So far this blog has been a mix of my family portrait photography, a handful of wedding, personal + travel, and live music. I realize that this is a little ridiculous and it’s kind of confusing to scroll through the fun+upbeat+happy+colorful portraits and then be slapped in the face with mostly black+white+moody live music moments. It’s such a weird thing trying to compartmentalize all of these things that I love so much, but I’m working on it and have decided that it does make sense to create different sites for different things.

Here’s how it’s going down!

This blog, saramontour.com/blog, is still going to be the main little hub, but most of the posts are going to be of my awesome family portrait clients. I’ll also post the handful of weddings I take on each year and personal posts of the ridiculous things Scott and I get in to. This will include some travel photos, but most of those will end up on The Vagabond Bond.

I’ve reactivated my live music website, saramontourlovesmusic.com (YAY!), and I’ve made a brand new tumblr blog, saralovesmusic.tumblr.com, where I’ll post all of the concerts that I shoot. I’ve imported the shows from the past couple of months, and I’ll post more from the archives as new posts.

I’m also going to try to make one post a week on this blog that has a wrap up of everything I’ve posted around the web.

I know this is all crazy and probably confusing. I ALSO know that I’m probably the only one that is really concerned with The State Of My Blogs, but… there you have it.

Hey, Minnesota! I’m coming back to shoot an awesome wedding and soak in the Minnesota summer sun; I’m also so excited to offer Minnesota photo sessions at a ridiculously sweet price.

$150 for about an hour-long session
I’ll process the top moments and put them in an online proofing+ordering gallery for you and your family
You’ll also get to pick your 5 favorites to keep forever as high resolution files

My schedule for being in Minnesota is:
6/21-6/22 . Crosslake + Pequot Lakes area
6/23 . Duluth
6/24-6/27 . Minneapolis + Saint Paul

Times are already filling up, so if you’re interested in a shoot PLEASE contacted me ASAP so we can try to find a time that works. There’s a possibility that I’ll be staying a little bit longer than that, and will have more availability, so let me know if those days don’t work for you.

I can’t wait!

(this post will stay at the top until I come back from Minnesota, so if you’re looking for new stuff, scroll down!)

I was interviewed by the amazing Dan Miles over on the Vagabond Bond. He rocked my world with some great questions and it was fun, and good, for me to really think about some of these things.

give me some advice on life you’ve learned, any advice at all.

Breathe. It’s easy to get worked up and overwhelmed by the here+now, but we all need to realize that we’re going to make it through everything that’s happening in our lives. What’s the alternative? If you take what’s worrying you the most, think of the worst-case scenario, and make a plan for THAT. Realize that you’d find a way to push through it, and it doesn’t seem so scary anymore.

Later is always tomorrow until you make it today.

Jump over to the VBB to read the rest!

The sun is starting to shine more, the wind isn’t as frigid, and I’m getting SO EXCITED for summer. My dresses are hanging out, just waiting to be worn. My camera also has a little bit of spring fever and is ready to rock, so I think the combination of great weather, our new downtown location, my camera, and your smilin’ face sounds pretty perfect.

That means it’s time for spring mini-sessions! Mini-sessions are held around our downtown loft and are each 20 minutes long. They’re only $100 and you get to choose your 5 favorite moments to be saved as high resolution files that you can keep and use forever to print as many times as you’d like.

Spots are limited, so connect with me ASAP for more information and to reserve your time.

This is an awesome live/work space, which means that it’s going to be the home for Sara Montour Photography, as well. From my photos you can tell that I prefer to shoot outdoors. Laura and I had 3 different studios during our BeeTour years and always laughed about it because we would meet at the studio and then immediately go outside to shoot. This is the best of both worlds. A great place to meet and hang out (escape from the rain), pick up orders, view your photos, but when it’s time to shoot we head out to our location. Photography has always been such a personal thing for me and one of the most important aspects of it is the connection. The connection between the people that I’m photographing, and the connection between me and those people. I’d rather get to really know you than just book a session, hand you your photos, and send you on your way. I also KNOW that building that connection allows me to capture much better raw+real moments during your sessions. I love that now I’m able to bring you into my home, my space, and share that with you, as well.

We’re going to be having a studio opening/house warming/excuse for a photo booth sometime in the next couple of months, so if you want to know the details drop me a line here or in the comments and I’ll keep you updated (pinky promise not to send you SPAM).

I’m going to do another WHERE WE STAY post on the Vagabond Bond once we get all of our stuff moved in, but if you want to see it I did post a few cell phone photos on facebook and I’m sure I’ll be posting more soon (I can’t help it; I’m so excited!).

Ok, I can’t resist. Here’s one:

Wha?! Spiral staircase? Yes, please! Green wall? Yes, please! Skylight? Yes, please! Ridiculously high ceilings with giant windows at the top? SWOON.

Scott and I are fighting the urge to go full Big in this place; trampoline and all.

How about some photos? Scott and I wandered around outside the Tacoma Museum of Glass in December and I realized that I never shared these moments. Enjoy!

what inspires YOU?

These can be purchased here, can be used for session fees, prints, or products, and I’ll mail a free one to the first person to comment with their current favorite song. Ready, Set, Go!

(I’m super sick right now, so there’s a good chance I’ll mail one to multiple people if you provide a song that rocks my world hard enough)

Happy Monday!

Last week I was asked to photograph the Seattle Helping Haiti benefit concert and jumped at the chance. It’s in no way possible for me to understand what the people of Haiti are going through right now. A lot of my family members were in the Dominican Republic when the earthquake hit and that shook me enough, I can’t even imagine what’s happening down there. The Big Picture photos of the earthquake, 48 hours later, 6 days later, the faces of Haiti, and 3 weeks later are core shakers to say the least.

Our world travels so fast now. Today’s news is quickly forgotten as we consume the latest in what’s going on in the world and it’s easy for really important things to get buried. We’ve all heard about Haiti so much that it’s easy for us to pay less and less attention, but there’s so much more that needs to be done.

I’m going to be posting photos from the Seattle Helping Haiti event for the next week, and during that time all of the profits from my etsy, redbubble, and photoshelter sites, along with all of the profits from photo shoots booked during this week, will go straight to Haiti via Partners in Health. PIH has been working in Haiti for over 20 years, they have low administrative costs (so more of your money actually makes it to Haiti), and I trust their knowledge and resources there.

So! Spread the word, buy some prints, book some shoots, and check back over the next week to see all of the photos from the Seattle Helping Haiti event. <3

The silent auction items were RIDICULOUS

(although, as a Minnesota girl, I don’t really want to talk about football right now)

This is such an interesting time for photography and creative types of any genre. It seems as though EVERYTHING has changed in the past 5 years and right now it’s in a stage where we’ve hit reset on all of the rules and we’re forced to create them all over again. This is both terrifying and incredibly exciting, and I’m constantly inspired by the people that are choosing (choosing . life is a choice) to grab this time and run with it.

I’m currently working from my bed in Tacoma because I just moved here and haven’t purchased a desk yet. I’m rebuilding a photo business from scratch here after spending 4 years building one in Minneapolis. This isn’t easy, it’s not going to be easy for a very long time, but it doesn’t matter in the slightest. This is what I’m choosing to do regardless of the struggle because it’s what makes me come alive. I treasure moments more than anything. Those split seconds where your heart smiles uncontrollably and you know a part of you has changed, if even just a little bit. This is my job. I get to capture that. I have this insane device that lets me stop time, stop moments, and hold them forever. That’s what makes me come alive. What makes you come alive (this isn’t rhetorical, I really want to know)?

We can either sit here and be confused at where to go to next, we can be mad that other people are breaking ‘the rules’ and are getting to where we want to be faster or . or .

or we can grab life and make the most of it. We can kick asses without taking names because we don’t have the time to look back. We can grab every opportunity and cruise past every set-back. It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be better than easy, it’s going to be YOURS.

You need to live your dream, friends, because if you don’t, who will?

Here are a few links to get you started. I’ll add more as I find them, but these are the ones that are in my heart right now. If you have any links or tips please put them in the comments.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s TEDTalk on Creative Genius
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Nick Onken . Adapt & Change or Get Left Behind
http://www.nickonkenconnection.com/shoptalk/2010/01/new-school-vs-old-school-adapt-change-or-get-left-behind.html

Chase Jarvis . Create-Share-Sustain
http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2009/12/create-share-sustain.html

Dan Miles . Are You Comfortable? Then Get UN
http://dnmonster.tumblr.com/post/319280771/are-you-comfortable-then-get-un-what-the-use

What’s your dream and how are you going to help yourself live it?

So, check it out! My new session is confusion-free and chalk-full of awesomeness:

That’s right. 1 price: $450. With that you get a giant 1-2 hour portrait session with everything I offered before, but . and here’s the awesome part . you also get a couple more things.

1. A 12×18 wall print. We’re all so stuck on 8x10s being “the BIG print”, and having a jillion 4x6s and 5x7s shoved in boxes and albums. I think moments need to be displayed, and 12×18 is my very favorite size for a wall portrait. It’s big enough to grab attention and stand out, but it doesn’t take over the whole room.

The only thing you have to choose in this entire session is whether you want canvas or bamboo for your 12×18. Pretty easy, huh? Of course, you can still order any prints+products that you’d like, but you don’t have to do crazy math to figure out which package makes more sense for you and your family.

2. This is pretty huge and awesome. You also get the high resolution edited files to preserve and print any time you want. You can make life-size cardboard cutouts of your entire family if you so desire. I’ll also resize all of them and optimize the colors and sharpness so you can share them with friends+family online.

How about that?! I’m so excited for 2010 and can’t wait to meet you and create some beautiful moments.

If you want to book a session (you know you do!), have any questions, or just want to say hello, contact me here and we’ll get started!

Happy New Year!

It only makes sense to combine my instant love with the PNW with my other love, photography! Everywhere I look I see a photo opportunity and I’m so excited to capture some moments for everyone here, so I want to offer a one-time special to my new community.

Book before the end of the year and get another shoot for free!

You can either keep the extra shoot for yourself or you can share your extra shoot with a friend and split the cost! Both of your sessions can be scheduled any time in 2010. This special only lasts until the end of the year, so hurry hurry!

Use your extra shoot for anything you’d like. Capture your family’s moments in 2 different seasons, use them for maternity+newborn sessions, watch how your baby grows, get headshots, high school seniors can have sessions with two totally different looks, save one for holiday cards next year, capture yourself in all of your awesomeness, save money and share your sessions with a friend, or gift your extra session to another family for the holidays.

Are you ready?!
Head to my website to view more photos, information, and fill out the contact form so I know you’re interested. I can’t wait to meet you!

*psst… look here… want a little more? Retweet this and get a free 8×12 metallic print for each session. saramontourlovestwitter!*