Teegan Tagg
Photo: Teegan Tagg
Everybody remembers their mum constantly taking photos of them growing up. For one young mum capturing these memories awakened a childhood passion that had fallen dormant. With her passion reawakened Teegan Tagg has taken her hobby & grown it into a thriving business capturing truly stunning pictures in & around the water of the South Coast.
Speaking to Pario Teegan reflected on how she first developed her passion, "as a child when I got my first film camera I fell in love with photography. So much so that I was always asking for newer cameras whenever my birthday or Christmas came around." As Teegan grew older the responsibilities of life began to take over & photography slipped into the background. However, once Teegan became a mum herself the passion came right back & she realised, perhaps this could become a business.
"It wasn’t until we’d had two kids & I was a stay at home Mum, living on the Gold Coast & really enjoying taking photos of the kids on my DSLR that I thought - 'why not learn more about the editing side & see if I can turn it into a little business?'"
From that thought Teegan completed some online photography courses but primarily focused on simply practising & learning as much as possible through real world experience. Teegan was quick to say, "it's a continual learning process, even though I’ve come a long way, there’s still so much to learn."
Looking at Teegan's style water plays a big part in her photography. According to Teegan this comes from her upbringing, "I was very fortunate to grow up right beside the beach. We’d be in the water everyday, surfing before & after school & spending all weekend in the water. It’s my favourite place in the world. Being in the water for me is fun, yet calming - it's a definite mood booster. So it's only natural for me to gravitate to this sort of photography."
While photography itself is a challenging medium which requires Teegan to constantly learn she says water photography is a "completely different ball game." Much like capturing photos on land the weather players a big part for Teegan, but with water based photography there are many more factors to consider - "the wind, tides, & amount of rainfall all affect the conditions & water clarity." Safety for herself & the subjects of her photos is also of paramount importance for Teegan to ensure she doesn't place anybody in a rip current during a session. Finally when shooting in water Teegan has to use a special waterproof housing for her equipment.
"I'm currently using Aquatech gear & it's pretty great, however there's a few camera buttons that I don't have access to once it's in the housing," Teegan told Pario. "So I've got to make sure I set all the settings prior to hopping in, because you can't just take the camera out once it's wet. There's also the extra gear that needs to come with me, such as a wetsuit, mask, weight belt, etc. Lastly, if it's cold, we've got to be QUICK. I'm usually fine as I will wear a wetsuit, but my clients don't. Often when it's cold, we'll be in & out of the water within 5 minutes or less, so there's no time to muck around."
Hearing Teegan tell her story was truly inspiring. In particular she had some very important advice for young creatives who may be hearing negativity from people around them.
"One of my biggest life lessons over the years has been to back yourself... Sometimes I look back & think 'if I had followed this path back when I'd finished school, I'd have an additional 10 years experience now."
Then finally as a mum with busy schedule Teegan urges everybody to, "do what brings you joy & focus on the things you love."
Keep up with Teegan at: www.TeeganTagg.com or on Instagram at @TeeganTaggPhoto
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