Anytime is a good time...

I'm often asked, when is a good time to have a portrait taken?  My answer is simple... anytime.  

As you know, I'm a firm believer in photographing, not just families, but photographing both women and men.  People have come to the conclusion that if you were to have portraits taken of yourself that you are considered vain... hmmm not the case AT ALL.  This actually infuriates me to no end.  To have a portrait taken of yourself or child is an experience you and they will remember for many many years to come.  We have portraits taken for many reasons... boost self esteem and gain confidence, to promote ourselves in our business, to give to our family members at Christmas on birthdays or the special days...like Mother's Day & Father's Day
OR we have our portrait taken just.because.we.want.to!  
You don't need a reason, but if you need justification, there are some good enough ones.  The photos that we take and have taken for us are our legacy.  I have the most beautiful portrait of my grandmother when she was younger... I love it so much, and it hangs in pride of place in my home.  The portrait that you have of yourself now is what your family will remember you by in many many years to come.  

I had only just realised there are not many photographs of myself as I am always behind the camera.  I started to question this... why not?  I couldn't answer it.  Well, I had plenty of excuses, but really, who was I kidding... they were not good enough!  And because I couldn't come up with a good enough answer, I made myself shoot a portrait session... of myself!  I did this for three reasons.  Firstly, I did this for me...(did you know its actually O.K. to do things for yourself and put yourself first for once?!)  I actually wanted to have a nice portrait of myself.  I haven't had a nice portrait taken of myself and I wanted one.  Secondly, I did this for my daughter, Tasma.  One day she will grow up and she will want to have a beautiful photo of her mother... and her father for that matter (I will get onto this later!)... up until then, I had nothing to give her.  But I do now.  Thirdly, I needed to show who I was for my business.  Whether we like it or not, people like to see who they will be dealing with.  In my case, being a portrait and wedding photographer, people like to see a friendly face.  I have been hiding behind my logo for years and it was time I put a face to Sally McCann - Photographer.

The photo session I have attached to this blog is of my cousin Cath and her daughter Claudia.  Cath came to me for couple of reasons... She came to me because Claudia was going on exchange to Paris over November/December.  Not only was this Claudia's first time overseas WITHOUT her parents, but her first time being away from her parents at Christmas.  Secondly, Cath knew that being 16 was an extremely special time in any young ladies life.  You're emotions fly at 17... you're almost an adult, but you're definitely not a child.  Cath wanted me to capture the beauty in her daughter so that she could hold onto this time forever.  I organised the delightful Megan from That Blonde Chick Makeup Artist to come and give them both beautiful hair and makeup for their session.  

CLICK BELOW the image of Claudia to view a small slideshow of their Mother/Daughter Session.

Hope I can take your portrait soon!

Big Love 

Sal xx

Danni & James - Torquay Wedding

It's been almost 12 months since I had the privilege of photographing the wedding of gorgeous couple Danni & James.  

I met Danni & James only a few months prior to their wedding.  Where possible, I encourage my couples to meet with me before they decide to...how should I say it... choose me to be their wedding photographer... It's not mandatory, but I believe it to be best for all.  Why?  because I believe your wedding day to be one of the most significant, momentous days of any couple's lives, it's a day that you literally share with - sometimes, and on this occasion - a complete stranger.  I didn't know Danni or James from a 'bar of soap' and what they knew of me was what I put out there on social media and maybe word-of-mouth from others... I didn't have my website up and running yet so the best option was to meet!  We met at my home.  My home is where I conduct most of my introductions and where I carry out my portrait photography.  My partner Wes was in the middle of cooking dinner - I will never forget it as he almost burnt the house down cooking bacon for our caesar salad!!  Smoke, everywhere.  Thankfully, James turned out to be a fireman so we were in good hands there!  I was a little embarrassed, but at the same time wasn't... this is me... welcome to my home!  I don't pretend to be someone I'm not.  I'm a family person.  I'm a mum first and photographer second.  So the times I can meet people are generally 'out of hours' times... times when people are usually having dinner or after dinner.  I invite people into my home so they can understand the person I am.

We talked for what seemed like ages... I felt a connection with them straight away.  It was like I had known them for years.  And thankfully that night, I received and email from Danni advising that it was a 'no brainer' for them to have me as their photographer.  I was thrilled.  Thrilled because I really felt that connection with both of them and that is so so important when you are photographing somebodies wedding day or taking a portrait for that matter.  It's one thing to like the way a person photographs a wedding - don't get me wrong - this is by far most important - but very close second is you need to ask yourself, do you have a connection with this person?  Can you share your most important day with them?  Do you trust them to capture your day the way you envisage?  and if you answer yes to these three questions, then I think you've found your photographer.  

Danni & James's wedding ceremony and reception was at Wyndham Resort on the Esplanade in Torquay, Victoria.  Their ceremony was outside in a private courtyard with Whites Beach as a backdrop, the beautiful Michelle Lothian was their Celebrant of which I thought was the perfect fit for James & Danni.  They were surrounded by so many of their close family and friends, their beautiful husky Santi even made an appearance with carers by her side from Checkmate Pet Minders.  

After the ceremony, we carried out their portrait session over at the famous Bells Beach, and as it turned out, the RipCurl Pro was on... and honestly, who would deny a bride and groom access to this area - nobody!  We shot some beautiful landscapes along the beach and had the perfect conditions for their portraits.  It wasn't the warmest of days, but Danni, James and their bridal party braved the conditions - they were real troopers!

I was really thrilled to be apart of this special day.  I hope you enjoy looking through a snippet of their gallery as their one year anniversary approaches very soon!  

Big Love

Sal x

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

Timeless Family Portraits and added Lifestyle Session

When clients come to me, they sometimes find it very hard to decide on whether to have a studio portrait session, or and environmental session.  For this little family of four, they really wanted to have an environmental session as that what suited their family.  The girls love playing outside in the garden and mum and dad also thought it would be a little more relaxed, and that's what they're all about.  

I asked them if they would mind popping by my home studio to start our session off there as I'm trying to perfect my formal portraits of families, but more so of the individual child.  I have really been enjoying perfecting this style of photography - children's portraiture especially.  

After our in studio portrait session, we made our way to a little place that I like to call "The Secret Garden".  It's a beautiful garden maintained by the CoGG and very rarely so I see anyone in there. It's the perfect place to take family portraits in and environmental location without a whole bunch of onlookers.  Funnily enough, this gorgeous family knew all about "The Secret Garden", so although it wasn't much a surprise place to them, mum Emma was happy to go there as she used to take the girls there when they were a little younger to play and relax.  So in the end, this location was especially fitting for this young family.

Hope you enjoy this little collection.  I would love to hear from you, please leave any comments or get in touch via the Contact page.  

Big Love

Sal x