Crystal Lee 

photography

crystal lee
Photography.

Hey, I'm Crystal!

Photographer, mother. Jedi.
Waiting for my Hogwarts letter.

My story starts different than most. I didn't start photography when I got married or when I had kids. In fact, I was a photographer long before I became a wife or a mother. 

I fell in love with photography as a teenager, spending my days taking photos of my friends and our adventures so that I could hold onto them just 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 return them to you in a beautiful, artistic way that you can look back on for years to come. I hope that you will open your gallery 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 officially 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 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.

And we've only just begun...

2021

I moved into my new 1,750 sq ft solo studio space in September. 

Never tell me the odds.

-  Han Solo

A new york girl livin' life in the southern world.

After high school I found a job at a retail portrait chain in the mall. 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 move back to Myrtle Beach and start my own business. I opened my first portrait studio in 2012 (the same year that I had my first daughter!) and then moved to a much larger space in The Market Common in late 2013. 

Life changed once again in the fall of 2021 as my business moved forward on a new solo journey, opening an even larger portrait studio in Murrells Inlet.

I have two beautiful and wildly independent daughters, an amazing husband that I absolutely adore and a sweet pup that makes our home complete. 

I rock the home-brew on a daily basis, but my entire life changed the day I found out that Starbucks makes their peppermint mocha in a frappuccino. #addicted

So. Much. Coffee.

True story: I met the love of my life at Match.com. During a free trial. On the first day. #winning

“I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.” - Arwen, Lord Of The Rings

I met the love of my life at Match.com. During a free trial. On the first day. #winning

Meant to be together.

Photo Credit: Karma Hill Photography

If home prices weren't in the millions, I'd move there tomorrow. Maui is a place that finds it’s way into your heart and never leaves.

Maui changed my life.

90's boy bands are the music of my heart but none can compare to the original! New Kids On The Block. I finally got to fulfill one of my childhood dreams and see them in concert in 2008! #blockhead #dontjudge

Hangin' Tough

I wear flip flops in winter. Because... Myrtle Beach.

#beachlife

NOT on purpose. You can read the full story below, but my second daughter proved to be a true rebel from day one!

I had a home birth...

Double chocolate Milano's are a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. McDonald's french fries taste like sunshine and pure happiness. 

I love hugs. I hate feet.

Chapstick, my iPhone and Disney +. 

And of course, my family. 

I couldn't survive without...

Join me on instagram!

Follow along for session previews, behind the scenes peeks & video stories.

@crystalleephoto

Maternity

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