Momohara grew up near Seattle, Washington USA and earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography and her Bachelors of Arts in Art History from the University of Washington. She went on to receive her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas. She is Associate Professor of Art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati where she heads the photography major. Momohara has exhibited her artwork internationally, most notably at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, USA and the Changjiang  Photography and Video Biennial at the Changjiang Museum of Contemporary Art in Chongqing, China. She has been a visiting artist at several residency programs including the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Headlands Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center and Red Gate Gallery Beijing.