Cannot Wait to Meet You...
"Cannot wait to meet you" are the words that roll off every new parents lips waiting in anticipation to meet their first ever creation! To meet their very own little person! For some the anticipation is even greater if they have chosen not to find out the sex of the child... which is exactly what this 'mumma-to-be' and her hubby decided. Only a few weeks away from finding out that exciting news of the baby you have been carrying around for the past 40 weeks (give or take) is boy or a girl! Such an exciting feeling!
I'll never forget when my sister and her husband fell pregnant with their first child and we asked if they were going to find out if they were having a boy of a girl. My brother-in-law looked at me direct and said, "Sal, you don't get too many good surprises in life anymore, so I think we'll wait and see!" And I couldn't have agreed with him any more. That's not to say that I'm not ok with people that do find out - totally each to their own! It's your little journey and you choose whichever path you would like to! Either way, it's your little creation in there and sooner rather than later you are going to get to meet them!
Below you'll see how I carry out my pregnancy sessions. I pretty much start my sessions very casually and then see how my soon-to-be-new-mum is feeling and if she wants to get a little more creative or "risqué" as Julie and laughed about. Jules was an absolute delight to photograph. She was pretty much up for anything. She had done a bit of research prior to our session, so I knew exactly the style of photos she was hoping to create with me... and let me tell you this, we had so much fun creating this gorgeous portfolio of images!
I can't encourage women enough to seriously think about having a portrait session of themselves whilst they are pregnant. Becoming pregnant is really not as easy as what many people are led to believe. Nowadays there are so many obstacles that both women and men may need to jump through in order of becoming pregnant... fertility issues, constant miscarriages, endometriosis just to name a few - it's not only stressful but it is really heartbreaking. Pregnancy is something that should be embraced, there's a little baby in that belly of yours - love the way your body has changed throughout the past 40 weeks.
With all this being said, when it comes to sharing photos of these types of sessions on social media, I always seek permission from my clients. Some are ok with it, some are not and that I can completely understand. This style of photography is very personal for any woman, and if you want to keep these photos for your own personal collection, that is ok too. I'm truly blessed that Julie was happy for me to write this blog and share her experience through the images with my followers. Pregnancy sessions are up there with one of my favourite portrait sessions to photograph.
So please, if you are thinking about having some photos taken either drop me a line at through my contact page or give me a buzz on my mobile 0406 426 077. I would love to hear about your journey thus far and speak about a possible portrait session!
As always - Big love
Sal x
Gus Turns One! Cake Smash and all...
If you are a mum this little intro will be all too familiar... if becoming a mum or thinking about being a mum... wherever you are at in your life journey... if you think life is going fast now - let me tell you, life with a child goes by like you're running a 100 metre sprint 50 times a day! Life without is perhaps like running a marathon and stopping for a long as you like at each drink station for a chat!
When I was pregnant with my little Tasma (she's 18 months this week!) I would hear a lot from mums and dads alike that "time goes so fast when you have kids - make the most of it!" and every time I heard it I used to roll my eyes as if to say 'yeah yeah yeah, I've been told this 1000 times over!' Truth be told they were so right! Kills me to say that!
From the minute a baby is born, life changes from being all about us, to all about the baby. Time revolves around the Feed, Change Nappy, Feed, Sleep schedule. Sleeps go from something like four sleeps during the day, to three, then to two and then to before you know it you're down to just one sleep a day... suddenly time has completely gotten away from you and child has just turned ONE!!! Where did that time go?!
Karlie & Johnny know all too well what it's like to experience the above! Their little man Angus turned one last month and what better way from them to celebrate such a momentous occasion was to come and have Angus's portrait taken, along with some family portraits of all three and then finished off with a super fun 'Cake Smash'. This was the first time I'd been asked to photograph a Cake Smash, and so I thought - why not, this could be really fun - and it was! Little Gus was in heaven! At first he was a little unsure as to what was supposed to happen, but then once he got a taste of getting his hands in that cake, there was no stopping him!
If you little munchkin is about to turn One and you have been thinking about having some family portraits taken to record this big milestone, please get in touch with me! It is so much fun and I promise you, you will have a great selection of precious photos to choose from!
Big Love
Sal x
Family of Three to become Family of Four
I feel so blessed to have have this beauty in front of my camera again!!! This is Simone and gorgeous her daughter of 2.5 years, Layla! I first started photographing Simone when she married her love Jonathan in Skenes Creek, 3 years ago... fast forward 10 months, and there I was photographing her baby bump... then a couple of months later came beautiful little Layla and an awesome newborn shoot! Fast forward again, 2.5 half years and here Simone is looking as beautiful as ever, ready to meet her second child in a couple of weeks time.
Such a special time for any woman, whether it be your first, second, third or forth child... It's amazing how much the body changes and to think there is a little baby in that belly! Amazing! I always get this warm fuzzy feeling when I get the opportunity to photograph a lady and her bump... it's such a huge milestone in any woman's life! For some women it's not an easy task to fall pregnant nowadays, so when you do, take full advantage of how beautiful you look and what you have created :)
If you're thinking of having some pregnancy photos taken, please get in touch! I'd love to hear from you!
Big Love
Sal xx
First Time Parents
This topic is something very close to my heart having just experienced it 14 months ago...
I had a rush of chills come over me when I walked into their hospital room... I have a rush of chills right now as I begin to remember my own experience and this beautiful couples.
New parents, Fleur and Brad welcomed their little baby boy Louis (pronounced Louie for all of us Australians) into our big wide world May 30th, 2016. To say these two parents are so proud of their little creation is an understatement. Fleur and Brad have had their fair share of trials and tribulations. To those who say that falling pregnant is 'easy' can almost be laughed at... but not laughed at for long! It's a ridiculous thing to say, especially around our generation of women. But they got there in the end and did they deliver a beauty!?
The 'in hospital' photography sessions are up there with one of my most favorite sessions to photograph, even more-so if you are first-time parents. There is a total mix of raw emotions that come over you when you meet your child for the first time... excitement, nervousness, anxiety, happiness, exhaustion, overwhelmed, utterly in love, tired, adrenaline rush.... the list can go on and on...but you get my point - it's an experience that totally messes with your emotions in every way possible. And all of these emotions can happen in a very short space of time! It's insane! BUT, nevertheless, the best experience anyone will ever experience in their life. The In hospital sessions are shot with more of a documentary approach, rather than posed portraits. They tell a story in hope that the person viewing them will have an idea of just how these two were feeling on day 3 of becoming new parents.
It's crazy... one day you are a couple who depend on each other, and then, the next day you are a couple who has a child that now depends on them. What a responsibility! So much to learn. But the best advice does not come from a text book or blog, it comes from you - the parents - learning about your new baby. Being able to trust in your own instincts more than ever before. It takes time. Some days are great days where you want to sing to the world and show off your newborn to everyone and be social... and yet some days are so bad, you want to curl up into a ball and hideaway from the world. Welcome to parenthood. But as the days go on, you get better at it, you are more comfortable with it, you become stronger, and you embrace it!
I'm wishing Fleur and Brad and little Louis all the happiness in the world! You have taken on parenthood with guns blazing you two and I absolutely admire you both! Fleur, you are a warrior 👊 and that is how I will finish! Big Love, Sal xxx
Bath Time Fun
Bath time is always fun in our house hold! This photo was taken using the new 50mm 1.2 lens. It would be fair to say, I absolutely love it! Why has it taken me so long to add this bad boy into my photography kit?!
The Big Upgrade in Gear
It has been about 6 years since I last bought any camera equipment, and although I keep all of my equipment in very good condition, I was lacking a few special items. I am currently shooting only with zoom lenses. Mind you, my Canon 24-70 & 70-200 L-series lenses are nothing to sneeze at... it's any photographers dream to own such quality lenses... but I felt like my photography was lacking something and needed a little bit of a boost, creative change if you will...
So after much research and searching for quotes, I decided on purchasing some prime lenses. Which ones? I went for Canon 50mm 1.2 and a Canon 85mm 1.2. Why? For many reasons... but the two main ones were to create better quality, more crisp photographs for newborn & portraits (50mm) and to be further enough away from guests at a wedding to be able to capture those great candid/documentary style photos without having a massive lens in their face (85mm) and while I was at it, I decided to upgrade to the 5D Mark III from the 5D Mark II.
I've only played around with the 50mm and I love it! It will take me a little getting used to by not being able to quickly zoom in and out by a twist of the wrist, but to start stepping in and out from the subject. Sounds like an easy task... not so easy... but I am enjoying learning and getting used to the prime as I get to photograph our little munchkin Tasma!