As a Johannesburg wedding photographer, I am so exited that spring is in the air. Not only is the weather better but so is the scenery and the amount of day light we have. On a recent wedding the service ran late (the best man forgot the wedding rings can you believe it….) and we actually ran out of day light. Such a pity because I much prefer natural light for wedding photography.

The scenery in spring is just so beautiful, the luscious green grass and the budding trees and flowers just add to the beauty of the bride and groom. When the spring rains come it also cleans the rivers, and running water is always great to photograph.

The wedding venues in Muldersdrift also just sprout to life after the first rains. And the rose gardens set the perfect stage for the bride and groom’s first wedding photos. As you can see I just love spring and all that it brings. New beginnings, fresh starts, and beautiful oppurtunities for photography….

Spring just makes being a wedding photographer more exciting.The brial couple are just so much more comfortable in spring as the bride is not shivering because she is cold. And there is nothinng like a summer highveld sunset…..

Johannesburg wedding photography for a professional wedding photographer like myself is a lot of fun.Joburgers really know how to celebrate in true jozi spirit.

I have been fortunate enough to do many Gauteng weddings from muldersdrift to Alberton to Soweto and one thing I have to say is Johanneburg people know how to party. 

There is something about a wedding that gets everyone going, the married couples reminisce about their wedding day and the young couples dream of when their wedding day will come. As far as photography goes every wedding is unique.

Every bride and groom expects different things from their photographer. Some couples want the traditional photos while others want the funky new age wedding photography style. That’s why as a professional international photographer, I prefer to meet the bride and groom-to-be beforehand, so we can get to know each other. A good photographer gets the shots the bridal couple want, not the shots the photographer wants.

The wedding guests also play a role in the outcome of the photographs. What I like about the recent weddings I have done is that the bridal couples have wanted fun candid pictures and the guests have obliged. I have posted a few of the wedding party pictures that rarely get displayed, but which I feel make up a large part of the wedding day and all it’s wonderful memories!!!

I am the first to admit that I really don’t like flash – but at a wedding, your flash will become your best friend and if used correctly, will give you beautiful images. If you are going to be photographing weddings often, I would recommend that you buy the most expensive, most advanced and most powerful flash that you can afford. It will save you so much time in the end and as a professional photographer, time is money. It is also advisable to have a diffuser cap on your flash.

Flash is good for several reasons:

(1) flash can freeze action – this is ideal when the bride and groom walk out of the chapel and you want to capture the confetti shots

(2) perfect for the first dance as it has a known light strength so it is controlled and constant

(3) it can be used to correct colour – so it can be very useful for those sunset shots (if you expose for the bride’s face without overexposing the sunset, you won’t have any colour casts on th ebride’s face, but will still have the beautiful sunset in the background)

(4) it is important to understand that flash will expose for a specific distance so when doing those group table photos that everyone wants at a wedding, you need to ask everyone to move and get close together or your lighting will not be even

(5) Bouncing flash can be very useful if you have a white ceiling – this allows you to spread the light more evenly and gives a nice soft light. Watch out though for bouncing on thatch as this will give a colour cast and that is the last thing you want when photographing a wedding – especially the bride!!!

All in all, weddings can be tricky to photograph, but with a bit of experience and a good flash you will be a professional wedding photographer in no time!!!