Missy captured 2022

The hardest part of loving an animal, is having to make the decision of when to ease their suffering, & let them go..

A heartbreaking decision for those who love them. Even when they have lived a amazing life full of love.

Today I met beautiful Chief. His owner Missy messaged me after she realised she really didn't have any beautiful photos of them together, despite the twenty plus years they have shared together.

His lovely owner Missy from The Giving Farm - Pick Your Own Events shared with me some of how he had become hers..

Chief was born on Melbourne Cup day, and had his photo in the paper! He will turn 25 this year. Missy had known him since he was born, as he was bred by a friend. Missy's friend asked her to come & take a ride on him, while he was being started as a youngster.

After watching Missy riding him, she looked at her and said, "well I think I've lost my horse, I know he is just meant to be with you".

She wouldn't take any money as she felt they were meant to be a team. 50c was exchanged so it was legal and he's been Missy's pride and joy ever since.

Thank you Missy, for giving me the chance to meet him & capture the beautiful bond you have. I am so sorry you are having to make such a hard decision. He was so lucky to have your love.

Tiarna captured 2025

Today I captured Tiarna & her beautiful dog Narla.

The photo session was gifted to her recently for her birthday.

I knew Tiarna has faced really tough times recently. she was diagnosed with Anorexia in 2023.

Her perception of herself is still a huge battle, & as much as she was looking forward to the photos, she was very nervous about what she would look like.

Tiarna was brave enough to share her story with me, to try & help raise awareness for eating disorders, as they are not something that most of us are aware of.

I will include in the comments some photos of Tiarna at the darkest part of her struggle when her weight plummeted to 47kgs.

Her dog Narla has been a huge support, & the light in her life during these dark times.

"It all started in 2019 when I lost my Nan to liver cancer. I helped alongside Mum and My Aunt Candy to care for Nan from her diagnosis until the day she passed away. I was very close to Nan, and it was really hard to see her decline the way she did.

I started emotionally eating (binging) to numb my emotions which caused significant weight gain. I was so unhappy in my skin and hated the way I looked.

One day, maybe about a year or so after Nans death, I decided enough was enough, I didn’t want to feel crappy about myself anymore, so I started to diet and lose weight.

I started to become obsessed with the number on the scale going down. I didn’t realize it at the time that it was beginning to become a problem until my friend had pointed it out after we started to live together.

I would restrict my food and exercise to the point of exhaustion, and purge anything I did consume. I was even fearful of water. Over the last 3 years I’ve had 4 admissions to hospital to be medically stabilised because I had made myself so unwell. Last year was the turning point though. My eating disorder got so bad that I was unable to work and unable to function like a normal human being. I would force myself to walk a considerable amount each day only allowing myself to consume very little calories, I was also hardly consuming fluids as I was so terrified of the number on the scale going up.

This went on for a couple of weeks until yet again I was admitted to hospital as my GP had said if I didn’t, my heart could have stopped due to dangerous electrolyte imbalance. I agreed to go however once I got to hospital, the hospital wanted to blind weigh me as they had every other admission. But I was so sick that my brain couldn’t comprehend allowing somebody else to weigh me and see the number on the scale. I refused to be weighed and in return after a week of not allowing the medical professionals any ability to treat me and myself becoming sicker and sicker, I was put under an emergency treatment order through NCAT. That involved being transferred to ICU and put under heavy sedation and on a ventilator, so the treating team was able to stabilize my physical health.

I spent about a week in ICU before being transferred back to the gastroenterology ward in JHH. That was the start of a long 4 month admission as then I was transferred to a specialist eating disorder ward at RPA in Sydney. I really want to use my story to help any other person suffering silently with Anorexia or any other form of eating disorder. You are not alone and there is help out there. You just have to be ready and willing to accept the help. I nearly lost my life last year and if I can prevent somebody else from going through the same or similar thing to me then it’s worth it"

Tiarna is a work in progress & was put under a guardianship order which meant she needed to move in with her wonderful sister & her family to ensure she was in a safe environment & being monitored.

Recently she has taken up surfing & found it to be a great source of enjoyment & relaxation.

Wishing you much happier days ahead beautiful, & hope you can see how beautiful you are in these images.

My Tongue Cancer diagnosis.. Shannon Smith - La Bella Vita Photography

In August 2023 I had an ulcer that wouldn't heal on my tongue biopsied (had been there since April) & found out I had squamous cell carcinoma cancer in my tongue.

I am a non smoker & have been my whole life, I barely drink, no family history. It honestly just blew my world apart.

I am not one to cry.. but I just couldn't stop crying.. how had my life turned into this.. how could I have cancer.. I felt like I was letting my husband & two sons down, that I had ruined our lives.

I had gone from not seeing a doctor in over 3 years as I never get sick, to constant appointments, Mri. pet/ct scans, & lymph node biopsy.

Then partial glossectomy surgery to remove part of my tongue in September. All I could think about was cancer.. it took over my life.

I returned to work after 2.5 weeks, because I knew mentally that I was not coping, & it was all that could make me feel like my life had purpose again. I was still dizzy a lot (an after effect of the anaesthesia) but I just couldn't sit here hiding away from the world any longer. No one knew how I truly felt, & isolation was my coping mechanism. I was good at hiding how low I was.

Early detection saved my story from becoming anymore grim. I was unlucky to get cancer, but lucky the surgery was a success & I didn't require chemo or radiation. The depth of invasion was right on the borderline of a neck dissection to remove my lymph nodes, so thankfully the surgical team decided I didn't require more surgery.

Thankful to be here & pretty much completely normal again (well as much as I ever was) my tongue has weird tastes & I speak well, but can hear myself tripping up on it when I am tired or rushing.

My perspective on life changed, I changed..

Please if you ever get a sore in your mouth & it doesn't heal within two weeks, get it checked. In my case the Doctor was useless, but a dentist took it seriously & got me into a specialist asap. You need to advocate for your health. Cancer is a ruthless, devastating disease. Getting it early is really your best chance of beating it. If you have anything you have been putting off getting checked.. the time is now.

Finally a huge thank you to all those who did support me this year. Your bookings, words of support, & gestures were honestly so amazing.

Lots of love, Shannon xx

Kristen Captured 2023

Not long after I posted about my cancer diagnosis, I found out that my beautiful friend Kristen from Kristen Clapham Portraits Had been diagnosed with breast cancer. After riding the roller coaster of shock, fear, sadness, & isolation, it was decided that a double mastectomy was the best course of action for Kristen. It reduced her chances of the cancer returning from 85% to less than 5%. So, for her, it was a no brainer about what she would do. I didn't know what I could do to help her.. but I know the fear that you may not come out of the operation. So, I suggested we take some photos, before her breasts are taken early next month. I knew my greenhouse would be the perfect setting. The fragility & strength of the glass, especially symbolic for any cancer patients state of mind.. strong, but fragile. The butterfly wings, a transformation after her metamorphosis. She will be just as amazing, even after her body changes. For a woman the breasts are such a powerful symbol of our maternal & feminine selves. To lose that part of yourself, is something any woman would mourn... even when she knows she is doing it to save her life. I spent some time with Kristen capturing some beautiful whimsical portraits to celebrate her body before it changes. Then later some pics with her beautiful family. I hoped this distraction would at the very least give her an afternoon of some fun, & creative inspiration.

Jesseka captured 2026

It's a long read, but it might just save someone through early detection..

I recently put up a post about wanting to add the element of storytelling into my equine images, and beautiful Jesseka sent me her story.
During her treatment and recovery, it’s her horses that have provided a daily necessity to get her out of bed and pushing forward. Anyone who loves their animals knows sickness, rain, injury.. nothing gets in the way of those feeds every day.
I really wanted to create a prop to incorporate into one sequence. Something to signify her 16 rounds of chemotherapy.. starting out strong and then slowly wearing down and losing herself more after every treatment. Something that also signified Jess’ fertility fears,
As I lay on the acupuncture table yesterday it came to me. I’d use matches of varying lengths covered with a bandaid to signify the hope of healing. The frame, oval in shape like an egg to symbolise fertility, then I painted the background green as it is associated with both fertility and femininity.
The clouds put on an incredible show for the session also.. no it's not AI why would I need that when magic happens right in front of my lens.

At 29 years old, life is usually just starting to come together. The career you studied for is finally happening, you’ve found your life partner, you are starting to think about having children, you have plans, the future is exciting. But then an unexpected and unwelcome health diagnosis blows your life apart, and all you can hope is that you can live long enough to see your dreams and plans come to life.
You are a good person, you contribute to society, you look after yourself.. but cancer doesn’t care…
You can be old, young, fit, healthy, skinny, overweight, someone’s mother, someone’s wife. You played by all the rules. Your ability to grow old was just an expectation.
It’s cruel, and it doesn’t discriminate…

Here is Jess’ story and advice.

Ladies, learn how to check your breasts and trust your gut if someone tells you not to worry because “you’re too young”. Cancer doesn’t give a f^*k about your age. I went to a doctor about a pea-sized lump. I was told it was nothing to worry about: “you’re too young. It’s probably just part of your cycle”.

By April, it was nearly 3cm.

6 months of endless appointments, waiting rooms, weekly (or more) blood tests, PET/CT/MRI/mammogram/ultrasounds, and more waiting rooms and appointments.

The diagnosis….stage 3 triple negative breast cancer. What followed was more tests, scans, an IVF attempt to harvest embryos to preserve fertility (which I had to stop halfway through, thus was unsuccessful), chemical induced menopause, 16 rounds of chemotherapy, and surgery in November to remove 5 lymph nodes and the residual cancer. Unfortunately, about 2 weeks before Christmas, I found out that the cancer was a lot more aggressive than indicated through the original biopsy, so I will now need to do another 6 months of chemotherapy after 15 rounds of radiation. What they tell you about cancer treatment is that it’ll make you physically sick, tired, nauseous, immunocompromised, anaemic. You’ll lose ALL your hair, including eyelashes and eyebrows, maybe your nails too, But what they don’t tell you is that the toughest battle is against your own mind. You lose your independence, confidence, privacy, femininity - your identity. You’re constantly anxious, self-conscious, overwhelmed, tired, cynical, and angry. Your body becomes a stranger but your mind becomes your enemy
Through this time, I’ve worked full time as a new & beginning high school science teacher (having only just got a permanent job term 4 last year), kept on top of the farm work, and ride/play with my horses as much as I can.
The days that I haven’t been able to ride, or not allowed to after surgery, they’ve been such a steady motivator and reminder to keep going.

I guess the reason for me reaching out is that I’ve become a bit of an advocate for women listening to their gut and trusting their instincts. Me getting a 2nd opinion has probably saved my life (hopefully), although I’m far from out of the woods. But most importantly, I’ve become more open about sharing the secret battles that cancer patients, especially young females, have to endure; the mental health challenges, loss of self-esteem and confidence, body autonomy and privacy, hormonal changes, the fear of the unknown, and even the guilt from the ripple effect that this all causes.

Belinda 2024

Belinda has been on the scary journey that is cancer since March 2024. Cancer diagnosis is terrifying enough without the fear of leaving behind two people who rely on you indefinitely. Not only does Belinda have her 11 year old Charlie to care for, but also her sister Cass who is In her 40’s and lives with a permanent brain injury. Being a single mother, and facing chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and ongoing immunotherapy while still trying to financially cover medical expenses , and basic living expenses is truly too hard to comprehend. I was happy to gift them this session to give them a reason to smile again. This is how Belinda’s story began.. On the 11th March I had facial surgery to remove a suspicious lesion on my face. It had been there for atleast 12 months and I have been putting off dealing with it. Always busy with other things. I had also been too worried about what the impact of having it removed would have on my face. Hindsight is amazing and now that seems silly. What I thought would be a two day recovery turned into a week, as my face absolutely blew up. The day after my 50th birthday, the results came back and I was told that it was a rare type of melanoma (desmoplastic), it was 2.5mm in size and the margins were clear but there would need to be more surgery to give wider margins as best practice. And the kicker, I had to immediately have a range of tests to make sure that it hadn’t travelled to my brain. The fear was palpable. What came next was probably the most terrifying couple of days of my life when I really had to think about my own mortality and contemplate making plans that no parent wants to make. I don’t think I slept or thought about anything else. I never realised how quickly the medical system could work in such a circumstance. The very next day, I had CT scans, MRIs and PET scan. All the scans. On the one hour drive home, I was called immediately to say that they had my results and I just knew that couldn’t be good. I was told that there was no melanoma anywhere else in my body. Thank goodness! Then came the deep breath and the… however…. However, you have a large mass in your right breast and in your lymph node and you have breast cancer. What?! They were not related and had the lesion not been removed, I would never have known it was there. Initial results showed multiple lumps measuring a total area of 6x7x5cm. The strangest thing was, that I initially felt so calm and relief. Relief that I didn’t have melanoma in my brain. More tests, biopsies, appointments. My arms were starting to look like punching bags and my veins were not coping. We needed to know the type to determine the treatment. The world moved so fast. Now I truly had lost sight of what sleep looked like and I knew inside that would now evade me for a long time. Belinda had to have chemotherapy before they could operate to reduce the size of the mass. Then surgery.. since then it’s more treatments such as radiation and immunotherapy.. This is what strong and beautiful looks like.. and this is what unconditional love looks like.. a mother fighting hard to stay here for her son. Thanks for letting me tell your story and help create awareness.

Michelle captured 2025

I captured these images of beautiful Michelle back in February the day before her double mastectomy.

She wanted something to celebrate her body before the huge physical change to her appearance that she was about to endure. We captured a lot of different setups. Most are intimate images for Michelle to have for her own memories. But here are a few I can share without the internet losing its mind.

For a woman breasts are symbolic of our identity due to societal ideals. Size & shape are advertised as standards of beauty. They make us feel that breasts are central to us being desirable or womanly. They are a deep part of our body image, our sexual identity, & even our motherhood.

Michelle has struggled deeply with losing this part of herself. I let her know that if she never wanted to share the images or write her story I totally understood. There is no expectation on someone after having such a drastic transformation. Bravely she finally felt strong enough to share her experience.

I have also offered Michelle another shoot to celebrate the beauty that remains if & when she is ever ready to.

Here is Michelle's story in her own words.

"I have always been dense breasted even as a teenager and so was my mum. I was always having my breasts checked from a young age with my mum from a Cancer specialist in Macquarie St Sydney. Dr John once told me and I have never forgotten what he said....Michelle my dear you will thank your mum for a lot of things in life but you will not thank her for your breasts. Always have them checked.

I looked at Dr John and nodded and left his rooms and never forgot what he told me.

My mum was diagnosed with Breast cancer in later life and had a partial mastectomy followed by radiation and chemo.

I was with the High-Risk clinic for a few years as I am the only child then they decided to remove from the list as they said new data had shown that women who were diagnosed in their older years like my mum were less likely to give the gene to their daughter.

I still remained very aware and had my scans when they were due a Mammogram and an Ultrasound.

People ask why an Ultrasound???I was told by my mums surgeon that an Ultrasound tends to pick up breast cancer where the mammogram may not pick it up.

Dec 2023 The year I was diagnosed by the Ultrasound where the Mammogram didn't pick it up.

Lumpectomy and Lymph Node removed. Dec 2023

Radiation 15 sessions done. Feb 2024.

Follow Mammogram and Ultrasound Dec 2024 found little floaters that would be monitored for any changes. I had a few scans and biopsies done during the year of 2024 which all turned out to be negative thank goodness. Now to be faced with possible more scans and biopsies needed to monitor for changed!!!!!

I opted for the biggest change in any women's life a DOUBLE MASTECTOMY. Feb 20th 2025 was by big day

From the day of signing my consent to the day of surgery was 9 weeks.

I worked up to the week before.

Friends asked if I wanted a party but I didn't want to celebrate losing my breasts. I wasn't happy about it .

My breasts are who I am they are my womanhood they are who I am.

I decided I wanted to do a photo shoot to celebrate womanhood and what they meant to me.

My motto now "is less breast less risk" I am still at risk of breast cancer coming back but if it did come back it would be on my chest wall.

I am ok with this I understand the risks the outcomes the whatever's.

Post surgery I have had some complications and some extra surgeries that we have had to deal with.

I look back at my photos and don't think sadness I look at them and am grateful I made the decision to have the photos done because once the surgery is done its too late.

Shannon I have to say you made a very emotional heartache time a lot easier for Brendon and I.

Your sense of humour and compassion was much appreciated on the day. After a couple of minutes with you talking, I overcame my emotion of why I was having the photos done and felt very much at ease.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for such a beautiful experience we got to share with you.

Love always Michelle and Brendon xoxo"