New photography business opening soon in Atrium

Sondra Eacker just moved to Havre and opened a family photography business. Eacker and her husband, Anthony, as well as their two children, Aubrey, 8, and Tanner, 6, sold their home in Kalispell and bought a home in Havre this summer.

"We absolutely love it here. We are thrilled to become members of the community... we were looking for a smaller slower pace for our family and Havre is perfect," Eacker said, "My husband is a born-and-raised Montana boy who served his country doing two tours in Iraq during the years of 2001-2009."

Eacker discovered a love for photography that started seven years ago with shooting models at various modeling workshops and functions for a few high-end Montana-based modeling agencies. Gradually, that turned into working with children and local families in outdoor sessions.

"My dream of opening a studio was put on hold during 2020 for obvious reasons, but I was able to find a very small studio space in 2021 where I made my full focus newborns and children and holiday mini sessions," Eacker said, "I absolutely love to get creative, and I make lots of my own props and outfits at home. I have a huge passion for creating fun sessions for my clients. I am so very excited to be able to expand my service in my larger space."

Eacker plans to continue utilizing the techniques she has so far, but also intends on adding a new style of photography.

"I will be doing a monthly theme change that I will be offering as a mini session," Eacker said. "Also, I absolutely always want and strive to be affordable. It's my opinion all families should be able to have professional keep sakes on their walls and shared via social media."

As the school year begins, Eacker and her family settled into Havre before beginning her journey of opening the business.

"Our daughter is 8 years old and just entered second grade and she is really loving the new environment, it's a bit different, wide open and you can see for miles and miles," Eacker said, "She was born into the mountains of the Flathead Valley, but she really has taken to it here."

"Our son, Tanner, is on the autism spectrum and is 6 years old. He is home-schooled and is just truly starting to bloom," Eacker said. "For so many years, this was a boy who had spoken no more than three chosen words at a time, if he wanted. Now, he has quite the little vocabulary and even told a stranger 'thanks' for holding a door open for us the other day. She didn't quite understand why I was so excited over something so small, but it was huge, really."

"I am so very excited to get to work with the great people of Havre. I have already welcomed two brand-new teeny clients here and captured a bump for a mom to be," Eacker said.

The studio is in Suite 404 in The Atrium. Eacker can be reached at 406-471-1596.