Munyard Family

Take a look through some of the beautiful images captured of the Munyard family.

It had been a long time coming to do this session, with lockdown after lockdown after lockdown and constant rescheduling… I was finally able to photograph their session. It really was worth the wait.

When people book for a session with me and it’s all locked in, I will send them through a ‘styling guide’ to help my clients decide on a colour palate for their session and what to wear. There are many things to consider when preparing for your session which I outline in my styling guide. some of those things are;

• What colour backdrop are your drawn to and is this how you would like to see the final result of your images? I have a few different coloured backdrops and sometimes the colour of the backdrop and really determine the feel of the photograph.

• Another important question is if they prefer that backdrop to be “light and airy” or “dark and moody”. A backdrop can have so many different looks depending on how the lighting is falling off of it. Generally speaking and to make it easy on my clients, I simply ask them to go through my website and instagram page and select images that appeal to them so that I can se exactly what they are after.

• One really important bit of information which I talk about in my styling guide, is that if you have young children, maybe you might want to consider bringing their favourite toy along, or perhaps something that, and this could be for older children/teens as well, if they have something that means something to them that they would like to be photographed with, I always ask that they bring this along. This could be, a toy, a piece of jewellery, an item of clothing, perhaps a unique hat that has been handed down through the families… bringing along items that have meaning to the sitter helps me to create images that are even more meaningful to you.

In Chanel’s session, her daughter Nova wore a necklace. There is one photo in particular (pictured above) where the necklace makes the photograph so more captivating. I asked Chanel if she could share with me, and all of those reading along, the significance of Nova’s necklace she was wearing throughout her session.

“In my culture (Maori) we call them pounamu (po-nar-mu) which is Maori for greenstone. In modern day tradition the pounamu is a taonga pronounced tow nga (treasure).

The significance can vary based on the design or even on family history in the event it’s passed through generations. Most provide strength, luck, protection or a mixture of meanings.

For us, My dad always wanted a grand daughter and Nova just so happened to be his first. When he found out I was expecting he knew well before we found out that I was having a girl. News of Nova actually came exactly a week after we buried my grandmother (my dads mother). Which made it just that bit more special for my dad as he was grieving at the time.

He asked me and Brian if I would mind if he could name Novas middle name and we agreed. Her middle name is Pania which means beautiful sea maiden in Maori mythology which is fitting considering she is a water sign.

Shortly after this my dad flew back to NZ and purchased 4 seperate pounamus. 1 baby dolphin tale, 1 baby dolphin and two dolphins (as you’ve seen on Nova). The second of those two is mine so we have matching ones.

Since birth nova has worn all three at different stages of her life starting firstly with the tale and the only time her pounamu ever comes off is when her koko (my dad) re threads it for her. She even sleeps with it. She has always used it for comfort, when she is upset, scared etc she will either bite on it or hold it.

My dad, Nova and I are all very spiritual so we all share a close bond in that way. So much so my dad believes Nova was sent by my grandmother and although Nova has never actually met her, she can describe her to a tee and she used to call for nana when she was a baby. It was only when she got older that she told me she talks to her and others that have passed, especially when she is staying over with my parents. So I guess for us the pounamu is our way of connection between generations living and passed.” Chanel.

I very much encourage clients to bring in to their session, any items which carry much significance and sentimental value to them as Nova’s pounamu does for her. Your photographs will not only be extremely unique to you, but will inevitably become family heirloom and be of great sentimental value to generations thereafter.

Thank you so much Chanel for choosing me to photograph your family, I cannot wait to see when you have your photographs gracing the walls in your home for everyone to see.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Big love

Sal

Some lovely words from Chanel on her session

“Scrolling through my Facebook feed a little over a year ago I came across the most beautiful family portraits and I was wrapped to find the photographer was a Geelong local so I had to enquire. Fast forward a year and 5 or so lockdowns, Nova, Brian and I met the very talented Sally McCann. After meeting Sal in person and the actual photo shoot experience I knew we were in good hands. Yesterday we were lucky enough to view our photos and to say we were wrapped with the outcome is an understatement! Thank you so much Sal for welcoming us into your home and capturing our family in the most beautiful yet simple way. Your talent is truely second to none and we cannot wait to fill our home with these amazing pics 💕” Chanel.