With the exception of Demi-Leigh I have never photographed such a friendly little baby before.  What an absolute pleasure! Baby Maddie didn’t even blink an eye when I took her from her mother to do some shots while mom was quickly fixing her hair (we all know what this hectic wind can do to your hair) and photographs last a lifetime so we really want to look good in them (yes women are vain – bet you men are too – they just won’t admit it…)

Back to Maddie and her mom – At first she was a bit tired  as it was almost time for her nap, but all that was soon forgotten when we brought the coloured feathers out.  She was crawling all over my studio and talking (ok mumbling) all the  while. With all her smiles she made for absolutely beautiful shots as you can see….       

I just love photographing babies, especially little girls – okay baby boys are cool too!!

Riani

Aah Riani – you are so lucky about the Demi-Leigh comment (she is the most beautiful baby to photograph – sorry Laura but I as a mother, I am sure you understand….)

We are soing to the sea!!!! Yaaaay!!! So I thought I’d post a few pics of my beautiful kids the last time we were at the sea 2 years ago (we were actually there last year as well but these holiday photographs are from 2 years ago…) They absolutely love the sea – so do I – so we are sooo excited!

The last time we were at the sea, we only had 2 children. Our precious little Demi-Leigh had not arrived yet so I can’t post any holiday photos of our baby girl just yet – but don’t worry – next week there will be tons of her on the beach….

For now, have a look at my beautiful boys – I really am blessed!!! Gotta rush – need to pack and all that good stuff – see you when I get back!!!!

Oh yes – I am also going to visit my friend Rania who has just had a beautiful baby boy Adam Tarr (also her 3rd child) so I will be doing lots of newborn baby photography while I am there…. I can’t wait to meet him!! Yip photographers still take family photos on holiday – well at least I do…. When you love photography, you love it and that’s that!!

 We photographed a birthday party on Sunday at The Pied Piper in bedfordview. It was little Theresa’s 4th birthday and it was absolutely beautiful!!! I can’t wait for Demi to get bigger so we can have a party like that for her….

The decorations, the food, the cake – every single detail was taken care of and beautifully done. It was fit for a princess – just like Theresa…

There were flowers on the table (all in a Pink and purple Bratz theme I might add), doughnuts and roses, bratz cupcakes (also pink and purple), a bratz cake, party packs, chair covers, ribbons and glitter and sweets – you name it, it was there!

Riani and I both photographed the birthday party and we had such fun. We took sooooo many photographs, but you can never have too many photos of your childrens’ birthday parties. The kids had an absolute ball!!! There were jungle gyms and jumping castles and trampolines and a real little train – but the cherry on top was the water slide – what fun the children had on that!!! It was a hot summers day and the water slide was just what the children needed to cool off just before singing happy birthday and enjoying some birthday cake!! All in all, it was a beautiful party and it was definitely enjoyed by all – young and old!

We did a photoshoot for a home called Miracle Mission in Kensington B a little while ago – what a wonderful place filled with amazing people…. It is a home started by two sisters Cindy and Glynis who had always dreamed of running a home for abandoned babies…..

They currently have 9 children in the home – 4 bigger kids and the rest are all babies. The 4 older chidlren stay at the home permanently as they cannot get adopted – they are HIV and little Daisy has downs syndrome. They really are beautiful children (but yes I really love children…)

Their names are Rosie, Irene, Amos and Daisy. The smaller babies are never at the home for more than about a year as they usually get adopted within that timeframe. But it is a wonderful one and the children are well taken care of and given lots and lots of love!!!

We went there to take some photographs for their Christmas Card which we are going to design and print for them and we had such fun with all the Christmas goodies. When I came back I told a few of my friends about the place and they all asked the same question: “wasn’t it sad to be there?” To be honset, I was never sad. This is not the first time I have visited the home and every time I have felt priviledged to be part of something so special. The children have their own rooms (the 3 older girls share a room) the rooms are filled with photographs and teddy bears and the place just oozes love…. I think there are a lot of children living with their own families that are far worse off than these beautiful children. Just goes to show what a dream and a heart filled with love can do….

Personally, I get so much from being a part of this kind of place and I am honoured to be able to help in some tiny way. I get far more out of the whole experience than I am actually giving!!! (even though I had a little accident on my way home from there…lol)

I had the pleasure of visiting our label company the other day.  I never thought it could be so interesting! Printing labels is a very complex process, and we are equipped to do everything from custom designing your label to suit your preferences, printing the negs, making the plates and finally printing the label.

We decided to photograph our staff and premises.  The secret to corporate photography is in maintaining a good balance between posed pics, photos of people at work and some general photos of them in their working enviroment.  So I went to the factory during lunch in order to get some shots of the machinery.  I quite enjoy still life photography because you have the time to study the lines and shapes.

Let’s face it, most people, me included, are a little nervous about having their photo taken…(i know i know but i’m a photographer you’ll say… that’s why I always tell people that I’m behind the lens and not in front of it   ) Everyone  was a little tense in the beginning, but they soon got used to me clicking away.  That is another secret of doing corporate photographs, take a lot of photos.  In doing that the people get used to the camera and start not noticing it that much which is great for @ work pics.  Joke around and laugh with the staff and you will soon get them making jokes and relaxing for some posed pics.

When photographing people in their office you always have to try to tidy their office a bit.  We all know how it goes when you get really busy and you just dont have enough time to tidy everything that demands your attention.  But it will draw attention away from your subject.  Making sure to vary my pics I asked everyone to work (ok, act like they’re working at least…) while I photographed them and then did a few posed shots as well.

All in all we got some great shots!

BTW I wasn’t photographed because I’m part of Louise Diesel Photography and not CFT labels(sneaky I know – HA HA)

Riani

Note from Louise – of course you got some good shots – we are a really good looking bunch you know!!! (lol)
 

I had the pleasure of photographing lots of smalll kiddies over the weekend.  Little Amie is 1yr 3months old and is she busy?! I really learnt a lot from this family photoshoot.

I was prepared with everything from coloured ostrich feathers to  sellotape which we stuck to her fingers to get her to sit still for a few seconds.  In the end it was the coloured plastic balls that held her interest.  She absolutely loved throwing them out of the plastic shell and then packing them all back inside again! This is another little girl who just adores her dad. She also absolutely adores music, so we used mom’s phone and had her jiggling to the music (so cute!)  Anything to get a good, fun and natural photo of your children…

Amie knows exactly what she wants and made sure we knew as well.  We decided to take her outside to play with mom and dad, and a bit of water in a crate and boy did she enjoy the freedom   Often the best thing is just to have mom and dad playing with their little one and then being quick enough to catch those special moments! After all fgood amily portraits last a lifetime….. 

No-one said photographing babies or small children is easy but once you know how to connect with them, it is very rewarding. When it comes to photographing small kids, it’s all about patience and allowing them to just be themselves…

Taking photos in studio requires time.  A lot of people ask me why take photos in studio?  It’s quite simple actually, studio photography allows the photographer to have absolute control over the lighting.  From high-key(lot of light, little or no shadows) fashion shots to low-key(lots of shadow with only a few strips of light) shots.

When you decide to start taking photos in the studio, I would definitely recommend attending some course or another on lighting just to see someone demonstrate the basics.  Once you’ve done that you have about a 5% percent understanding of awesome lighting and the rest you can only learn from constantly working with subjects in the studio.  The easiest would be to ask someone you know to pose for you in the studio.  Don’t let shyness get in the way of you learning.  Most people are flattered when you ask them if you can photograph them.  It may be overwhelming at first, all the lights, relectors and the model, how do I make it all come together?!

Easy, always remember to keep it simple.  Start off with using only one flash and a reflector.  Some of the greatest studio photographs are shot like this.  Look at lighting of photos in magazines, find one that you like and try to recreate it.  Your model is next.  Take a look at poses used in fashion and lifestyle magazines, mark the ones you like or cut them out and file them all together.  This helps you to get used to posing someone and it also makes your subject more comfortable as they know exactly what you expect from them.  And lastly, a smile goes a long way.  Keep reassuring your subject when they are doing something right and make them feel good about themselves.  This will make them relax and will show their personality in the photos. 
 
You have to spend a lot of time  in the studio to play around with your lights to make sure you are able to create the lighting you see in your mind’s eye. Trust me, it’s not as easy as you’d think.  Have you ever taken a good look at a photo  which you saw and just couldn’t turn away from? What was it that made you keep coming back for antoher look?  Was it the subject matter, the highlight in the girls eye? You just can’t put your finger on it can you…?  I promise you nine out of ten times it was brilliant lighting that made it all come together.  Ligthing will never be the first thing you notice in a photo, because humans brains are programmed to notice familiar shapes like faces and words.  But next time you look at a photo and gives you that sense of wonder, spend a few extra moments looking at…. the magic art of lighting!!

Have fun learning…..

Riani