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Who is Luke Montgomery Media?
Luke Montgomery • October 26, 2021
The Story Behind the Camera
Hey guys! I'm super excited to be posting my first blog. If there is one thing that everyone knows about me, it is that I love to create. I love photos, videos, music, storytelling, and any other outlet that allows me to be creative. I've wanted to start a blog for a while, and I've finally got stories that I am ready to share with y'all—I've already planned out some posts and I can't wait to share! In this first post, however, I wanted to give those of you who maybe have not been following me and my career for a long time, a chance to get to know me and my work better.
I'm from Dallas, Texas and I am currently a student at Dallas Baptist University. It's been a crazy time trying to balance work and school, but I hope to graduate with a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a minor in Mandarin. Currently, the dream is to be able to use my media business as a way to fund my overseas mission journeys in China and wherever else God calls me, but I am open to whatever God has for me. I first fell in love with media in the seventh grade when I took Introduction to Film and Broadcasting. I was instantly mesmerized as I held a DSLR camera for the first time—the feeling was the same as when my parents handed me the keys to a car—I could not wait to see what I could do with it. I took every class on Film and Broadcasting that my middle and high schools offered and gained hands-on experience shooting sports games, events at my church and school, and personal projects.
Needless to say, most of my early experience was in the film and videography world. My favorite project that I worked on was a documentary about my family's history of flying. My grandfather, his son-in-law, and his grandson are all pilots, so I interviewed the two youngest on what it meant to carry on that legacy. Thousands of feet in the air as I captured my b-roll, I knew that I wanted to create for the rest of my life. Then, during my junior year of high school, I made friends with a super gifted photographer in my yearbook class. He was younger than me, but he taught me so much about photography—the basics and the not-so-basics—and eventually, I was able to spread my wings and shoot in manual all by myself.
I started off doing free photoshoots for my friends (mostly for the experience, but I also loved shooting that much) and shortly after that, I started serving at my church as a photographer. This was all great and I loved every minute of it, but it was not making me any money. Then, slowly I began to charge people for my services, $10-$30 at first, and then moved upwards (maybe I'll write a more in-depth blog about how to monetize yourself later). During the Covid outbreak, I officially launched my business as Luke Montgomery Media. I began to shoot for businesses, events, and eventually, moved on to my most recent endeavor: concerts. Concerts are a blast to shoot, and I have been so blessed with the opportunities that I have been offered. Now that I am in college, there are so many opportunities to use my camera whether for organizations, couples, or just someone who wants some amazing photos of themself. I cannot wait to see what else God allows me to do next.
Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have! I love hearing from you all!
-Luke
Shoot with Luke
Wow.
It's been 7 months since I posted on Instagram.
I stepped away early in the summer because I realized that God had a lot of work to do in my life. So, I turned my gaze inward and began a spiritual battle that had needed to be addressed for a long time. I will probably share more about that process in the future, but right now, I am still healing and the Lord is still moving in my life—I don't want to hinder any of that with my own words at the moment.
That being said, the story of Luke Montgomery Media has reached its end. I got into this industry to shoot for Ben Rector and I did that. Along the way, God changed my heart for why I am in this industry in the first place. I started because of what it could do for me, but I'm here now because of what I can do for Him. The next step in that process is removing my name from my work, and I could not be more excited about it. I'm so excited to be launching my new company and publication: Ellium's Spot!
I'd like to pick apart this statement piece by piece starting with "I'd rather worship God." To that, I say Amen! Someone put that on a t-shirt and I'll wear it! Literally, anything could come before that sentence and I would agree. "I'd rather worship God." Let that be how I live my life for the rest of my days here on earth.