I was lucky enough to go with friends of mine to watch the finals of the Miss Ekurhuleni SA Beauty Pagaent a few weeks ago. We were supporting a friend of ours’ 2 cousins – Tamryn in the teen pageant and Nicole in the main pageant. They are both beautiful girls both inside and out.

It was a wonderful event held at Emperors Palace – we had a 3 course meal during the show and Andre Schwarz was the MC. It was such a fun evening – all the girls went together for a fun night out – we all loved dressing up in our evening gowns, went together in our friend’s Chrysler Voyager and had a few glasses of wine in the car on the way there and then made our way to our table which was right in front and the perfect place to sit as a photographer.

We really enjoyed the show and the cherry on top was that Nicole won!! We were so happy – I can’t say we were surprised because we all expected it – she really is so incredibly beautiful and humble too…. And so is Tamryn for that matter – apparently she was really close to being second princess – give her a few years and she will follow in her sister’s footsteps without a doubt!!

Congratulations Nicole and Tamryn – you made us very proud!!! And thanks girls for a wonderful evening, our friendship is a true blessing….

We spent a wonderful weekend at Sun City Vacation Club last weekend and were lucky enough to photograph the Miss Million Dollar Beauty Pageant at The Valley of the Waves.

It was a beautiful day filled with so many beautiful women. I don’t really know how they managed to look so good, especially in their evening gowns, as it was unbelievably hot on Sunday!!!!

Nevertheless, the models did what they needed to do, including hair and make-up right there in the sun at the valley of the waves….. I think there were a few nervous contestants, but all in all it was a lovely day.

I was surprised to see just how many conrestants there were in the competition. It was a long competition and a really tough job for the judges….

The visitors to the valley of the waves certainly enjoyed the show and the stage was constantly surrounded by oogling men (it looked quite bizarre to see the audience enjyoing the pageant in their costumes and little else). In fact, they were handing out sunblock and after sun cream as give-aways during the competition…..

Of course, we were distracted every

now and then as my boys really were not interested in any beauty contest even if it was The Miss Million Dollar Contest (they are only 5 and 6 after all) and so their dad had to keep them entertained in the wave pool and on the supertubes (as well as lots of ice-creams and cooldrinks) while I photographed the models.

It was challenging to say the least because it was really full and really hot, so I take my hat off to all the contestants for keeping their cool and looking as beautiful and gracious as ever like professional models should…..

It’s always lovely to photograph fashion shows or beauty pageants or

competitions of that sort as there is always so much excitement coupled with a healthy tension and the girls are pushed to perform.

I love to see people doing what they love and excelling – it is inspiring to me. So to all those young budding models out there, my advice to you is if you dream of being the next supermodel of the world and have any doubts, just go for it because if you love what you do, you can only succeed…..

yes you will have challenges along the way and it won’t always be easy, but if it means a lot to you, you will embrace the challenges and move through them and you just might find yourself living your dream…..

Congratulations to the winners of the Miss Million Dollar and Miss Teen Million Dollar 2008 as well as all the contestants who participated and made it a day to remember…..

I got commissioned to do a professional photoshoot of a new Indie Rock Band a few months ago.  We considered doing the shots in studio but I then decided that we needed a more
‘worn down’ location for me to create the right feel in the images.

So off we went to this old warehouse premises.  The warehouse is quite run down but parts of it is still in
use by panelbeaters, bakkie canopy builders and so forth.

The aim of the photos was to come up with an idea for their new cd cover(Front and inside of the booklet)  When you photograph a group of people like a band we want to portray the mutual friendship and comaraderie they share. I had them take their instruments(guitars/mike’s whatever they do in the band) with, to make our shoot more interesting.

Despite being able to sing in front of large groups of people they’re all quite shy and it took a lot of hard work to get them all used to being in front of the camera.

I just snapped away and eventually they got so used to having me moving around them, climbing on top of things and sitting on the ground they just seemed to relax and forget about the camera. Perfect, I got a few natural shots of them playing on their Fender electric- and Ibanez acoustic guitars, even playfully attacking each other with the microphone.

The secret is to keep them moving around, so that in the end you will have a wide variety of backgrounds and poses to choose from.  Sometimes it is necessary to ask them to
pose in a certain way, other times just put them in front of a rugged background and have them playing guitar or chatting about upcoming or past performances.

Interactive posing is something I have found to work very well when photographing groups of people like a new band.  Think of interesting things for them to do like jumping from a step, throwing their jackets/caps in the air or acting like a heavy metal rock band for instance.  And don’t forget, subtle flattery will get you everywhere…   Keep encouraging your subjects, tell them you like the pose, their jacket is awesome and just laugh  with them and enjoy the shoot.

Don’t be afraid of trying a funky new idea or photographic technique.  People like musicians are also artists who want to express themselves.

At the beginning of the shoot it’s a good idea to sit down with your clients and chat to them so that you can form a good idea of who they are, what they like to do and how you should portray them.  50% of your
shoot should be planning, where, how, lighting etc.

With outdoor photoshoots the weather plays an extremely important role.  Always be prepared for the unexpected. Even though your only going to shoot with your hotshoe mounted
flash, take one of your studio lights and an extension just in case.

Consider the angle and height of the sun.  Maybe you want the

harsh sunlight at 12 in the afternoon but watch out for squinty eyes.  You can even get some funky sunglasses and issue everyone with a pair to try something different.

Groups of people always look good when you pose them on different levels.  Try not having everybody standing on the ground, have someone sitting in their haunches, or kneeling down.

Maybe have the next person stand on a crate or on a rock.  Otherwise your shot might be a bit static.

This shoot ended up being a lot of fun and these guys don’t sing too badly either

Just go with it!

Riani

As professional wedding photographers we get the chance to meet people from overseas and photograph their weddings in South-Africa.

Take a couple like Buford and
Tersia who are from Dubai, they got married last week just outside Alberton at a venue called Thornebirds wedding and conference centre.  I’ve only ever heard about
Thornebirds wedding and conference centre but this was my first wedding that I photographed there.  The place is quite small which just makes for a very intimate

setting in which to celebrate such a joyous ocassion.  Thornebirds has amazing well established gardens, green grass everywhere, very tall trees and even a small
riverlike water feature.

So naturally the bride and groom opted for a picnic setting for the wedding reception.  It had been raining since Saturday and the weather bureau predicted rain
throughout the day.

When I met with the couple on the Monday(2 days before the wedding) Tersia kept telling me that it wasn’t going to rain.

I remember waking up on Wednesday
(the day of the wedding) and looking outside my window just to see what the weather looked like, and believe it or not there wasn’t a drop of rain that fell that day. It wasn’t
too hot or too cold, all in all a bright summers day.

Tersia(the bride) being an unconventional

girl, went for a Marilyn

Monroe hairstyle with a piece of net covering half of her face and a hairpiece with white
feathers.

The wedding was peacock themed, so there was quite a lot of coloured feathers and the colours of a peacock involved.  It

was so totally different and really
showed you a lot of the Bride’s personality.

The bride and groom was totally comfortable with me as the bride’s mom does scrapbooking at my mom’s scrapbooking shop so I have talked to Tersia a few times, and
she’s seen a lot of my work there.

Creative freedom is one of the greatest things a bride and groom can ever give their photographer. Youre photos will be even more
striking because photography really is an art form where you the photographer gets to express how you see the world.
Someone who knows both Tersia and Buford really well told me that even though Tersia hasn’t always been dating Buford, that her heart has always belonged to him.

Throughout
the course of the day I could see that what I’ve heard couldn’t have been more true.
They really had a blast and I wish you guys all of the best!!

Riani

If you get to know me, you’d realize that when travelling it sometimes takes me twice as long as a normal person(non-photographer) to arrive at my destination.  Why is that?

Because I can’t help myself from pulling over onto the side of the road(multiple times) to take a photograph of the scenery….  I know it sounds crazy but if you’ve got an
eye and a passion for landscape photography you might’ve started wondering if there is any way to stop yourself from ’seeing these photos’.  Because it’s not as simple as
jumping out of your car and snapping the shot and continueing on your drive.  You have to put a little bit of thought and time into your composition.

I almost want to say that spotting the perfect landscape photo is the easy part about all of this.  The art of landscape photography is to capture the scene so that it creates
the same stirring in other people that it created in you.  Recreating that feeling of awe for each and every person who looks at it.

So let’s talk about equipment.  You don’t necessarily need a wide angle lens (focal length of 15-20mm) to photograph landscapes, I don’t have one either.  That doesn’t mean
I dont want one with all my heart….   You can always create great images with simple equipment.    A closed down aperture like f22 to keep everytihng in sharp focus isn’t always a must either.

Let’s
say you’re photographing somewhere in Namakwaland for instance.  The fields of flowers are just so amazing and you feel completely overwhelmed, but instead of taking a snapshot
from a standing position with a closed down aperture like every other person, rather bend down a bit, focus on one particular flower(with a wide open aperture) and have the rest
of the flowers out of focus but still in the shot.

Great landscape photos are created when you put that little bit of extra time into examining your subject and background.  Even a photo with scenery needs a subject.  Be it a
person, a tree, some water or animal.  There needs to be that little something to pull your eye.

In terms of composition:
Look for things like roads or fences that can be used to lead the eye through the shot.  Have a look around for textures on trees.  The rule of thirds in photography:  If you
were your to divide your viewfinder into 9 squares, kind of like when you play noughts and crosses when you were a kid, with two lines across and two lines down.

Your strongest areas would be on the top right cross and bottom left cross.  When your taking a landscape photo try to have your horizon lie in either the top line or the bottom
line, not in the middle.  This makes for a stronger composition and more attractive photo.  Always remember to try different angles, climb into a tree, lie flat on your stomach
(yes even if it is wet) or stand on a rock.  Photography is really about expressing yourself and following your instincts.  You can also incorporate movement into your shot.
Let’s say your photographing a  golden field of barley, instead of just taking the shot from a great angle,  try putting it onto the tripod and making the exposure time a bit
longer so that you can get the movement of the clouds or the subtle movement of the barley in the light breeze…..   It might be a little bit more difficult as the lighting
outside continually changes, but it’s well worth trying.

There is so many “professionals” out there who keeps telling you what equipment you must have and what your exact aperture setting must be, but in the end you are the artist and
the creative power lies in you.  So when taking a a photo of a landscape or anything for that matter, if you are doing something that goes against everything you’ve been taught

but it just feels so right, then do it,  You might just be thrilled with the result.  Learn the rules so that you can break them properly.  That is the birth of all new
techniques.

Always try to use the sun to your advantage, whether your photographing in mid day to bring out texture on the bark of a tree, or when the sun is low and making long shadows.  Even photograph through some grass towards the sun to catch it as a glowing pink ball…

All you need to do now, is go out and try it!!  

We are off to sun City tomorrow for the weekend – can’t wait!!! Will post some pics when we get back.

Lots of fun in the sun with my 3 angels – what can be better??? Oh yes, a beautiful Strawberry Daiquiri in hand too….

Be back next week!

Great christmas gifts

Christmas is only 36 days away…!!!

Every decent store and shopping mall have now put up christmas decorations and you keep seeing
signs telling you what the perfect christmas gift will be this year.

Most people, adults and kids alike might lie awake at night thinking about Christmas for totally
different reasons.  Kids can’t stop thinking about what chritsmas present they might get for
christmas this year and can’t stop dreaming about it.  Grown-ups on the other hand might be kept
awake with thoughts of which great christmas gifts they are going to buy their loved ones…

Ever thought about giving the gift of yourself?!  When you have one photoshoot done you’re
creating endless possibilities to give to relatives, aunties, moms and grannies.  We offer
a wide variety of unique christmas gift ideas.

* Photo fridge magnets

*Personalised puzzles in various sizes

*Personalized photo tins

*Unique photo calendars

*Coffee table storybooks

*Canvas prints

*Boxmounted prints

*Framed enlargements

*Giftvouchers for a photoshoot