S. Carter Studios

It’s time for the truth, there’s another man in my life. He’s a little too young for me but that doesn’t keep me from laying kisses all over his cheeks, fingers and toes! This summer I became part of Ezra’s life on a regular basis and I couldn’t be more thankful for the perspective he brings. I knew we’d be busy this summer and the temptation when you’re busy with weddings and editing weddings and looking at other people’s photos from weddings is to get caught up in a world that isn’t realistic and certainly doesn’t encourage any selflessness. So, God hooked me up with the best distraction ever: Ezra. As a secret project for his parents I brought my camera with me a few times to capture his silly faces and little glimpses of his life as a brand new 1 year old.

A normal day: I get there early and we play.

Then, when he gets a little grumpy he crawls up to me and this means its time to eat.

I mean really, look at that face!

Part of the reason I can’t eat bananas like I used to.

Then we get down and do some crawling.

We do this until we get grumpy again and then it’s time for lunch.

I promise, he’s teething, I’m not torturing him but just look at that expression. Have you ever sen anything so sad?

George ( a throwback from his dad’s time) keeps us company.

But the truth is, Ezra is a messy eater.

So somtimes lunch time is also followed by bath time.

Which is followed by nap time.

Nap time is very helpful for renewing.

Just one standard, 1 year photo session shot. Which is now hanging on my fridge.

I’m sure it won’t be long until he can crawl up in that chair all by himself, but until then, I’m thankful I get to be there to help!

I grew up in Seattle, WA. I’m a proud fan of recycling, Mariner’s baseball, beautiful snow capped mountains and Ivar’s clam chowder. When I was in high school my family relocated from Seattle to Ridgeland, South Carolina. Two BIG words : Culture & Shock. There were a lot of differences and accommodations to be made by the locals as well as our family BUT I had the opportunity to make wonderful friends and truly learn how to appreciate a little rest and relaxation. I go back to South Carolina about every six months or so to visit some great friends I have there. This time I decided to try and mix a little business with pleasure. Enter: Lauren. I’m going to give Lauren the biggest fan residing in the great lowcountry award. She all but spearheaded my trip down there and rallied the troops to try and get as many sessions as possible! I loved working with her, her brother and a best friend, Jennifer. Here are some photos from our mini sessions!

Lauren and her younger brother Jeremy took photos as a gift for their mom!

Gotta love those Carolina pines!

and mother to be Jennifer (with baby London coming soon) and her daughter Rylynn.

We finished with a few of the ladies together.

We’ll keep you posted on possible mini sessions in Ridgeland, SC, when we plan our next trip!

I’m not sure if you can feel it on days like today (Noah may be floating past my house some time soon) but we’re on the verge of a beautiful spring season. Now, I know, verge might be a bit of a stretch but I’d like to start ringing in the Spring with a celebration of Love. It’s fitting that Valentine’s Day is just three weeks away. So, I’d like to make it easy for you to surprise your special someone or someones (or nudge them to surprise you) with an S. Carter Studios Love Is In The Air mini session. I’m happy to help celebrate dating love, married love, the love between parents and even sibling love. I’m just a sucker, a lover of loving love if you will.

The session fee for our special is $40 and will come with an online gallery of your images. Sessions must take place on Thursday February 11 between 2 and 4 pm or Saturday February 13th between 1pm and 4 pm, contact us to get priority scheduling! We look forward to celebrating with you!

I think it’s kind of funny how much I enjoy a good picture of myself. Trust me, I’m not vain but who doesn’t love to feel beautiful? It’s not just anyone who can make me feel the way that Josh can and so I love his photos of me even more. When we were in CT for Matt and Jen’s wonderful wedding we took part of the afternoon to take some new head shots. I am so pleased with how they turned out that I wanted to share a few with you. Plus, you can see how handsome and talented my wonderful husband is and why I love that he’s my second shooter!

Proudly a Canon photographer!

Now, for the best part…

You may ask yourself, if you know us, why isn’t one of these Josh’s profile picture on Facebook? Oh, because, “These are good, but Rambo is cool.”

Brinley, who may remember from a previous post, turned one and we took some pictures of him to celebrate this momentous occasion. He still wins me over with his facial expressions but now he can walk, he’s well on his way to being those cutest member of our Small Group. I hope these photos are as happy to you as they are to me! 

I can see a future in break dancing!

I don’t know why but I think this is the sweetest.

He’s a lot more difficult to keep up with now that he’s mobile!

The best facial expression title is still his, hands down.

In preparing for this post, I went back through my old journal and began to count the weddings that I’ve been a part of. Before each wedding I spend a time of prayer asking God to please go before me, as he always does, and use me to photograph and serve the bride and groom, their family and friends. The names floated past me on the pages, Aaron & Brittany all the way through Marianne & Peter. How did I get there? How had I been trusted with the memories of 37 different couples? I still can’t believe it!

What I know is that it’s been a long journey and I’ve learned many lessons along way the way. I’m so excited to be able to share them with other people! I know that I’m working my dream job and it started with a borrowed Fuji Fine Pix camera and has grown to include three Canon DSLRs and a small, happy army of lenses. I’ve gone from being too nervous to take money to working only one part time job to supplement my business. I can’t wait to discuss the process of getting incorporated, getting inspired and getting referrals. I hope that just a few of you will come to hang out so I’m just talking to my husband who is tired of hearing me talk passionately about these things.

The plan: Meet in Lynchburg (physical destination unknown until a headcount can be established) on Saturday September 19th from 2 pm to 6 pm.

The agenda: Each person who signs up for the forum will be given the opportunity to express which areas they would like to learn about most. Essentially, you can shape the discussion based on your interests!

Some suggestions from interested parties have included how to set pricing, how to encourage better relationships with clients, what kind of equipment I have and where I’ve purchased it from. I can’t wait to see what others are interested to hear about.

The payoff: Each attendee will walk away with a folder full of resources including lists of blogs, information on free methods of advertising, information on industry services and more. The environment will be built around the desire for encouragement and networking.  Networking can even continue after the session as those who are interested will be grabbing dinner together!

The cost: To help cover the cost of materials and the tasty goodies we hope to provide, there will be a charge of $25.00 per person or $40.00 for two friends who decide to come together.

The deadline: Participants’ registration forms must be received by September 7th, 2009.

Where to go from here?

1. Contact me at sabrena@scarterstudios.com to request the registration form.

2. Fill out the form and mail it in with a check for the cost.

3. Show up excited and ready to have great discussion!

What I’m hoping to accomplish with this forum is to help share how my business has grown in the hopes that this will encourage others to take the next steps in growing theirs! Please let me know if you have any questions!

PS. thanks to Liz who is helping spread the word! Please feel free to repost and share about this as well!

PPS. Here are a few more of my wedding photos by Kristen Dillow because I still haven’t made a decent post about being the bride on the other side of the lens!

My beautiful friend Carrie Brown is now Carrie Johnson! Over the past 6 months I’ve gotten to know her family as I’ve had the opportunity to take Carrie and Casey’s engagement photos, the Brown’s family photos and these bridal portraits that I’ve been hiding until after their big day! Lots of photos of their big day coming soon but enjoy a sampling from her bridal portrait session!

Thank you so very much to the beautiful Craddock Terry Hotel that allowed us to make use of their facilities for this shoot!

This post is about Brinley. Brinley and I were well acquainted at the ladies retreat. We shared a bed! Well, it was a king size bed and his mom was in it too, but still. This little boy has the very best facial expressions you can imagine. Since I get to see him at least twice a week and they still make me laugh each time, I thought I’d share them with you! It’s only natural to be jealous!

This is a classic Brinley face!

Hopefully we’ll be taking one year pictures of Brinley so you’ll see his handsome face again soon!

I can imagine every mother may feel like their child is a miracle, a gift straight from the Lord. I know that Carrie feels that way for Elijah. Carrie has been my boss and friend for FIVE YEARS! It is strange to me that she was basically my age now when I began working for her. I’ve watched in the background as she has completed her masters, tackled publishing and now is at the helm of both the yearbook and the career center. She’s quite a force. But when it comes to Elijah she’s different. She lays down the idea of being in control, of being on time and perfectly dressed. She still manages those things most of the time but they aren’t non negotiable. She becomes Carrie, mom to Elijah, no she doesn’t wear the mom jeans I bought her for her birthday, but she is observably consumed with the task of loving, guiding and admonishing Elijah and everything else takes second place. It’s really a beautiful thing to watch. I know that many people have been blessed to read the Barnhouse Family Blog as Carrie has written letters from her and Ed to Elijah. She’s told him how the Lord prepared his parents for him, how they prayed for him before he was even born, how they longed for him as they went through the placement process and how much they celebrate him now that he is in their home. They adopted Elijah from the Godparent Home. He truly is a miracle baby chosen to be carried to term by his birth mom and then brought home to the Barnhouses on May 31st. To celebrate this beautiful boy, we took some one year photos of him. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Got to love this scrunchy face. I personally enjoy watching Carrie and Ed make this face at him just as much as I enjoy seeing him do it!

Carrie got to him fast enough that he didn’t swallow the acorn!

SOOOO cute. Just ask his grandma.

You can imagine the sounds that came with this face!

I think that the older I get, the more I see that there is a blurry line between friends and family. There are some people in my life, like the Jancarts, who make me feel at home when I’m with them. Mike, a very talented web designer, and Amanda, love me like family and I love them and their two little girls just the same! It was great to have Josh come with me during this visit. It was a great time of enjoying each others company and the beautiful home the Jancarts have been blessed with! Thanks for the great conversation and letting me take pictures of your adorable family.

Tirzah just became a big sister to Rainey two months ago. She’s a great sister and full of laughter and funny faces.

I think she and Pooh bear have a love hate relationship…

She has a thing for shoes, and Josh caught her in the act of trying on his Sperry’s.

She is certainly one beloved child. Her daddy can’t get enough!

I love that the girls have similar expressions on their faces!

Rainey is a little more low-key than Tirzah. Rainey is a snuggle bug…

She’s got a lot of photographic potential in those big blue eyes!

Josh took this, I couldn’t get enough of those little feet!

Love you guys!

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