Every so often, a session finds its way onto our calendar that we don't photograph so much as live through. Kendall and James's couple's session at Mepkin Abbey Estate was one of those, and it happened to be a milestone in its own quiet way: the very first time either of them had ever stood in front of a professional camera together. Fair warning, this recap is going to read a little more like a love letter than a standard session feature, because the girl in these frames is my own baby sister, and there was truly no world in which I was handing this one off.
Some background, for anyone new here: Kendall has been getting shoved in front of my camera since she was young enough to protest it. Birthday parties, front porches, that one unfortunate "editorial fashion session", she's been my unwilling (and, later, extremely willing) subject for the better part of two decades. James, on the other hand, also grew up in front of the camera. With a mom working in voice acting, and later himself following in her footsteps, headshots and updated family sessions were the norm. So when the two of them finally agreed it was time for real photos together, official and unhurried and just for them, there was a brief, unnecessary conversation about "maybe we should hire someone else, so it's less weird for you."
Respectfully: absolutely not.
If you haven't been to Mepkin Abbey, put it on the list. Tucked along the Cooper River in Moncks Corner, it's one of those rare South Carolina properties that feels less like a backdrop and more like a character in its own right. The land rolls in slow, gentle slopes down toward the water instead of announcing itself all at once. Live oaks, the kind that have clearly been there since long before any of us, stretch out low and wide, heavy with the moss that makes the Lowcountry look the way it does in people's imaginations. And along the shoreline, we had company: a small committee of great blue herons, wading and fishing with the unbothered patience of creatures who have never once had somewhere else to be.
It is, without exaggeration, one of the most romantic corners of the Lowcountry we've had the privilege of shooting in. Quiet in the way that feels sacred rather than empty. The kind of setting that does half the work for you, if you let it, and honestly the perfect first backdrop for two people who'd never done this before.
We moved through a handful of looks over the course of the session, from soft and undone under the oaks to something a little more polished near the Abbey grounds itself. And here's the part that caught me off guard, professionally speaking: every single outfit change sent me straight back in time. There was a moment in a flowing yellow dress, hair loose, laughing at something James said off camera, that looked so much like Kendall at seventeen that I actually had to lower the camera for a second. Not because the shot wasn't there. Because it was, and it hit differently than I expected.
That's the strange gift of photographing someone you've known their entire life: you're not just capturing who they are now. You're capturing every version of them that got them here, whether you mean to or not. And for James, who'd never been on this side of a camera with a girlfriend before, I think the whole afternoon was equal parts nerve-wracking and, by the end, kind of a revelation.
There's a particular kind of romance that belongs specifically to young love, the kind that hasn't been sanded down by years of practicality yet. Kendall and James have it in spades. It's in the way they still get a little giddy holding hands in public, the way James looked at her like she'd invented golden hour personally, the way Kendall is somehow both this composed, grown almost-college-senior and still, unmistakably, the little sister who used to steal my camera strap as a toy. There's a very Noah-and-Allie quality to the two of them, minus the boathouse, plus a whole lot of nervous laughter at their first-ever photo session together.
And there's a bittersweet layer underneath it, if I'm being honest with you the way we try to be honest in every post: Kendall is heading back to North Carolina for another year of college not long after this session. There's something almost poetic about documenting two people at the very start of being photographed as a couple, while one of them is, quite literally, about to be a road trip away for a while longer. Distance has a way of either proving a young love story or unraveling it. Watching the two of them at Mepkin Abbey, unbothered by the herons, unbothered by anything except each other, I have zero doubts about which one this is.
We don't often get this personal in a portfolio post, and we won't make a habit of it, but Kendall and James's session is exactly the kind of South Carolina couples story we hope every pair walking through our doors gets to have, especially the ones doing this for the very first time: unhurried, deeply felt, and set against scenery that looks like it was designed specifically for two people falling in love. Mepkin Abbey delivered every bit of the gently sloping, oak-shaded, blue-heron romance we could have asked for, and Kendall and James delivered the rest.
If it feels a little different reading a recap where the photographer is also, unofficially, the big sister cheering from behind the camera, that's because it is. But the heart of it is the same as every session we shoot: two people, one story, fully seen, even (especially) when it's their first time being seen this way.
I keep coming back to that girl who used to steal my camera strap, now standing under two-hundred-year-old oaks with James's hand in hers and a whole future waiting on the other side of a college semester. Some love stories you get to document. This one, I get to watch. I can't wait to see where their love takes them next.
FAQ
TIs Mepkin Abbey a good location for couples photos?
Yes, and it's one of our favorite Moncks Corner locations for exactly that reason. Between the sloping riverside grounds, mature live oaks, and quiet, contemplative setting, it offers a range of backdrops in a single visit, from open, sun-drenched fields to shaded, intimate corners near the water.
Do you need a permit to photograph at Mepkin Abbey?
As of right now, no. Mepkin Abbey has its own visitor and photography guidelines as a working monastery and public garden, so we always recommend confirming current access rules directly with the Abbey before booking a session there.
What's the best time of day for photos at Mepkin Abbey?
Early morning in the fall gives everything a magic filled quality, while late summer afternoons into golden hour is our go-to. The light moves beautifully through the oak canopy, and the herons tend to be most active along the shoreline as the day cools down.
Do you offer multiple outfit changes during couples sessions?
Always. We build time into every session for at least two looks, sometimes more, so you get a range of tones across your gallery, from relaxed and candid to a little more elevated. It's also a great way to ease into the session if it's your first time being photographed together.
Ready to tell your own love story somewhere just as magical?
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