Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Mountain.
Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Funny enough, my passion for photography initially started with a high school photoshop class that I took as an elective because I really wanted an easy 4.0 on my grade card. I was wandering around my neighborhood taking pictures of plants and mailboxes and outdoor scenery with no real intent, but I very quickly realized I enjoyed getting to create a story through the images I took. By my junior year of high school, I tried my hand at portraits by taking some senior pictures for my friends. The very first time I got paid for my photos was a $25 check one of my friend’s mothers sent me to thank me for the ‘lovely photos.’ Until that point, it had never occurred to me that people would pay to have their pictures taken, but I liked the idea that someone valued what I had done. I kept giving free shoots to my friends and family to gain some practice in shooting and editing, and soon enough I had accidentally created a client base in my hometown.
I took my skills with me to college and finally felt comfortable charging for my work. The first semester I was a student at Troy University I began offering cheap graduate sessions and surprisingly enough I had started a small business at my school. I invested in some good editing software, made myself a business Instagram account, and came to the realization that maybe photography was what I really wanted to do. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I really tried to get myself involved in the photography community, and when I did was when I really started to blossom. A lot of the photographers I met in Troy were unbelievably kind and willing to share their knowledge and help me expand from senior sessions to families and weddings as well. I began to charge what my work was really worth, and became comfortable trying new things and experimenting with my style.
I started shooting for the newspaper on campus to get some name recognition among the students and then landed an internship with the photography department where my mentor Joey Meredith helped me push my skills into sports, events, and studio photography. I knew by the time I graduated that I had my sights set on Savannah for my new home. I had visited a friend at SCAD and fell in love with the town and the creative people that fill it up and knew immediately this would be the next stop for me. Coming into town in July I met with several other photographers in the area and decided to take the bold step to pursue wedding and elopement photography full-time. It has been a leap of faith that has been stressful at times but so rewarding. Serving the people of Savannah and telling their love stories through photography reminds me that I’m doing everything I should be.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has certainly been a journey full of ups and downs, most especially moving to Savannah and starting over from scratch with very few connections and zero name recognition. Building a business from the ground up is no easy task, and it includes a lot of questioning yourself along the way. I have had a lot of uncertainty about whether or not I’m talented enough, whether or not my prices are reasonable, or whether I’ll be able to stand out among the INSANE amount of talent in this area. A lot of my barriers have been self-made, but thankfully I have very supportive friends and family and have met some seriously incredible photographers who have given me the reassurance I need to not give up.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My photography mainly revolves around weddings, elopements, and couples as helping people tell their love stories is something that fills my heart with some serious joy. I especially want to note that as a queer photographer, I am beyond willing to serve LGBTQ+ couples in the Savannah area as well because I know they might not receive acceptance from every professional and they deserve their love to be celebrated as much as anyone else. Apart from that, I also love shooting with seniors and graduates to help them mark the end of their academic careers in a way that is personalized and special. Something is very rewarding when you get to help people remember the most important days of their lives and the things they have put who knows how many hours of blood, sweat, and tears into. All accomplishments deserve full celebration, and it makes me feel happy to be a part of memorializing that for them.
I am most proud of the fact that I have turned something that was initially a hobby and an easy A into the thing I want to do full time. I might have graduated university with a degree I won’t use, but in the process, I met people who helped me realize what my real dreams and goals were and then helped me achieve them. Like my dad says, nothing worth doing comes easily and I am very proud of myself for realizing what my ambitions were and not letting anything come in the way of achieving them.
If anything sets me apart from others in my field, it’s that I fully invest in my clients and make sure that a project isn’t just my vision: it’s ours. When I sit down to meet with a couple for their wedding, the first thing I ask is if they’d be willing to share their story with me. I want to get a full understanding of who my clients are and what journey they’ve been on to get them to this point in their lives. Hearing a graduate talk about the things they are the most proud of over the last four years or a couple tell me what makes their love special is something I take into account when capturing their photos. Photography isn’t just showing up and posing, it’s telling a story through images, and I want the people who see my photos to feel something when they look at them.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love that our city it packed to the brim with creativity. I mean, it is just overflowing with people who want to have a lasting impact through art. From fashion to photography to filmmaking to graphic design, there is not a single person I have met who hasn’t inspired me with their corner of the artistic world. There’s something beautiful about being a creative because no one’s work is exactly like yours, and everyone can benefit from learning from one another.
The only thing I struggle with in Savannah is how much I seem to see little care for the environment around downtown. There is so much litter that pollutes the beautiful green spaces that we have around the city, and it breaks my heart to see it! I think individuals could surely do their part to keep Savannah beautiful a bit more. That, and the never-ending construction o Broughton Street.
Pricing:
- Wedding packages start at $1800
- Couples and engagements start at $350
- Individuals and seniors start at $300
Contact Info:
- Email: smtnphoto@gmail.com
- Website: https://sarahmountainphotography.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmtnphotog/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahmtnphotog
Image Credits
Brianna Rose DiGiorgio Photography
