Hello there.

You've made your way through the sea of photographers (we have an abundant population!) and my work caught your eye and your here to see who this person is. I'm so glad you are here, let's get acquainted.

My name is Amanda Montgomery and I am Arrae Photography based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The name Arrae (pronounced [uh-rey]) came from my first initial and my middle name, Rae, added an extra r and made a new word. I wanted something unique that was also me, the idea came to mind one day and it just fit.

Being a photographer is all I've ever wanted to do with my life. When I was 12 I saved up my babysitting money to buy my first 'big time' camera. I formed Arrae Photography in 2003 as a part-time venture while I worked at local photo labs, went full time in 2008. I'm a born and raised West Michigan girl (Zeeland specifically), though I dabbled slightly with being a Californian it didn't stick. Grand Rapids has always felt like home, though its only been for 14 years now, I adore this city and it's my forever home now. I live in the Alger Heights neighborhood with my three darling children, my love and best friend Tim, and jungle cat Muriel.

I am genuinely curious about everyone I meet and I'm likely to ask too many questions of those that I cross paths with. Human bonds, psychology, and the science of love and personality fascinate me. We all have big feelings and big dreams, my goal is to capture tiny moments of these that encapsulate my subjects' personality and story.

This is just a bit of my story, I look forward to hearing yours. Ideally over mall pretzels.