Charity Rebekah Photography 2023
meet your next photographer: charleston, south carolina
My name is Valarie Joy Winkleman, alumni of Purdue University. I am a Lifestyle photographer based in Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding areas. My passion for the arts started at a very young age as I was blessed to spend a great deal of time with my grandparents growing up. My maternal grandfather was a renowned photographer/journalist in Chicago. I pursued media in high school + attended a career center. I achieved First Place for my video production in a state competition. I was able to direct + shoot the career center's promotional video. I expanded my passions in college. I was a photographer for the Purdue newspaper and documented a variety of events (including a concert for Hunter Hayes--yes, I cried). I graduated Purdue University with a Bachelor’s in Communication, Visual Anthropology, + Film & Video Studies. My passions have reflected by photographing friends, family, and my community. To me, it is about the rewards of documenting something beautiful and being able to feel the appreciation from my clients. I wish to continue to grow my passions by serving others. My photography guides me as I love to help share creativity and document special milestones. My art teaches me more than I could ever give back.
Kind Words from Clients
Adrianna R.
“My husband and I have used Valarie for our Gender Reveal as well as our Maternity photos, and we are SO HAPPY with the photos from both events! We can't wait for her to photograph our baby boy when he is born! She is so great to work with, easy to talk to, and goes above and beyond to get the perfect shots! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!”
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Christiana M.
“Valarie did our fall themed newborn photos and they came out absolutely perfect! She was so kind and patient and is the exact person you want to have photography any cranky or squirmy baby. So thankful for her capturing our babies littleness.”
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Sarah M.
“Hands down best photographer out there. Valarie has been with us since our proposal. She has a way of making us feel at ease during shoots when typically we are extremely anxious. She photographed our engagement + most recently our wedding. Valarie didn’t stop all day/night. She had a smile on her face + made all of our guests comfortable. I can’t even count the number of compliments they gave about how incredible our photographer was during the wedding. We certainly will be using her for all of our photos!”
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Rachel V.
“We couldn’t be happier with the photos and experience we had during our in home newborn session! Valarie was professional and incredibly personable, she has such a unique gift in her ability to work with babies and get them to cooperate throughout the entire process. We can’t wait to use her again to document more special moments for our family!”
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Rachel E.
“Such an overall amazing experience! Valarie is so sweet, patient, easy to work with and so skilled! We loved all our pictures and are so thankful we found her!”
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Laura D.
“A group of 12, with some cantankerous boys, can be tough to wrangle. Not for Valarie. She has a natural gift for capturing those beautiful shots while allowing the kid action to continue. She took some of the most amazing shots of our family. We will treasure them forever!!! If you want a relaxed and fabulous photo session, she’s your gal!!!”
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India B.
“Valarie is amazing! Very prompt and professional. We are so glad we found her and hope she will be our "forever photographer". I recommend her with no hesitation.”
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Chris - Rubber Rescue
“Wow, we cannot express how grateful we are. Valarie made us feel like we were in good hands. She took the time to learn about our brand. Her talent/professionalism truly shone through. She exceeded our expectations and captured our product in a way that we never thought was possible. The photos she took are simply stunning. We would highly recommend Valarie to anyone looking for a talented and personable photographer. Her work speaks for itself, but her kind, professional demeanor truly made the experience.”
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Aliece C.
“Valarie is a GEM! I was so impressed with the amount of professional equipment and thoughtfully chosen, adorable props she brought into our home to photograph our baby girl. I also have two boys, 2 and 4, and they were acting bananas that morning. Valarie was so good with them and very patient as we had to pause several times to corral the boys, nurse the baby, etc...She truly has a passion and a gift for what she does!”
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Lindsay S.
“Valarie took my maternity photos and they turned out amazing! She was absolutely wonderful to work with - a great communicator and super friendly. The photoshoot was so much fun and went by so quick. Valarie gets extra points for creatively incorporating my energetic 2 year old in the photos as well. I highly recommend her!”
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Brittany M.
“If you’re on the fence about using Valarie, DO IT! My husband and I were visiting Charleston for a weekend and wanted photos with our 3mo old but worried he would be uncooperative or thought maybe it was not worth the trouble.. NOPE. We’ve used so many photographers in the past and I wish I could take Valarie back to KY with me! The photos she took are my most treasured. She is so skilled, knowledgeable, excellent with babies, gives great direction, total joy to be around! Highly recommend her”
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Nikki M.
“I have to start off by saying that Valarie is an absolute JOY to work with and I was SO pleased with how my maternity pictures turned out!!! Not only was she willing to travel kinda far to take the photos she went the extra mile and got SOAKED by waves to get the perfect shots!! 1,000,000% recommend her for all of your photography needs she is SO SO SO talented!”
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Gia P.
“Simply the best! Valarie shot a large family session at our family reunion in Isle of Palms and we could not have been more thrilled with the outcome. She was super easy to communicate with leading up to the shoot and make the hour long session painless and easy with a large group. We had members of the party ranging from 2 to 80 and she rolled with all the punches, kept the mood light and captured everything we could have wanted and more!”
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Macey G.
“Valarie was amazing! We came to Charleston on vacation and Valarie took our maternity photos. She was so friendly, and our pictures came out perfect!!!”
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Alyssa C.
“Valarie was amazing!! She got so many great shots for my sister’s senior photos that perfectly captured her personality and the Charleston vibe. I’d recommend her again and again!”
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Rachel R.
“We had such a great experience with Valarie! We were visiting from out of town and were so lucky to find her. Valarie was amazing! She was so fun during the shoot and we LOVE our pictures.”
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Violeta H.
“I highly recommend Valarie. She is AMAZING. We had a newborn photoshoot with her. She was so sweet to my baby boy. She took her time and was so patient to get the perfect shot. She is very creative and comes up with great ideas. Her photos are some of my most cherished photos of our growing family.”
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Emily H.
“Just wanted to let you all in on a hidden gem I've discovered here...if you are looking for family pictures Valarie is amazing!! We recently used her for a beach family session and couldn't be happier.. she was soo good with my little ones that they actually asked to do pictures with her again the next day. She has a great eye, is very approachable and has very reasonable prices!”
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Amanda T.
“I always get super stressed out when it comes to pictures but doing newborn pictures with Valarie was NOT the case. Everything went so smooth while we were there. When we left, my husband said, "That was worth every penny! It wasn't stressful at all and she knew what she was doing." My only regret is that we didn't use her with our first 2 daughters.”
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Ashley F.
“"Valarie was wow! Nothing but professional, enthusiastic, patient, understanding, prepared and prompt. I can’t say enough good things. She was so honest and upfront about her pricing. No surprises. She also willingly and selflessly agreed to meet my family on Christmas Day. Wow. And then changed for me last minute to Christmas Eve due to changes in my families travel. Will only use Valarie from here out.”
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Erin W.
“Valarie was amazing! We had a great time with our couples shoot and she captured so many wonderful pictures. She understood the vision I had and I am so happy with our gallery. I’m so thankful she was available with relatively short notice! Her turn around time getting edits back to us was quick as well.”
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Nina M.
“Valarie is such a joy to work with. Such a sweet soul! Valarie did an amazing job capturing our elopement! The pictures were breathtaking! She puts so much love and passion into her work. I highly recommend. She is amazing!”
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Ashley S.
“Valarie was so warm and welcoming and had everything all set when we arrived. She was great with the kids and made pictures very easy, casual and not stressful! Got our pictures edited and back to us in a very short period of time! Would definitely recommend her and would use her in the future!”
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Angel B.
“Valarie was very easy to work with, she’s very knowledgeable and was a huge help when it came to helping me pose. She has a keen eye and her photos are stunning. She was punctual; the atmosphere during the shoot was all around fun and enjoyable. Her turnaround time is great, she kept me updated and sent me previews while I waited for the final product to share with my family and friends! Which is a testament to her website for being easy to navigate and user friendly! You will not be disappointed!”
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Jared M.
“Valarie! Thank you so much for the photos. They came out perfectly and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome!”
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Derek R.
“Shooting with Valarie was so amazing! She made us feel so comfortable during the whole shoot. She had many creative ideas that made the shoot super fun. At the end, the photos came out fantastic. I’m so thankful we chose Valarie as our photographer. Will definitely book again!”
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Julia K.
“I have nothing but great things to say about Valarie! She is so personable and you can tell she is passionate about her work. Our college graduation photos couldn’t have turned out any better! I also booked her for a couples shoot! My boyfriend isn’t very photogenic but she posed him and worked with us! He was even surprised at how amazing the pictures turned out. 10/10 recommend using her as your upcoming photographer! She has a great turn around time and communicates along the way!”
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Courtney G.
“I love them. You remained professional and I appreciate that so much. I also loved that the first click was on time and the last click was the last minute of reserved time. Thank you for sticking it out through heat, humidity, and rambunctious kiddos.”
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Elizabeth S.
“Valarie was so great with our newborn! Awesome maternity and newborn photos and was able to deliver the photos quickly after they were done! Highly recommend her.”
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Kyle H.
“Absolutely incredible photographer! As someone who normally hates getting his picture taken, this was a great experience and the pictures turned out perfect.”
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Blake L.
“Valarie truly captured all the love we shared at our baby shower! The pictures were beautiful and her editing was on point! I would highly recommend for your next professional shoot!”
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NANOBÉBÉ Baby Products
“Valarie was a pleasure to work with. She is great at multi-tasking and was able to fit in our entire shot list within the limited time frame we provided. She effortlessly coordinated the shoot with 3 different baby models and 4 unique set ups. Valarie handled each baby with care and we loved the finished product!”
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Kat + Justin R.
“Val was amazing the whole day of our wedding! She was there on time, stayed the entire day, and captured every wonderful moment! We loved our photos! She worked very hard and the proof is in the multitude of beautifully edited photos we received. I highly recommend her.”
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Desiree S.
“Valarie is amazing! She did my daughter's baptism pictures and was on time, and actually even stayed a little longer just to make sure we got all the pictures we needed! I got the pictures back fast and they all looked amazing! We are so happy we chose Served in a Wink Photography for her special day! Will definitely use her again and recommend to all of my friends!”
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Courtney T.
“Valarie did our engagement, maternity and newborn photos! She was super friendly and made our awkward PDA look more natural with suggestions.”
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Cameron K.
“I'm so glad we hired Valarie to take our company photos! All of the pictures look great and we will absolutely hire her again in the future. 🤩”
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Rebecca N.
“Lovely photographer, she is professional, amazing, fast responding, super sweet and accommodating. Hire her for your next special event. Won't be disappointed.”
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Jennifer B.
“Valarie was so kind and very observant when taking my graduation pictures. The edits came out incredible and I would hire her again!”
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Ashley H.
“Valarie has been doing our family photos for years from baby showers and other special events to casual family photos, there is nothing this woman can’t capture! She’s such an easygoing person and makes everyone comfortable during sessions. Not only is she an artist at taking the photos but also the countless hours she puts into her editing! Highly recommend!”
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Debra K.
“This year was a milestone birthday, for me (60th). I did an hour long photo session to mark the occasion. Valarie brought out and captured my inner confidence in her photos. Much of me had buried it for too long. I personally would recommend this bubbly, gifted gal for a photo session. Take a stroll through her photo, and see for yourself.”
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Gianna M.
“Hiring Valarie for our sorority's spring photo shoot was the best decision! Not only did she come with a multitude of poses for our large group, but she was also very approachable and easy to converse with! There were no awkward silences, and she made all who were in attendance feel comfortable in front of the camera. The pictures were edited and shared within a reasonable time frame, and she worked wonders. I would definitely hire Valarie for any other photo session in the future.”
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Sriyani C.
“I have known Valarie for awhile now. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she has an amazing talent for photography. My boys loved having their pictures taken by her. She was speedy and thorough and can't wait for next year's photo session.”
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Samantha P.
“My husband and I hired Valarie to take photos at our son’s baptism. We’re happy we hired her because, she’s a perfectionist. Prior to our son’s baptism, she confirmed the details and got a better understanding of what shots we wanted at the baptism. The day of my son’s baptism, she showed up early and worked late into the day. We received the photos about a week after the baptism. They turned out crisp, clean, tasteful and professional.”
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Valerie W.
“Val took photos of our whole family (7 adults, 4 teenagers, 2 toddlers) and we are seriously impressed with all the amazing photos she captured!! Thank you so much <3”
Named one of the Best Family Photographers in Charleston: