) takes me so much longer than when using a digital camera. It causes me to slow down and become more of an observer waiting for just the right moment. Rather than being in the moment, I am able to take a step back and see the moments happening as I prepare to shoot them. This is such a curious thing for me! Watching the light as it travels into a room and seeing the person I'm about to shoot as she settles into how she wants myself and my camera to see her. Film is also expensive as all get out and when I only get 12 shots on a roll, or 10 photos to a pack one cannot be dilly dadling about it!     

I've been experimenting with different forms of film and cameras trying to find the method that works best for me. From the toy Holga camera (the cheapest, all plastic, tiny medium format camera), to a large format 4x5 Polaroid, to a Hasselblad (The Hasselblad is the nicest film camera you can get your hands on!) Using film is the best way I've found to express myself. If I could find that happy medium and shoot weddings with film-I WOULD, but I'm positive I would have a nervous break down before the reception. With film the colors are more accurate and the images are more precise. Best of all-the moment then bcomes tangible. Tangible isn't a word we get to use much anymore and I'm trying to hold on to it as long as possible. There is nothing that can compare to unraveling a stack of freshly processed negatives and to hold the moments of the now past in your hands and to remember "I was here. This was me." 

I don't meant to get all emotional on you, but film is my love! I'll gladly throw $200 at Amazon for four boxes of film before I'll spend it on clothes or something at the mall! This may also contribute to why I will show up to your wedding consultation in a '97 minivan covered in stickers. I believe in getting full use out of the things I buy! Hence my trusty ole mini van that I refuse to trade in.  

[Below is my large format 4x5 camera. Every image below that is a furjoid (like a Polaroid) taken on the 4x5 camera in 2013. First image is my friend Dale the morning after his senior BFA show. Second image is a plate from my mother's china, image taken on our Christmas table cloth. The last image on the left of my friend Amanda.]

To see more of my film work please visit VirginiaWorrell.com
If you would like a session that is more like my fineart work or includes film, please send me an email at giniaworrell@yahoo.com All photos except the top were taken by myself using a Polaroid back on a 4x5 large format camera. The top photo taken of myself by Laci Frazier! 

Hello! A little about me-Ginia Worrell

Born and raised in South Carolina-this land is my home. My family is spread across the East Coast-from New York down to Florida, but I've never found a more comforting or better place than the hills of South Carolina.

I'm 25 years old and am working on completing a BFA with an emphasis in photography. I've been shooting weddings full time for the past two years, but have been doing photography for the majority of my life. I was handed a pink Barbie film camera on Christmas day when I was 7 and haven't been able to stop since. I began to document my family's life (and mainly my cat) in the 90's and here in 2016, this is what I'm still doing. 

While I reside in the Upstate of South Carolina, I frequent North Carolina as much as possible. I love weekends full of taking drives through the mountains and pulling over randomly explore, stopping by some family land in Highlands, and hitting up Asheville to get some food and see some music. 

Along with enjoying fine art film photography and weddings, I'm an avid reader, gardener, tattoo-getter, and vinyl collector. I drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day and am usually toting my cat around the house while Sufjan Stevens or the late David Bowie play in the background. I'm currently trying to teach myself to weave and continuing to try my hand at print making.

This is where you'll see a display of my work and my passion and hear about what I'm doing in-between.  

(Photographs below by Laci Frazier)