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Oxford, North Carolina-based photographer Chip Henderson recently completed a project for return client Crystal Coast N.C., the tourism development authority responsible for an 85-mile stretch of beaches and towns on the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. CCTDA provides information on attractions, lodging, dining, and activities to help visitors plan their vacations. For their “Surrounded by Water” campaign, the client needed water-themed Lifestyle stills and videos to help promote the Crystal Coast for the 2024 summer season.
Chip has had a longstanding working relationship with the CCTDA and the guidelines of its brand.
I’ve worked with this client for over 20 years, with multiple ad agencies. This particular project was to create images for 2024 based on the theme “Surrounded by Water.” When they reached out, the assignment gave me unlimited freedom to create lifestyle imagery and video that could be used for this new campaign. The basic rule was that the image must have water in it.
Because Chip was familiar with both the client and location going in, his main task in preparing for this photoshoot was to coordinate the talent and rentals he would need, and plan around light and weather.
Knowing this part of North Carolina’s long coastline helped me to plan and create some great opportunities to work with light and spaces to fly our drones, and shoot both stills and video. We had to coordinate all of the talent, props, and some very involved images with jetskis and kayaks to transport them to the locations that we wanted to shoot at the right time of day.
My team has a background in creating campaigns that cover a wide range of genres for resorts, golf properties, and travel destinations where lifestyle, scenic, and architectural images are needed. Scouting ahead of time to see the locations and best times of light allows us to come up with beautiful imagery of people in these locations. We knew we would also be working with talent from all ages from kids to older adults so a good working relationship with people is paramount to long days on location.
Chip’s scout days in preproduction helped him plan and optimize the timing of his shotlist for each location. The photoshoots took place over the course of several months, around other projects Chip was shooting in the area, so he was able to wait for the weather conditions he needed. Chip shared a few memories from the project.
Most shooting began before sunrise as we headed to locations and with a break in the middle of the day when the light is too flat. We would finish up the day as the sun was setting always over the water.
We also had a great crew helping locals to get us out when we needed to transport jet skis and kayaks about 30 min away to the marsh area where we planned to shoot. Flying the drone off the back of a boat was a great way to capture those images from above.
We had bikes one day that bogged down because the sand was too soft that day, so we moved to a different beach at a different time and the bikes were perfect to ride.
We also had windy days where hair and comfort were too much, so we wrapped up early as the juice was just not there. Weather besides the wind is always an issue. Because we had the time, we shot on good sunny days for the best light — early in the day and at the end of the day. However, there were a number of shots where backlighting was incorporated.
Our surfing images were created when a tropical storm moved up the coast and we had 6-8 foot waves. We dropped what we were doing and headed down to the beach to shoot sunrise and the surfers on that day. They called it “our California” as we got great shots of surfing that day.
As a dad to 7 kids, I work really well with children and we were able to get some fun shots of kids as they enjoyed the beach areas. We try to limit their time in front of the camera to a couple of hours, so we can keep them fresh and still enjoying the shoot while its warm and sandy on the beaches. We bring a ton of props and work our way thru them, as we determine which are working and which are bombing with the talent.
As visible in the series, it’s crystal clear this project was filled with the summer fun that CCTDA needed for its “Surrounded by Water” campaign.
Overall this was one of the most enjoyable shoots, and the client loved the work! Afterward, we were hired to create a new gallery this year of “family fun” images like go-karts and horseback riding on the beach.
See more of Chip’s work on his website.
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