It is scary to pick out your life plan. Trying to plan out fifty years or so of your life is so overwhelming. Honestly, almost no one knows what they will be doing fifty years from now or stick to their plans. A career aptitude test may tell some one who grows up to be a wedding photographer style that they were meant to be a lawyer. That wedding photographer may have even pursued the field of law at some point. It just goes to show that no one can be absolutely sure of where they are going. There are a lot if changes between college and high school. That is the time where there is the most pressure to make decisions about their lives and future. Whats funny is that during such a time of uncertainty, they have to be the most certain. It is completely normal to want to change your major while in college. Some people frown upon entering college with an undecided major, but in reality it can be one of the best choices to make.
Taking a year off is never a bad idea either. Going to college for four years and then taking a year off prior to grad school or starting a career. It will give you time to discover yourself and things you like to do. Perhaps it gives you a chance to travel and decide where you want to spend the next couple years. Parents or adults may not understand at first, they may tell you that you should start right away and get a head start. They are just misinterpreting the reason for taking a year off. Taking time before moving on with your life puts you ahead of other people because you can be confident in yourself and decision.
The most important thing when it comes to a career and rest of your life is being happy. Money and success can’t be the only thing that motivate you. Even though most people chase after those things, they are empty if you are unhappy. You won’t be able to fully enjoy life if you are working a job that makes you miserable. You don’t want to have to regret any decisions you make.
You can’t rush into choosing a career or life plan. It is a big decision to make, one that most people are never totally finished making. Life changes unannounced all the time. You may never know for sure where you are going to be next. You just have to live your life to the fullest and do what’s best for you. Careers are about more than just money, it is about self fulfillment. It is your career, no one elses.

We took the children to the Drakensberg for the mid-term break. We went to Alpine Heath which is a wonderful resort for families – they have so much for the children to do!!! We played tennis and cricket and rugby and rode bicycles (up some tough hills I might add!!) and putt-putt and chess – it was fantastic! And we loved it!

We also went on a hike one day (we left Florence and Demi at home so Demi could have a nap) and the boys thouroughly enjoyed it! It was only a 2km hike which was just perfect for the boys. We hiked to the little waterfall and had a picnic at the base of the falls and the boys played in the river with all the rocks (they just love to play in the river!) What a wonderful way to chat to your children – they have nothing else to do while they are walking so they just spoke away! It was really special! The last time I did that hike, I was 6 months pregnant with Demi-Leigh so it brought back lots of teasured memories. Of course, I took tons of photographs again and I have made two animated dvd’s of the photographs which is such a lovely way to look back at the photographs and share with family and friends!

I also had to share the photographs with granny and grandad overseas as they are coming to visit us soon and are going to take the children back to Alpine Heath for a week. The boys are sooo excited to go back there with their grandparents (I have already warned my parents to get ready for it  as they are going to be run off their feet!!)

One of the days was extremely cold, so we decided to take a drive to Kwazulu Natal Weavers and Candles – the boys love it there are they make the most deliecious waffles. I love it as they make the most amazing candles so we all had fun. I even bought a new rug for our upstairs lounge which is beautiful!

Ryan and I also spent a lot of time reading. It was wonderful! Demi had a sleep every afternoon for a few hours and then the boys would go the games room and play with the other children (the entertainment team there is very good too) and that gave Ryan & I just enough time to warm up with a cafe late and a good book and restore our energy levels for round 2 with the kids in the afternoon!

It was a wonderful holiday and I loved the time with the children! I know they are going to have a blast when they go back with their grandparents (and Ryan and I are going to have a week of peace – what bliss!!!)

Weddings are fun and exciting. But they can also turn into a task which brings with it related tensions and schedules to be met. A wedding hassle you to plan things beforehand in quite detail as it involves too many items to furnish for. Included in this list are the wedding dresses and dresses for bridesmaid.

A bridesmaid might not be the centre of fascination as the bride but is surely someone who everyone looks at during the wedding. This makes it all the eminent that the bridesmaid is attired in a dress which is pleasant and graceful. It is observed that in most cases the brides splurge on their wedding dresses and at the end have to pick up something cheap and from the rack to cater for the brides dresses. This might not be a good idea.

The bride should think about the person who is going to be your bridesmaid and whether this bridesmaid dress would suit her and if she would be comfortable wearing the same. For lots of ideas pertaining to bridesmaid dresses you could start on to peruse bride magazines and online catalogs for beautiful as well as feasible ideas. This will introduce to you several varieties of bridesmaid dresses which are in vogue and you could select from.

You can mix and match the dresses for your bridesmaid, and by no means have to be restricted by the number of bridesmaids you will have. You can have ten bridesmaids and they can all be wearing bridesmaid dresses that are unique from one another, and at the same time have a coordinating color theme and style to go along with each other. The internet allows you to view various styles, fabrics, and color combination’s online for your bridesmaid dresses and you can then proceed and make your selections.

Once you are done with your collection of bridesmaid dresses ensure that your bridesmaids do try the dresses on and see that they suit and whether they are comfortable wearing them or not. You would want your bridesmaids to be happy and comfortable in their bridesmaid dresses and not wear it just because it is your wedding and the bridesmaid dresses are of your choice. It would also be a good idea if you could engage your friends in the procedure of selecting their bridesmaid dresses. This will not only give them with a logic of involvement in your wedding but at the same time you too would come to know of their tastes and choices concerning bridesmaid dresses.

My cousin got married a few weeks ago and it was a really special day! Mandy (the bride) and Clint (he groom) make such a lovely couple – they are so in love and it is beautiful to see!!! I of course was taking photographs and was in my element – I love to photograph weddings! There is something contagious about them: the love, the excitement, the nerves,the families, the tradition…. there are so many special moments to capture on film, and that’s what I love!!!

Of course, I also got to see some of the family that I never get to see, which is always nice. I have so many cousins it’s scary but it’s fun when we all get together and share crazy family stories and always has us in fits of laughter!!!

The wedding was a morning wedding (a really cold morning too – poor Mandy in her wedding dress!!) And so it was short and sweet and simple and special! You could not take the smile off either Clint or Mandy’s face the entire morning. But my best part of the day was when Clint cried as Mandy walkied down the aisle…. I think all the women were watching and aaahing at how sweet that was – he truly is lovestruck!

Well cuz, I wish you guys a wonderful life of love and gratitude together! Enjoy every moment as it seems to fly by so quickly….

I can’t believe that my little bot is already 7 years old!! I can still remember the day he was born – it really doesn’t feel like 7 years ago! He has grown into such a lovely boy and the benefit of him being 7 already is that we now enjoy wonderful conversations together. Jamie has such an inquiring mind and wants to know how everything works….. or rather has a theory about how everything works and loves to tell me all about it!

He also loves to read now that he can read himself and it’s so special to listen to him…. makes me so proud!!!

His favourite thing to do is play video games of course. So it’s no surprise that we bought him a new game for his birthday – he got the new Avatar game for his Nintendo Wii (which granny and grandad bought them for christmas 2 years ago) He loves it – it’s also their favourite programme at the moment. And we often have a slight disagreement at 6pm every night when Avatar starts and the boys get ready to watch because Demi has discovered Barney and she is not too fond of Avatar….. interesting times ahead of us!

Well, it’s days like these that make me so grateful to be a mother. I look at my children and see how quickly they are growing up and it reminds me to appreciate my time with them, but also tho appreciate each day and everything I do, because this is it! This is my life! And I better not miss it while I am making other plans….

So Happy Birthday my boy!! Mommy loves you lots and lots and lots and lots…….

Mwah!!

Photographing toddlers is almost one of the hardest things to do, the phase where they have just started walking (roundabout 12 months to 3 yrs)  They want to explore everything and anything and the whole sphotoshoot is conducted at their pace which is enough to make you want to take a nap afterwards They are inquisitive and every pose has to be photographed at lightning speed as they lose interest really fast.  So my advice as a professional toddler photographer is to get the parents to play with their little one, hold them upside down, tickle them and throw some coloured balls around with them.  Put them onto your shoulders, throw them into the air or give them a horsey ride on your back.  Basically we do whatever it takes to make it fun and interactive for them.  This handsome little guy is half Italian and half Greek and I think he is only going to get cuter as he gets older.  Even though Nicarla looks small in these photos let me tell you he weighs a ton and I’m sure he is going to have big, broad shoulders just like his dad.  This shoot was tons of fun (as you never know what to expect when photographing little kids) but my brother has got a son the same age so all Nicarla’s mannerisms and the way he communicates made me think of my nephew I know I’m getting all sentimental again but this is what toddler portrait photography is all about, capturing the essence of your child…

Riani

I have a lot of experience with photographing twins in and out of studio because my brother has twin boys aged six (and another little one aged almost 2)  Anyways, let me tell you it is hard work even when they’re non-identical.  Take these two little 11 month old girls, Amy & Sarah, for instance.  The one smiles whn you talk to her and is much more outgoing than her sister, the other just looks at you like she’s thinking ‘well what have you got to offer me’. 

So you have to balance out these two personalities and of course manage two little models at the same time.  These two were crawling all over the studio and trying to stand up against the studio lighting (which I wouldn’t recommend trying at home     )  Mom and dad was very cooperative in helping moving the girls around and throwing them into the air.  The secret is to play with them, tickle and sing to them.  When you make the experience fun they will automatically smile and play (which is what we aim to capture)When they’re at this age it is nothing short of a miracle to get both these girls in the same photo (not mentioning that one will probably be sitting with her back towards you and the one facing you isn’t even smiling)  My advice is to try and capture both their personalities seperately.  Ask dad to entertain the one on the side while you photograph the other with mom making her smile and vice versa.  This way you ensure that you get both of them smiling and happy

Riani