• Welcome!

    Luster Studios is my personal portfolio where I share weddings, special events, engagement sessions and portraits. My origins stem from a fine arts degree in photography and computer graphics. My "style" is a perfect blend of creative ideas driven by a relaxed attitude and a fun yet thoughtful personality.

    Through a combination of posing and photojournalism I strive to capture planned and spontaneous moments that will later help you relive how you were feeling at that exact moment. I'm based in North Carolina and often travel to destination locations. I look forward to getting to know what inspires you both creatively and personally.

    - Craig Carpenter

Raleigh North Carolina Urban Engagement (Melissa + Derek)

I put a priority on this post today because I couldn’t believe what I saw. Melissa had mentioned how much she loved trains as a kid so yesterday I took her and her fiance Derek to an old trainyard off Capitol Boulevard in downtown Raleigh for some down and dirty pics. They were energetic and up for anything. Melissa even took flight with her soon to be hubby in “high heel” style!

The next day, as I drove to the grocery, I did a double take as I drove past. EVERY single one of the train cars was gone! They weren’t moved… THEY WERE GONE. It’s as if some “traincar fairy” came in the middle of the night and had collected them all up. I told the couple about it but I don’t know if they really will believe me until they see it for themselves. I think they were kind of excited about being a part of something that will never be there again… Here’s a few of the “preserved” memories…


engaged couple
View Melissa and Derek’s Wedding Photos
engagement session
engagement photo
They do all their own stunts… part one
train cars
Derek’s on fire for Melissa!
engagement poses
They do all of their own stunts… part deux
engaged couple

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