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Welcome to my Blog!

Thanks for stopping by! I am a portrait & wedding lifestyle/documentary photographer based in Columbia, SC (serving primarily SC, NC, and GA). My mission is to make you smile, laugh, cry, etc... by telling you a story in each picture I take. Here you will find my favorite shots from my most recent works AND posts on bits and pieces of my personal life which I hope is somewhat entertaining. To you grammar & english junkies... Please don't hate. I majored in nursing ;) . Please enjoy and feel free to stalk my blog! And don't forget to visit my website: www.swparkerphotography.com!

The good, the bad, & the ugly: I am a huge nerd. I cannot function without my daily to do lists. My Blackberry has recently made me more OCD. My husband is my hero. Jesus is my savior. Running is my release. Going to the movies is fun. I love details. Chocolate is delicious. I constantly crave jelly beans. I laugh at my own lame jokes. My goofy dog makes me laugh. Buttons are creepy. I am an impulsive shopper-yikes. Birthdays are fantastic. I fall asleep at 11 pm no matter where I am and...I sometimes talk in my sleep. Sunflower fields are beautiful. Green is my favorite color. I am a nurse. and taking pictures of awesome people is my passion! My name is Sara. My husband is Wes. My dog is Oliver. That is my tiny family. We love life and each other. Welcome to our world.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."-Jeremiah 29:11-13

Little Noah & Fam

09.02.2010 at 9:36am Posted in Families, Kids

This little guy is just too handsome! That red hair and those blue eyes are to die for! I met Lindsey and Cole with their sweet (almost at the time) 1 year old Noah out in Lexington for a portrait session. It was early in the morning and it happened to be one of those wet, dreary mornings. It was still super dark and SUPER overcast, so it was a pretty tricky lighting situation (not to mention the fact that it took over 20 minutes for me lens to de-fog :( ), but we went for it and I’m glad we did! Lindsey and I were actually in the same sorority in college, so it was great to see her and meet her beautiful little fam. I hope you guys enjoy your pictures and thanks so much for putting up with the crazy weather!

He’s such a happy little guy. I asked Lindsey & Cole if anything in particular makes him laugh or smile and they said, “just say boobies… he loves it.” Apparently his uncle taught him the word and he thinks it’s hilarious. My theory is that Lindsey & Cole came up with this genius idea to get the photographer to yell “boobies” in the middle of the country at 8 o’clock in the morning. Joke’s on me, guys ;) . It did actually work, though!

ah, the open-mouth kiss:

love these:

such a handsome little guy.

“Dad, you can let go…I got this”

He loves his stuffed frog animal. I did not intend for it to be the same color as the moss- ha!

by swparker

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September 2, 2010 - 12:11 pm Lindsey - These are amazing, Sara! Thank you soo much! :)

Baby Brody Liam & Family!!

09.01.2010 at 6:55am Posted in Babies, Families

I am in love. This baby has absolutely stolen my heart. Baby Brody was just barely 3 weeks old when I did his “newborns”. We actually went to see Dylan & Karin in Baltimore a few days after Karin was due, hoping Brody would come out so I could could do TRUE newborns, but he had other plans. He was born on July 12th as we were driving back home. Little stinker. Three weeks later, Dylan & Karin made a trip down to SC to show him off. Before the shoot, every time I saw him he fell asleep in my arms like a little tree frog, so we were all thinking the shoot would be PERFECT since he was still super snuggly and sleepy all the time. Well, again, he had other plans :) . He was not exactly in the picture-taking mood. He was awake when we needed him to be asleep and asleep when we needed him to be awake. HOWEVER, I think we still got some good shots! Another gigantic post: I am starting off by sharing little Brody all by himself, family in the middle, and our WELCOME BRODY lake party at the end. Enjoy!! If you want to see Dylan & Karin pre-Brody, follow these links: the couple, the couple plus almost 1

He did fall asleep long enough for me to grab these… I can’t get enough of baby Brody in the suitcase!!

This is the only hat he would happily wear for me. That’s because he is a Gamecock fan already :)

He’s actually not asleep in this picture. Just faking it for a split second…

Let me just say, Brody is basically a genius child. Here he is smiling. And it gets better…

Dylan, something about this face reminds me so much of you!

Shortly before Brody was born, Dylan got a sweet tat. Brody likes it too :)

another smile.

Okay, here’s where it gets really interesting. Let me just remind you that Brody is 3 weeks old here. The next three shots are just to show you how genius he is. Here he is ROLLING OVER:

PUSHING UP & HOLDING HIS HEAD UP:

sitting up/holding his head up while pulling up on his mommy’s hands. Holy cow. I am impressed.

Love me some tootsies.

Perfect little guy.

We all went outside for some family shots and it was unbelievably hot. We were all pouring sweat the minute we stepped out of the car. Thank you guys for being troopers!

what a gorgeous fam!

He was supposed to be awake for all of these. Oh well.

It’s okay if he’s asleep, as long as he smiles for the camera :)

love from Daddy:

beautiful mama:

I love all 3 of these. Could not pick just one.

He’s even cute when he cries. He hated this hat. Sorry Kate.

The rest are pictures from the lake day. Brody was actually in a perfect mood for pictures. Glad I had my camera!

Here he is with Aunt Mary. Big yawn!

Brody with Aunt Sara :) I wish it wasn’t SO obvious that we aren’t related.

Here’s a better match :)

Sorry Dylan, I know you hate the cross-eyes, but this was too good:

He loves Aunt Mary:

Love that little face!

With Uncle Wes. Typically it is a requirement to be fully clothed (adults) if you want to make an appearance on the blog, but these were super cute :)

I just love how he’s looking back at Wes!

And I’m done.

Congratulations Dylan & Karin!! We love you guys and your precious little fam!

by swparker

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September 2, 2010 - 6:57 am Kati - great shoot sparky! what a little monkey!

September 1, 2010 - 7:28 pm Susan - LOVE that little man! Can't wait to meet him, finally!! Pictures are fantastic, Sara! And so glad I can keep up with what all of my great friends are up to when I'm unable to be around. Hope to see all of you around Christmas!

September 1, 2010 - 7:47 am Karin - Love them! Brody apologizes for being born late and missing his first appointment and then being so uncooperative at his second. You got so many good ones, you can't even tell how cranky he was that day. : ) I am so glad we have these first family photos- thanks for putting up with us for so many hours!

Graham & Katy are Married! {part II}

08.27.2010 at 10:40am Posted in Weddings

Hope you enjoyed part I… get ready for part II! Graham & Katy had their beautiful reception at Founders Hall at Charles Towne Landing (same place I did the engagement shoot). Enjoy part II!

walking into the reception:

There is my famous party starter right there in the middle with the sax. Seriously, guys, if you ever need music for anything contact DAVID CARTER. He ROCKS!! I have done 3 weddings now with him as a groomsman, a guest, and as part of the band and he has been an absolute blast!

This sweet couple is getting married tomorrow! I am so upset I wasn’t available to shoot their wedding! Congrats Brandon & Katie Beth!

another Clemson wedding :)

The money dance: you must pay up is you want a dance with the bride/groom! Katy’s dad was first up, then her sisters fought over her, then her granddad and dad had a little money debate :)

Typically, men dance with women and women dance with men, but Katy’s dad decided a father-in-law/son dance was in order:

and that got this going…

I decided he’s a pretty cool grandpa- I saw him dance with every one of his granddaughters/female family (not sure who’s who :) ). SO SWEET!

Ladies and gents, David Carter in action:

Man, this is one cute couple!

Katy’s sisters hugging her goodbye:

PRESH.

Love this of Graham & Katy after he helped her into the car:

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Sinclair!!

by swparker

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Graham & Katy are Married! {part I}

08.26.2010 at 5:18am Posted in Weddings

Another Charleston wedding! This one was actually right across the street from the church in which Mason & Megan were married the week before. This wedding was also very special because Graham is the son of the man who used to be the amazing pastor of our church before they moved to Clemson, so we knew about half of the guests. PLUS it was so great to see everyone again! I just love this couple. I loved getting to know Katy & Graham- they are precious. From their engagement session in Charleston to Katy’s bridals in Charleston, we have had an absolute blast! Katy & Graham, thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be your photographers. We were honored to be there to capture the most important day of your lives :) . We hope you enjoy your pictures! I am working on part II as we speak!

Another favorite church. Just gorgeous.

Clemson grads:

LOVE the shoes :)

Katy has 2 sisters who are both married. It’s pretty cool when you not only have your mom, but 2 sisters to help you get dressed on your wedding day!

Happy girl!

I love this one of mom and sisters looking at her…

The handsome groom:

I love it when the groomsmen are goofy!

I just think the shoes are super great. I love how the date the church was established made it in the shot :)

Katy was STUNNING.

Off to get married!

Graham’s dad married them, naturally :)

JUST married!

headed to the reception in the cutest Charleston cab EVER

Check back in a few days for part II!

by swparker

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August 26, 2010 - 6:14 am Madison - Sara yall did an amazing job with the pictures! cant wait to see the rest! I love the picture of the congregation and Katy and her dad walking with the old black and white look! And many others too! So great! beautiful job, beautiful wedding!