Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope that you and your little ghouls and goblins have a wonderful Halloween full of tricks and treats! At our home, we have one stunning Vampire....And a little orphan Annie who is ready for Broadway! If you want some GREAT tips for taking Halloween photos of your kids, check out Me Ra Koh's blog. I love her blog and follow it regularly for photo tips and encouraging words for daily life. Check it out!

I wanted to share a few of the images from our Pumpkin Patch Photo Shoot that we had a few weeks ago at Maris Farms in Buckley, WA. First off let me say, WOW.... that is quite a farm. They had pony rides, monster truck rides, a HUGE jumping pillow, tons of pumpkins, pig races, tractor rides, corn cannons, pumpkin shooters.... we could have spent the entire day there!I LOVED watching one of my favorite little kiddos trying to pick up pumpkins. The determination, the strength, the humor.... so funny!Who ever said you can not get great portraits at the pumpkin patch. This shot of Courtney is gorgeous, and just wait, in a few weeks, you will get to see more of Courtney.... after we finished at the pumpkin patch, we headed out for her senior portrait session.Her little sister snuck in a couple photos as well. These girls are beautiful!I have known these two twins since the day they were born and now they are 7! Yikes, time flies! Here is a link to one of the photo sessions we had when they were 5.... Click Here...I love the toothy grin!
It is so hard to choose the right pumpkin! Have a wonderful, safe, spooky and hopefully dry Halloween!

Sara Montgomery Photography Holiday Special 2009!

The holidays are coming, and without further ado.... let me announce that the Holiday Special is available. Last year I had so much success with it that I am really excited to do it again! Make sure you email me, sara@saramontgomeryphoto.com, or call me to set up a holiday session today! Lets get those family shots or maybe just images of your kiddos. You will be ready to make your holiday cards in no time!

I am thrilled to announce that this year $50 from every holiday session , and regular portrait session, booked before the end of 2009 will be donated to an AMAZING foundation, the SAFI SCHOOL PROJECT. The Safi Foundation was started right here in Washington state, in Olympia, and is reaching children and families all the way in Tanzania Africa. The Safi foundation builds schools one at a time... helps children get books, sponsors children, pays teachers, provides water purification systems, builds gardens, and more. Click on this link to read more about the projects that this amazing organization does to help the people of Tanzania.

We are working with this organization within our family through our LIVE WITH GRACE program. LIVE WITH GRACE is a program we started in our family to help teach our children about the importance of being grateful and the joy in giving. It is a fun way for us to all become more aware of the situation in the world around us and even in our community. Please take some time and read more about LIVE WITH GRACE , and find out how you and your family can become involved too!

The girls will raise money penny by penny for The Safi Foundation, and I am going to do my part as well. That is why I am going to donate $50 from each holiday session (and any regular portrait session for the remainder of 2009) to this fabulous organization. The price of the holiday session is going to be $125. For this price, you will receive:

• 30 minute session at the location of your choice.
  
• 10 images on disc with copyright release.
• All of the images will also be available for you on www.pictage.com (the on-line professional developer that I use) for you to view, share or purchase prints or products.

I am really excited about this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people in Tanzania, the lives of the people in my family, and my own life! The holiday special will expire at the end of 2009, so don't wait.... space is limited and the clock is ticking! I hope to hear from you soon!

Photos of Your Pumpkins with their Pumpkins!

This time of year is so much fun. I love the brisk air, the crunchy leaves, the hot chocolate.... and of course the PUMPKINS! I love, love, LOVE going to the pumpkin patch each year. I think I may enjoy it just as much as the kids. This will be the third year that we have taken Sara Montgomery Photography to the pumpkin patch, and I am just as excited as always to see you all down there!I am going to change it up a bit this year. This year we are going to be at Maris Farms in Buckley, Washington. I will be there for two hours from 1000-1200 on the 17th of October to shoot photos of your little pumpkins! I am so excited to visit this farm. Peak through their web site and you will be too! All you need to do to join us is email me at sara@saramontgomeryphoto.com or call me to let me know you want to come. That is it!
There is a minimal entrance fee to Maris Farms, but it looks like it is well worth it. Click here to see more information on their prices and schedules. There is no session fee for the photo session. I will place all of your photos online at Pictage for you. You can view them, share them with friends and family, and order them from Pictage directly.

Come hang out with us.... come eat caramel apples with us, get lost in the corn maze, visit the courtyard for children, go on a hay ride, tip a cow, watch the pig races (which benefits St Jude's Children's Hospital).... come play! Remember.... make sure to email me or call me to let me know you will be there.

Need directions? ***Click Here***

Come get photos of your little pumpkins with us... while they still look sweet and adorable like this.....Don't wait until it is too late.... you may end up with this...One more thing..... as I say each year.... this event is weather permitting. Should we be having one of our lovely rainy, wet and muddy northwest fall days we will have to reschedule .... SEE YOU AT THE PATCH!

Beautiful New Life

This evening, after I forced some squash and peppers in the kids.... after Olivia pulled the cat in the bathtub while simultaneously beheading her favorite Ariel mermaid bath toy.... and after a one hour snuggle due to monsters under the bed, I sat down to edit these images. These images were taken this morning in Olympia. Going through some of these images was the perfect way to end my night. Meet Toby.
Toby is the son of a friend on mine.... someone I have known for nearly 20 years........He married a beautiful woman that we went to college with. They are a great couple and nearly 12 weeks ago, they were blessed with their first child.Life has changed for them. It was fun to visit with them and to watch them with their new son. Even though my girls are only 4 and 6 years old, they seem light years away from this newborn stage of life. We exchanged some "lack of sleep" horror stories and played with Toby all morning.I was so excited to get these great shots of all of Toby's tiny features....like his little piggies....And his sweet hands....And of course his bum....Toby's parents are totally in love with him... it is easy to see why... This next image is what we worked all morning for.... this amazing smile! What an absolutely handsome little guy they have on their hands. Thank you Scott and Kim for inviting me into your home, I had a great time meeting Toby and catching up!

Watch Her Grow, Brooke Is Six Months Old!

Summer is almost over. It has flown by! Before I had a kiddo in school...spring, summer and fall would all sort of over lap and some how it seemed to last longer. We are off on our last summer camping trip this weekend, but before we go, I wanted to share images from little Brooke and her family at her 6 month session. We had such a great morning doing this shoot. They could not have selected a better location for the session. I can not wait for you to see the images.We got some beautiful shots of Brooke and her parents. I am a third child just like Brooke, and I am really proud of these guys for getting out there and taking all of these images of this little cutie.
Beautiful family.... I do not need to say anything else...

This family is just amazing, and I am all ready looking forward to seeing them again at Brooke's one year session!!! Thank you again for allowing me to share this time with your family, and I hope you enjoy the slide show!!! If you would like to hear music during the slide show, click on the speaker!

Watching A Family Grow Through The First Year

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to a beautiful place for a photo shoot. Have you been to the Tumwater Falls? I have been to Olympia COUNTLESS times, and I was shocked to find this amazing place just seconds off of the freeway. I am going to have some serious talks with my family (since many of them live there) as to why I had never been there before!

I was there for a 6 month session for beautiful baby Brooke. Brooke's parents selected the Watch Me Grow package . The Watch Me Grow package is quite possibly my favorite thing to do with photography. I have the opportunity to meet a family with a newborn and come back two more times during the first year to document all of the "firsts" and amazing changes that occur during those precious 12 months. I love being able to spend all of this time with the same family and the same children. With three sessions in one year, I feel like I really get the chance to bond with these families and I consider them friends of mine. What an honor it is for me to do this! I am a lucky gal!

So.... the teaser photo for the 6 month session is behind my blog title.... it is one of my favorites. I will tell you the story about that image in the next post. I could NOT post any other photos of this 6 month session before I shared images from little Brooke and her gorgeous family when she was a newborn.
This family is just amazing, and we had a great spring day for this first session...
We started indoors in the master bedroom... the light was beautiful in their bedroom, and I just loved watching Brooke all snuggled up on that big bed!This image is one of my favorites.... I just love how new she looks. I feel like she still could be inside her mama's tummy.... not a care in the world.... totally relaxed..... totally safe.

No one could get enough of this new little addition to the family. She is so tiny, so perfect, what a blessing.... I wonder what Brooke's big brother and sister are thinking?
How amazing is it that these kiddos watched little Brooke grow inside their mama's tummy and them wham!... there she was in their home.... they could touch her, hold her, hug and kiss her. They were so accepting and loving towards her, you would have thought Brooke had always been a part of their lives....Thank you to Brooke's family for allowing me into your life and your home! It has been a lot of fun. I can not wait to share the new images from the six month session in the next week!

Do you remember Miss Zoey?

Miss Zoey is two now.... do you remember Miss Zoey?
Who can forget those cheeks and those big brown eyes. I have been fortunate enough to take photos of her all the way back to the day she was born. I was at the hospital to document her birth, and I have taken her photo on numerous occasions since then. It has been so much fun to watch her grow. *** Click Here *** to see photos of Zoey when she was just a few months old.One of Zoey's favorite things to do is to pick strawberries. I love these images of her picking out her favorite strawberry. This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post about trying to capture those things that happen daily that we sometimes take for granted. Her parents will always want to remember her squatting down to pick out the best berry.Hopefully they will be able to look back on these images and remember the smile on her face as those strawberries dripped down her chin and squished between her fingers.

Zoey has a great yard with soft blue flowers that cover a little walkway where she runs and plays.
There was a tiny rock wall where she sat and pondered all of the things that are most important to a two year old. Don't you wonder what they are thinking about? Oh... wait, that deep thought was fleeting, soon she was smiling up a storm again...Happy birthday Miss Zoey!