And One More Makes Three !

When I was driving to my most recent shoot, I was thinking to myself, hummmm maybe I should have another baby. My youngest is almost four and I always thought I would have three kids... hummmm..... OK, I brought myself back to reality before I got there and realized that two is a great number for me. We are healthy and happy and life is good.

Then... I arrived and met Layton. The third boy to enter his family.
All right, maybe I do need another baby!!! Seeing this little guy made me really miss when my girls were this age. Now, do not get me wrong, I am completely enjoying sleeping uninterrupted through the night (for the most part)... but ahhhh look at this little cutie....
I had so much fun watching Layton and his family interact. They were all so enamored by him. They could hardly look away from him for me to take a photo. I love that. This little guy is the center of their world.I did this newborn shoot a bit different than I usually do. Typically most of the images of a newborn session are of the newborn alone, but this family inspired me to try something new. I could already see that in his first two weeks of life, Layton has had a huge impact on each member of his family. In this session, almost all of the images are of Layton, but in almost all of them, he is being held by a different member of the family. I think that this is my favorite family shot that I took. I love how they are soaking each other up. I feel like I can almost read each of their minds as they look at their new baby and each other and think about how their lives have changed and about the exciting times to come.Of course, this is fun too. What handsome little guys...
I loved to see each family member and watch them bond with this new little guy. Of course Mom was wonderful. Lisa was so calm and content. It seemed as though this little babe had always been a member of her family. Big brothers.... Jackson already has experience at being a big brother, and the comfort he felt with this new and fragile little baby was adorable. He was so sweet with Layton. Always wanting to hold him, touch his soft hair and kiss his sweet head. Layton is lucky to have a big brother like this.And now Kyle.... he was the baby of the family up until two weeks ago. He suddenly seems so grown up. He will thrive on the experience of being a big brother. I loved watching how proud he was when he held his brother. He is growing up and I think he knows it. And Last for Layton's daddy... we got some really great shots of the two of them. I loved seeing Ruben hold his newest son. He could not disguise the love he has for this new child.What a great family! Thank you guys for letting me come and spend the morning with you. I loved meeting Layton and seeing the changes in your family since God blessed you with him. Your home is going to be filled with noise, toys, light savers, wrestling and love. I can not wait to see these boys grow up!

Fourth Grade Friends

I was fortunate to have the chance to meet up with an old friend for a photo session the other day. Rachael and I met in 4th grade... I had just come to Washington from Alaska and we met in school. We remained friends all the way through high school. Years have passed now, and it was really fun to reconnect with her, meet her beautiful kiddos and spend some time with her husband.Even though many years have passed that I was not in contact with Rachael, it was amazing how easy it was to reconnect with her. Rachael and I went through a lot together over the years, and I am so happy and proud of the person she has become. It was an honor to take these photos, thank you!Her two little ones are adorable, and they were so much fun! They better lock their doors when this blonde blue eyed cutie gets a little older!She will however have an older brother around to help keep her safe!This little guys infectious smile and sense of humor had me laughing all the way home from the session.The next two images are a couple of my favorites from the session. They are so quiet, so powerful. No one is looking at the camera, no one is looking at the beautiful setting we are in, no one is smiling at me, BUT you can feel the deep and sincere emotion in each person. This little girl can feel the warmth and security of her daddy's breath on her arm, and he can feel the soft touch of her hand on his back as she rests her chin on his shoulder.I love how happy a child gets from a good hug. Sam's feet are off the ground and he can hardly contain his happiness from this hug! I can almost feel her tight squeeze as she quickly contemplates if there is any way to keep him from growing up. What a pleasure it was to spend some time with you guys at the beach. I am glad that I could stop chit chatting with you guys long enough to capture some great moments for your family! I hope you enjoy these for years to come!

Life After the Flu and a Sneak Peak for Jodi!

Life has been busy around here. The flu has been visiting our home! YUK! Immediately after we covered from the flu, we were headed out for a camping trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon. I am so glad that we were well enough to travel to Cannon Beach because it was amazing!!! There were horse rides, sandcastle competitions, great weather, kite flying, campfires, and the list goes on. Now, we are back, recovered and looking at the HUGE mess that is our home. YIKES! Well... it was worth it.

I did fall a bit behind on my editing, so this post is really for Jodi. I had the opportunity to meet her family a couple of weekends ago. She has been patiently waiting to see the images from our session, so I thought I would give her a sneak peak on the blog.She has a busy home. It reminds me of my own home a few years ago. Two little girls who are as beautiful as can be and going in opposite directions all of the time. Those were wonderful days that I would not trade for any amount of money.It was fun to capture all of their different emotions and see this great family interact. They were so laid back and welcoming. It was a pleasure to spend the morning with them.OK... could these two girls be any more adorable?!
I think that these next two images are some of my favorites from the day. When I am able to look deep into a child's eyes, I feel like I can hear their spirit. There is no smile.... but the emotions of these thoughtful little ones spill out of the image and right into my heart.What a privilege it is for me to be able to see into this part of their personalities.

I hope that you guys enjoy this sneak peak of the images from our session! More to come soon!

Listening To The Leaves

My sister and her husband have suffered a devastating loss in their family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they begin to recover from the loss of Joe's son. Adam, was just 23, and the world will miss this wonderful young man.

Today was the memorial service for Adam... It was in Vermont, and I was unable to attend, but I have been thinking about him all day. I walked around my yard with my camera and looked at things in a bit of a different light.

I looked deeper into the flowers....
I looked closer at the leaves...
I thought about the family that lived in this nest... it felt like each leaf, each branch, each petal were quietly whispering their own story to me as I passed them by.
Joe and Kaia... I will be praying for you.

A New Addition

There has been a new addition to Sara Montgomery Photography. We have a new baby!.... a Mac...... I am so excited to say this beautiful 20 inch flat panel monitor and fancy pants G 5 tower will now be processing your fabulous images!!!

The story behind this fabulous new addition is even better than the computer itself. I went to Olympia on Mother's day weekend to spend some time with my family. I was completely SHOCKED to find out that my amazing family came together and surprised me with this computer as a gift.

I am still very humbled by this gift. I have been drooling over Macs for years. I am so excited to learn this new system... so excited to start some more advanced processing on my images and SO excited to dive into all of the features of this GREAT computer.

I really REALLY need to thank my family.

Thank you for being so generous, for seeing potential in me and my love for photography. Thank you for the role that each of you have played in my life over the years and the relationships that I have with each of you. I LOVE YOU ALL.

From Maternity to Mommy

When I was pregnant, I felt a bit insecure about my size and my huge tummy, and I would shy away from anyone who wanted to take a photograph of me. Today, when I think back about my pregnancies, I wish I had more photographs. More images to help bring my memories to surface. OK, so maybe I do not want to remember much of the first five months when I could barely survive the nausea, but I sure do wish I could feel the flutter of my little girls wiggling around in my tummy. If it was as I remember, Ava would lay around almost all day and move slowly with a few big rolls and somersaults every once in awhile. And Olivia... Olivia would be doing gymnastics all night long in there as if she was planning on winning a gold medal on the floor exercise.

I think this is one of the reasons I love doing maternity sessions. I do not want other mothers to miss out on capturing these moments. I want them to feel as beautiful as they look. A few years back, I worked as a nurse in the birthing center. It was an amazing experience for me. I loved helping parents and families through the experience of welcoming a new child into the world. I found myself near tears every time I heard the first breath of a newborn. Now, I love helping families preserve those first moments forever through photography. I am LUCKY!

A few months ago I had the chance to have a session just like this with a family of three getting ready to expect number 4.... a boy! After we took some great family images, just mom and I headed out to the beach for some great maternity portrait shots. We had a beautiful day in February, and we took advantage of it. This mom was such a trooper... even though it looks beautiful, it was still a bit chilly... thank goodness she had some extra hormones to help keep her a bit warmer!
There are so many great images from this maternity session, it was hard to pick out which ones to share. These however are a couple of my favorites. I love this one because I can see the excitement and curiosity on the face of soon to be big sister...I can see the quiet confidence in a daddy's smile...
... and the calm security of a mother's hand as she holds her tummy and new babe.
Not only was I blessed with the opportunity to have this maternity session, but just days after it was over, I was invited up to the hospital for a newborn session. It is always an honor to come shoot a newborn at the hospital, but this time was especially amazing. This family waited to introduce their new prince to his sister until I was there to take photos of the meeting!

Hospitals can provide some rather challenging situations for a portrait session, we are always somewhat limited with lighting and location, but every time I do one of these sessions, I realize how amazing they are. We always end up capturing once in a lifetime images. This time however, we had everything on our side... a brand new baby boy, a gorgeous family, and a beautiful city... When you look at these images, most of them you would never guess were at a hospital.

How much would you have given to have this be a view out of your hospital window! I was totally jealous! I am actually pretty surprised that I got this shot through a window!
I love this image of daddy with his new son.
It was so fun to watch everyone explore this new little guy.... look at his cute lips and the shape of his tiny knees, he is a complete miracle.I love the swirl on the top of a newborn's head....OK.... check out these big eyes. I love this little girl. She entertained me all day with her silly smiles, her unicorn, and the sweet kisses she gave her new brother.And last but not least... some family photos. I love these images. I love how dad is looking at his new son while mom is looking at her little girl as a "big girl" for the first time.
This next image I love for very similar reasons.... this time the momma and daughter are looking down at this beautiful new baby in awe while daddy is loving his girls.I wish you all the best as you begin your life as a family of four with this little guy. Enjoy the sleepless nights, the first smiles and giggles, the tiny toes and soft cheeks... Thank you for sharing this special time with me!