My story starts different than most.
About The Photographer
My photography journey began long before I became a wife or a mother. As a teenager, I had an incredibly sentimental heart. I spent my days taking photos of my friends and our adventures just so I could hold onto them a little bit longer. Walking into Ritz Camera to pick up that freshly developed roll of film was a feeling I'll never forget.
That's the feeling I hope to give to you as I take the biggest moments of your life and create beautiful pieces of portrait art that you can look back on for years to come. I hope that when you come in and view your gallery for the first time you do so with the same excitement that I did when I anxiously opened that packet of double 4x6 prints.
2001
At 18 years old I started my first job as a portrait photographer.
2009
Taxes, licenses, oh my! In February I legally started my own business.
2012
I celebrated the birth of my first baby and opened my first studio!
2018
Proudly voted Showiteer Of The Year award at the Showit United conference.
2019
We welcomed our 2nd daughter and won Best Of The Beach.
We welcomed our second daughter and I was voted Best Of The Beach.
2021
I moved into my new 1,750 sq ft solo studio space in September.
2024
We added an amazing line of themed portrait experiences to our lineup!
About Crystal
I grew up in the part of New York that has more trees than cabs. (Don't you dare call it the upstate!)
At 18 years old I was faced with the reality that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (no pressure, right?). So, like a typical teenager, I got a job at the mall.
(Lee is my middle name)
The Twist of fate?
It was at a portrait studio.
We photographed everything under the sun and had 20 minutes per customer to get 5 perfect photos on a roll of film that only held 9 shots. (Yes, I said film.)
Turns out I was pretty good at it! I moved up the retail ladder fairly quickly and over the course of the next seven years I managed studios in New York, Myrtle Beach, and San Diego. In 2008 I made the decision to leave the west coast and move back to Myrtle Beach.
Another Twist of fate?
I couldn't transfer my job.
Just like that, my retail manager days had come to an end.
Crystal Lee Photography began.
and then...
Let me be your guide.
I'm here to be...
The Dumbledore to your Harry.
The Gandalf to your Frodo.
The Obi-wan to your Luke.
The Alfred to your Batman.
(If you understood half of those, then we just became best friends!)
The Travis to your Taylor.
our story
I met the love of my life at Match.com. During a free trial. On the first day.
- Crystal
Shoutout to modern technology for helping us cross paths! Two years after our first date, we were married. (Pro tip: getting married on your anniversary means he only has to remember one date. 😂)
Now we're spending our days raising two amazing kids and working to build a business... together.
“I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.”
- Arwen, Lord Of The Rings
His New York...
...her New York
The rest of our crew:
Maddie
future basketball star
Emily
T Swift super fan
Leia
Naptime Champion
Never tell me the odds.
- Han Solo
Featured on the blog
Emily Rey's Birth Story & Newborn Portraits
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I am so proud to share with you my baby girls first studio portraits AND her incredibly unexpected birth story. (3 words... spontaneous home delivery!)
Newborn
Our Magical Maui Honeymoon & photoshoot
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Maui is a place that finds it’s way into your heart and never leaves. If I ever find myself there again... I don't know that I'll have the strength to leave.
Baby Tips & Inspiration
Join me on instagram!
Follow along for session previews, behind the scenes peeks & video stories.
@crystalleephoto
© Crystal Lee Photography
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Photography studio located in Murrells Inlet, SC
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