About Charleston Professional Photographer

Family Photography, Senior Portraits, Wedding Photography, Corporate Photography & Business Photography Services in Charleston, South Carolina

I’m Lea Austen, I specialize in Charleston Lifestyle Sessions, family portraits, senior sessions and intimate wedding ceremonies. I’ve been photographing professionally for over two decades. My work has taken me from Charleston, throughout South Carolina, across the United States and overseas! My approach is calm and down to earth. I like to use humor to put my clients at ease and make each session a fun and natural experience. Think of me as  a friend with a camera, no fake smiles or awkward posing. Just you and your loved ones spending time together, sharing stories, laughing and being fully present in the moment.

I am an artist at heart. I have lived and loved and worked in the arts most of my life. As an actress and model I have had my share of time in front of a camera. I know how it feels!  Later in life,  I taught elementary school which was loads of fun and certainly helped me as a photographer too!  

Whether you are interested in preserving memories digitally or something more tangible, like photo books and wall art, I am happy to educate you and help you make the best decisions for your personal needs and goals. Working together, we create and plan a photography experience to capture a moment in time with you and your family. Your family is your most precious, most profound work of art.. Cute baby smiles and little toes and fingers, the silly faces those kiddos make and the challenge of making those awkward teen years something special. And for those special senior sessions and milestone birthdays, creating treasured art they can carry with them into adulthood.

Photographers in Charleston SC

My dad was our photographer. He took pictures all the time and we loved getting the package and sitting down to look at the photos he took. Then my mother would put them into photo albums. We had well over 100 books before I left for college on a special bookcase in our den. My brother, sisters and I would love to pull them off the shelves and look at them together and even alone. They brought so much joy.

My mother would also frame them and I didn't realize until much later in my life what those framed prints meant to me and the love I felt.

In this age of digital prints where you enjoy them on the computer (if you remember to look at them) or a few prints or a USB in your desk drawer, that feeling is lost to this new generation. I am on a mission to get that back! Still, if those digitals are what you desire I will be sure to help you preserve them as well.

I can't wait to meet you, to plan with you and to create beautiful art together.

MY LOVE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE

Shows in my work , and in the way my clients enjoy their time when we’re working together.

My photography style is candid, photojournalistic, yet intentional. I think my background in acting, education and teaching yoga has made me more mindful towards the little details. It’s the secret winks, the silly smiles and stolen kisses, that often go unnoticed, yet carry so much value and meaning.

A FEW THINGS ABOUT LEA AUSTEN - CHARLESTON-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER

I am married to a wonderful man, we have 4 great children between us, 3 rescue dogs and 1 rescue cat

I’m a yoga instructor and occasionally offer yoga sessions to my brides before their big day. If you want this too, let me know!

I have clients whose families I’ve been photographing for decades!. It’s such an honor to watch their sweet families grow.

I used to live in NYC before Charleston, naturally I’m a big foodie and always up for anything social.

I love to travel and explore the world with my husband, I also take destination work. So if you’re based outside of South Carolina, we can still make it happen. 

Offering Photography Services to clients across Charleston, Summerville, Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, Johns Island, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, and the surrounding areas.

Also serving clients across North America.

Contact LEA AUSTEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Charleston Family Photographer, Wedding Photographer, Portrait Photographer

Capturing the Emotions of Each Movement with Beautiful Images that will Last Forever.

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