Directing Diva

This family is awesome. I mean, all of my families are awesome, but this family cracks me up. Seriously. Plus, Baylee totally makes my job easier. We would take a few shots here, change it up like this and take some more from this or that angle and then Baylee would say, "Why don't we go over there next?" Awesome! Let's do it! I photographed these guys a couple of years ago so of course I was thrilled when they asked me to photograph them again.

The kids have grown up a little bit but they're as photogenic as ever! Thanks so much for the fun afternoon in the park you guys. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Family is More Than Just Genes

Kristi and her family have been a part of my life since 1988, when my family moved to South Carolina and we started going to the church her dad pastored. Her younger brother is 11 days younger than me and her younger sister is 4 years older, but has always been a good friend. Her parents have always loved me and would do anything for me. They're that awesome.

Kristi was a senior in high school when I was in 7th grade so I didn't get to know her well until many years later. When she got married, she and her husband helped chaperone many of our youth trips at church. And then I went to her sister's wedding. And then to her brother's wedding. And now all of them have children and are an even more fun family than they were before... if that's possible!

Anyway, I write all of this to say that I love these little guys. You would be hard pressed to not love them, but I love them even more because they're a part of a family that I love SO much. Sadly, Kristi's husband couldn't make it for the pictures, but you can practically see him in all of the boys anyway :) Kristi, thanks for letting me continue to be a part of your family... even after all these years! Much love, sabrina

Reshoots Are Sometimes Needed

So, I have a confession to make. I'm not as awesome as I wish I was. This is a pretty tough truth to swallow! If you think about it, many of us grow up being told we're cute, funny, adorable, the best kid ever, etc. Hopefully everyone grows up hearing that. But as we grow up, we realize that we aren't as awesome as others possibly have made us out to be.

And that's where this post comes in. I got my sweet 35mm/f1.8 lens just before going toFrance. I actually didn't use the lens as much as I thought I would. So when I got home and had my first shoot with Jason and Emily's family, I thought it would be awesome to use this lens for their family pictures. That is, until I got home and realized their three year old moved a bit too much for me to shoot at f1.8 the entire time. So, I offered to reshoot. And I'm glad they took me up on it! We ended up with a few pictures from the first shoot and many from the second. Thanks so much to Jason and Emily for being so understanding as I learn and grow, fail, learn and grow.

Just like life, anything you choose to do while you're on this Earth is a process. I'm in process as a photographer and for anyone that gives me a chance to continue that process is a star in my book :)

Is she not adorable?? Emily got this pumpkin from Hobby Lobby, cut out the top and this little one fit in it perfectly. SO stinking cute.
These others are from the reshoot. There aren't many becuase I still feel like I post too many as it is! But maybe I'll post more in the future... we'll see.
I think this is my favorite from the two shoots. She's not yet sitting up on her own but she already knows how to work the camera! Love it.

Run! Run! Run!

Yep, that's what she did. For most of the hour and a half we were together. Run from the car, hide from the camera, look the other way, roll down the hill, jump off some rocks, climb up the steps... Ella did any and everything but sit, look at the camera and smile. It was SO funny. Or at least I thought it was. Her mom didn't think it was quite so funny. But we still managed to get a few fun pictures.

There were actually many favorites but I had to narrow it down so this didn't turn into the longest post ever. Although I kind of like posts with lots of pictures. But I have many to post since I haven't been the best blogger out there the past few months. And boy do I have lots of fun things to blog. I'll intermingle my family sessions with posts from my trip to France. That will keep things interesting and hopefully keep you asking for more!

Family: the Thompsons

There was some chatter on my porch and then a loud KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK at the door. I opened the door with great expectation and there they were... my last college roommate and her family! I still remember when we were in Easley for an FCA retreat when Will pulled me over to the side to show me the beautiful sparkly and perfect diamond ring that he was going to give Diana. The man was giddy. I'm not kidding. The white box was burning a hole in his pocket... well, in his glove box because he wasn't carrying it in his pocket (yet anyway... that would come the night he proposed). The next year we had a blast at their wedding and a few years later, little Wyatt was on the way!

And here they all were to stay the night and enjoy a Clemson (winning!) weekend against Florida State! The morning of the game we went to the Rock Quary in downtown Greenville and had so much fun hanging out and getting some awesome shots in the process. Thank you guys for coming and for giving me the chance to capture you guys and your beautiful son.

much love! ~sabrina

Sneak Peak: Family Sessions

A month ago today, I was still in France and still flying high from the week long workshop with National Geographic. Since getting home, I've looked at my pictures dozens of times and the more I look at them, the more I realize how much I love photography. It's a challenge some days. It seems easy as pie some days. But as I go through the images from various sessions with clients and I find that one, those two or a few pictures that make me want to keep looking at them (out of awe... because the Lord is the only one that knows just how I got "lucky" enough to capture some of these!), it makes the challenging days so much more worth it.

I hope you enjoy the sneak peak of a couple of my recent sessions in Greenville and Spartanburg. I can't wait to show you more!

PS - what do you think of the borders and new watermark? Take it? Leave it?

I'm still here!

Oh my goodness. The past month since getting home from France has been nothing short of a whirlwind. My grandfather was not doing well and I was expecting him to pass away while I was out of the country. But, he hung on until the evening I returned home.

His death has been so tough. I know without a doubt that he's in heaven praising Jesus, but he's always been such a staple in my life. Having never lived super close to my mom's parents, I didn't have the advantage of having grandparents close by. But they have always been a short phone call away. And the older I've gotten, the closer I've gotten to them. They have been such a huge blessing in my life... since I've been old enough to really appreciate them, who they are, who they raised my mom to be and for the unconditional love they've shown me.

They sent me on this trip to France so that I could soak up and learn as much as I could - and I promise to blog about that later! But until then, I will leave you with a taste of my last shoot before my trip with Holly and her family. love love love them!