Emma | Miss Clemson University 2025

In February, Emma was crowned Miss Clemson University 2025!

She will be the first Miss Clemson University to compete at Miss South Carolina under that title. Her platform is heart health, something that everyone in the world can benefit from learning about.

Emma sang Defying Gravity from Wicked during the talent portion, so we shared our love for Wicked during our time together. I told Emma I was leaving the next day for New York and would be seeing Idina Menzel, the first person to perform Defying Gravity, in a brand new musical called Redwood. I texted her all about it when I got back to the hotel that night!

Usually, when I do portraits with Miss Clemson University, we will have an evening gown and a less formal outfit. Emma asked me if she could wear two evening gowns. I told her that was fine as long as she had a place to change. When we met at the stadium, she had a gorgeous dress in Clemson regalia purple with orange earrings. She changed gowns at her dorm, which was near the stadium, and we met back up at Sikes Hall. We partially chose the order of the dresses based on Sikes, which is one of my favorite spots on campus for taking photos. This time, she had an orange evening gown with a purple tulle skirt attachment. A big skirt always looks beautiful on the steps of Sikes Hall, and the white stairs contrast so beautifully with the bright orange and purple in this dress. Since the trees were still bare, we had such a beautiful light coming from the side and making Emma glow!

I can’t wait to see Emma take the Miss Clemson University title to the Miss South Carolina stage for the first time! I had so much fun doing her portraits and I hope you love them!

Read more about Miss Clemson University here and see some of my photos from former titleholders!

More Photos from Clemson University

Nice to meet you!

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love finding new outdoor places to visit, but we also love hanging out on the couch and watching Pixar movies.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

Taking Photos with Light Sabers

Well, I’ve officially done enough photos with light sabers to have a whole blog post with tips just for that. I also realized that I have more practice with this than most photographers, so I’m excited to share this with you!

First things first:

Star Wars has always been ahead of the game with their special effects, so don’t be disappointed if your light saber photos don’t look like what you see in the movies. I hope to eventually update this post and my future photos with what I learn about their processes for bringing light sabers to life. My advice comes from my own trial and error without the high-end lighting, software, and props that they use in Hollywood. This will take practice.

Choose your locations carefully

A light saber is its own light source, so it shows the most color when it’s against a dark background without another light shining on it. This is one reason why we chose Stumphouse Tunnel for these photos—the farther you are from your light source, the darker things will be, and I can’t think of anywhere else around here that goes this deep without any lighting at all. This was one photo idea I had early on, since I’d taken a silhouette in this spot before. With a silhouette, you obviously won’t see things like faces or details on your clothes, so you need to make sure the people in the photo are posed in a way where you can see exactly what’s going on. Between the two photos below, I prefer the photo where they’re holding the sabers down to the side because the colors pop against the dark background better than the light coming from behind them.

In a darker location, you can also let the light saber do all the lighting itself, which will be super dark, dramatic, and monochromatic. This also highlights the color cast a light saber can put on your face, even if the saber itself isn’t showing as much color in the photo. I think the blue here kind of makes him look like a force ghost or a hologram.

Editing for light sabers

If you’re in a better-lit area, the best light for your face might overshadow your glowing light saber, and it’ll look white. For this, I use selective editing, meaning I select just the saber and edit that part separately. I use a hue, saturation, and luminance layer; check the “colorize” box; and then decrease the luminance, increase the saturation, and adjust the hue to the color I like. I’ve developed preferences for the exact hue setting I use for certain colored light sabers. Only a few of my light saber photos didn’t require selective editing for the saber, so I think this was a magic balance between having just enough natural light on their faces and having just enough darkness for the saber to really shine. I still edited the photo as a whole in Lightroom and adjusted the greens and blues, but I didn’t have to isolate the saber in Photoshop.

I’ve also been told by some Star Wars cosplayers that there are “day sabers,” or a blade that’s just a solid color and not a light. In the photo below, the saber on the left had a dead battery, so this is a really good example of the difference between one that’s lit up and one that isn’t. Both have been edited to better highlight the color.

These sabers are from Clayton’s Customs, which I love because of how realistic they look and sound. I also did their wedding and engagement photos, which you can see above and below. This reel from their wedding day is my demonstration of how cool they are to use.

If you’re still looking for a photographer, read more about my elopement and engagement photography services, and check out some of my other Star Wars photos below!

Ready for the best day ever?

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love finding new outdoor places to visit, but we also love hanging out on the couch and watching Pixar movies.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

Wildcat Wayside

If you’ve ever driven to Caesars Head, Pretty Place, or Bald Rock; you’ve probably seen Wildcat Wayside from the road!

This is a one-mile trail with 3 small waterfalls. The first waterfall is about 10 feet tall and it’s very close to where you park. It’s a short scramble to get in front of it. 

The second waterfall is a short flight of stairs from the first. This is a short, but wide, waterfall that you can stand in front of (or at the top of if you’re not afraid of getting your feet wet).

As you continue onto the trail, you’ll see a few little cascades before you reach the biggest waterfall.  The largest waterfall is more like a big rock face with a trickle of water that runs diagonally across it, so I don’t think it photographs well and I don’t recommend it for portraits.

Overall, Wildcat Wayside is a beautiful little wooded spot with quick access to 2 waterfalls and a short hike to another. This is a great spot when paired before Caesars Head at sunset, after Pretty Place at sunrise, or Bald Rock for either one!

If you’re still looking for a photographer, read more about my elopement and engagement photography services!

For more ideas on where to take pictures with waterfalls in South Carolina, this post is for you!

More Photos from Wildcat Wayside

Ready for the best day ever?

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love finding new outdoor places to visit, but we also love hanging out on the couch and watching Pixar movies.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

December Elopement in Downtown Greenville, SC | Ashley & Logan

Ashley and Logan eloped in downtown Greenville, South Carolina!

They knew they wanted a bigger ceremony with their families sometime in the future, but they wanted to become legally married before that. They still wanted to have a fun day together, even if nobody else was there. They’re both pretty new to the area and weren’t totally sure what they wanted, but they knew they liked the idea of downtown Greenville since they lived close to there and spent a lot of time there together. Ashley and I came up with some places based on their interests, and she checked them out and reported back to me.

Ashley said she liked the idea of old hotels and a cool library. The Westin Poinsett and M. Judson’s Booksellers happen to be right next to each other with a huge outdoor Christmas tree right in between. The elopement ceremony was on the veranda at the Poinsett, where the beautiful 1920s-style flooring and staircases were on full display. After the ceremony, Ashley said that it already feels different to finally be married. The Poinsett is named for Joel Poinsett, who introduced a plant to the US that’s named for him, so there are tons of poinsettias around the hotel in December. Even though it was one of the shortest days of the whole year, it was the warmest day of the whole month—a sunny and 65-degree day in a month full of cold and rainy days.

After we took some daytime photos with the outdoor Christmas tree, we walked down to Falls Park, stopping along the way to catch the sunset by the Peace Center, get Ice on Main in the background while nobody was on it, and get some photos with the string lights. We took some photos by the Reedy River Falls, the defining feature of downtown Greenville, and worked our way back towards the Poinsett as the sun went down. We got some photos in M. Judson’s, where we talked about the books we found and some of what was in the Greenville-themed section. By the time we got back outside, it was completely dark and we got some nighttime photos with the Christmas tree. Since they eloped downtown, there were lots of people around who were constantly telling them they looked beautiful and they were so happy for them.

Enjoy some of my favorite photos from Ashley and Logan’s December elopement in downtown Greenville!

If you’re still looking for a photographer, read more about my elopement and engagement photography services!

Ready for the best day ever?

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love finding new outdoor places to visit, but we also love hanging out on the couch and watching Pixar movies.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources