Her passion is photography – capturing moments of people in nature and life. She is Abbie Carter Franklin, living the “picture-perfect life”.
“The work that I can create expresses a part of who God made me to be in ways that make it difficult to put into words. Simply put, He created me to photograph people,” Franklin said about her photographs.
From a very young age, Franklin knew she wanted to photograph people. She believes her photography tells the story of people’s lives and the beauty found in fleeting moments. “It is a way to help others connect to the person or memory captured in a single frame,” Franklin added.
In high school, the senior photographer taught her how to use a camera when she was in the eighth grade. Later, that same photographer gave her a job during her senior year of high school.
“She helped me take the desire for photographing people and turn it into a full-blown passion. I left for college bright-eyed and ready to conquer the photography world soon after.”
Abbie attended Winthrop University and North Georgia Technical College, both for photography. While in college she interned with a very high-end portrait photographer in Phipps Plaza. She later worked for a fashion photographer for two years before opening her studio 16 years ago, CARTERelite.
Franklin grew up in Hemingway, South Carolina. Her ties to Habersham are strong. She married David Franklin, son of Pastor Mike, (The Torch in Demorest) and Dr. Connie Franklin, Stephens County Superintendent. She and David have two children and a dog who thinks he is human.
“I’m often asked why I love to photograph people so much, and that is a complex answer. It is my mission to make sure that every person who trusts me enough to sit in front of my camera walks away from our time together feeling so loved and seen,” Franklin explained.
For Franklin, photography is so much more than a job-for-hire. Each client matters and if she gets an hour and a half to pour into their lives, she wants them to feel like the most valuable person when that time ends.
Her photography is sought after by many because of her unique ability to capture the character of those she photographs. Abbie finds the person through the lens of her camera. The pictures she produces speak about the personality, the emotion, the love, and the hidden thoughts of those she photographs.
Abbie’s faith is the center point in her life. The scripture that directs her life is Mark 12:30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Franklin wants to live her life to love God and to love others.
“While creating beautiful images of people is a gift that I treasure, I pray that when my clients look back at the moments captured by my camera years from now, they remember how loved they felt in that moment.”
