My top photography tip for today is to always try and make your photograph unique.  If you are lucky enough to be doing a photoshoot on location take your photos to the exact specification of your client but also remember to try and do some creative shots.  This not only keeps your creative eye in training but serves to impress your clients every now and again as they didn’t know you were capable of a shot like this.

My tip for shooting silhouette shots like above (which was taken at Roedean School for Girls in South-Africa for their marketing campaign) is to try and expose your shot for the background which tends to be the skyline most of the time.  This will ensure that your subject is “dark enough” to make them into a silhouette and it will also give you nice colours in the sky. 

They say a photo is worth a thousand words and this shots goes to prove it.  It was taken as St Margaret’s which is the Grade 0 and Grade 1’s.  Throwing the girls into silhouettes serves the purpose to show you that this could be your daughter or any other girl who will have the privilege to attend this culturally rich school.  So always try for the impossible…

Riani

Event Photography

Friday afternoon was spent in glitz and glamour taking photos of Aisha’s matric farewell dress, gorgeous shoes and awesome limo…  I was enjoying myself so much and had time to take a silhouette photo (which is actually really easy to do)  Here is my top photography tip for the day.

When taking a silhouette photo keep in mind that you are losing alot of detail so your silhouetted shaped has to be recognisable.  You will see in my shot that I specifically asked Aisha to turn her face to the side so that we would have a beautiful profile showing.  Then you need to have light cming from behind your subject (windows in north facing houses are ideal for this.

You have to then set your exposure for the background behind your subject (which is lit much more brightly than your subject) and this will in “underexpose” your subject , in technical terms, and create a silhouette.  Now you try…

Riani

Food can sometimes be a tricky subject to photograph.  Ice Cream melts (which means you have 2-3 minutes to perfect your lighting) and steaming bowls of food cool down in 5 minutes so what do you do?  Firstly here two quotes that I think very much apply to the art of food photography:

“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography”

George Eastman (founder of Kodak)

“It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter, because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the ordinary.”

David Bailey

First off you need to know light.  We are surrounded by light but we never learn to fully appreciate it.  Take time in the late afternoon to absorb the wonderfully soft amber light just before the sun dips behind the horizon.  Carefully study the way light wraps around a loved one’s face early in the morning.  This even applies to when you have your lunch, out it down on the counter and study the way the light and shadows enhance and hide certain features.  By doing this you will already be halfway to a better photograph of food.  When you are setting up your shot, take an object which has a similar shape and size as the food you are photographing and try to get your lighting 99.9% correct before you even think of placing your plate of food in front of the lens.

Basically you need to make a normal plate of food look good enough to eat (literally)  Take a little bit of time to examine the colours and textures of the food while your food stylist prepares it.  And lastly, a very important tip when photographing food is to visualize the shot which you are looking to create.  Without this vision you will be lucky if you get anything good enough to show off…

Riani

You are never too old to learn and that is why I am going to give you some really good photography tips on how to take silhouette photos. 

Let’s start off with what is a silhouette photo?  It isa photo that has been taken with the main light source being behind the subject.  So insted of having lighting of the subjcts face and body the lighting is showing their outline as seen above.  You have to try and make sure that your subject

has a recognisable shape like a person, animal or maybe tree.  (because you are losing an aspect by not having a facial expressiona and colour in your subject, this is to ensure you create a powerful image)  Try to shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon if you are using the sun as your light source so that it is low in the sky and easier to position your subject in front of.  As for exposure I would recommend you

underexposre the shot by 1-3 stops to ensure that your subject is silhouetted.  (So expose for your background rather than your subject)  And another photography tip is to never stop trying.  Even though you didn’t get the perfect photos you will have learnt something from trying…

Riani

Valentine’s day is right around the corner and you still need to get your man that special gift…  Ever though of doing a boudoir photoshoot and giving the sexy photos as a gift?  Luckily for you we are running a great valentine’s day special as per the pic below:

Can you imagine the look on your man’s face when he realizes what you have given him…?  This is the perfect gift for every couple which will last forever and make you feel like the supermodel you know you are!!!  This is elegant photography for women by women

This is the kind of gift no man will ever forget… And who knows maybe you will be getting sexy photos of your man for valentine’s next year…  

Riani

When photographing a family with small children time is of the essence.  Younger children tend to get bored quickly so use their energy to your advantage.  Play and sing with them so that you can create moments where you can capture natural smiles   Sometimes you just have to let them

be and they will come back to the backdrop and dance for you if you put the music loud enough.  Create a friendly environment where they feel free to play and be themselves.  A little tickling also goes a long way, after the first tickle you just tantalise them with the thought that it will happen again and they

will surely have an award winning smile on their faces.  And lastly, patience is key.  Try to work with the kids as much as you can instead of trying to force them to do something they are not interested in.  As soon as they feel pressured they will retract into their shell.  Have fun

Riani

Are you looking for that special valentine’s gift?  Why not doll yourself up and have a professional photoshoot done?  And give those special photos to your boyfriend?  We specialise in tasteful boudoir photos.  Haven’t you ever looked at photos of a beautiful woman on a magazine and

wished that you could also look like that?  Well you can, these photoshoots are aimed at making you feel more confident about your body.  Who cares if you have a flaw or two, everybody is human.  With creative lighting we will help you disguise the parts of your body you don’t feel

comfortable with and flaunt the ones you love.  It’s as simple as that!   We are professional female photographers who understand exactly how you feel in your own skin.  These shoots are can be done in the  privacy of our studio or in the comfort  of your own home.  So contact us now for

more info!

Riani