I have met so many people who want to find the “perfect wedding photographer” and the fact of the matter is that there is no one “perfect wedding photographer” But here are a few important few guidelines to help you choose the perfect wedding photographer for you:

1 – Go onto the internet and search for wedding photographers, have a look at their photo galleries (not just on wedding but a few)  If you like what you see add them onto your short list.  You can do the same thing by asking your friends and relatives who did their wedding photos and then taking a look at their portfolios.

2 – Once you have compiled a short list get into contact with these photographers and ask them if they are still available on the date and for them to send through a quote.  This will also help you to narrow the list down even more with photographers who are in your price range.

3 – Set-up an appointment for you and your hubby to be to go and meet your top 3 photographers.
Use this meeting to get to know them better.  Do they make you feel comfortable and at ease?  ( This is very important especially on your wedding day)  Ask to see more of their portfolios, and take special care in looking at the weather

conditions, are the photos which were taken in sunny weather much better than the ones taken in rainy weather?  This will give you an idea of their skills and abilities.  A good photographer should be able to handle most weather conditions equally well.  Are they helpful and prepared for the meeting ( this will give you an idea of the way they normally work) and take your time to find you a few things like :

-          do you get a high-res cd with your photos (printable)?

-          What do they charge per hour extra for overtime?

-          Do they bring back-up equipment to your wedding just in case?

-          Are they bringing an assistant along?

-          How long does it take before you can get your wedding photos back?

4 – Make sure that you book your perfect wedding photographer 6 months before the actual wedding day.  I can’t really explain why, but especially in summer there are certain dates which just have a lot of enquiries and couples wanting to book it.

PS – If your photographer mentions that it might be a good idea to have your wedding ceremony held 1 or 2 hours earlier, it is because they are worried that there will not be enough natural light left to ensure that you get breathtaking wedding photos (not because they are bossy J  )

Riani

Wedding Photographer Gauteng

The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our country and we thought running a special in conjunction with the 2010 FIFA world cup would make it even more special.  So, don’t know what to do with your kids over the long June holidays…?  Why not bring them for a fun family photoshoot in our studio?  Dress them up in the kit of their football team, bring a colourful soccer ball along and come and enjoy some family fun.  We can take these amazing family photos at your house, in a beautiful park or in our professional photo studio…  The choice is yours!  All you have got to do now is contact us on 011 869 7759 or email us at info@louisedieselphotography.co.za and we will send you this very special world cup offer.  Don’t delay, they are going faster than a goalkick from Ronaldo…

Riani

I love to capture photos of people in their natural environment, where they are everyday and doing what they do every day.  In the industry it is called environmental portraiture.  So, Hand in Hand South-Africa empowers women in rural villages by giving them the means to start their own entrepreneurial business and then helping them out as well as following up.

This is where we were contacted to go with them to Rustenburg where they have a few of these initiatives up and running and needed some environmental portraiture of these peoples everyday lives for a case study.

There is something utterly humbling about doing work like this.  You meet people who don’t have a lot but because they are grateful have done a lot with what they have.  Even though

there is a language barrier you still manage to communicate with knowing eyes and smiles which radiates proudness.  These women are able to support their families in such a way that will teach their children the ways of life.  And being able to work, supports and challenges them in such a way that they are proud to show us their hard work.

Going through these photos just makes me smile…  The personality of every person in the photographs, what they think of their work, how hard they work to support their families and exactly how proud and grateful they are to have been given this opportunity. ( and of this crazy photographer sitting on her bum in the muddy (and wet) vegetable garden… )

Riani

Mothers’ Day, don’t you think it’s funny how this is the one day in the year when we try to show our mothers how incredibly special they are to us…? (We should be doing this every day of the year) This year, instead of buying your mother a generic mothers’ day card and a box of chocolates, why don’t you make a handwritten card in which you tell her exactly what she means to you and how much she has made a positive impact on your life… And then to top this off you need to give her the most unique present ever, something like… a

photoshoot gift voucher!? Your mom and my mom have got something in common even though they have never met before. They love to see their kids happy, laughing and enjoying themselves. Buy your mom a voucher for a family photoshoot, get the whole family together and come and have fun and make memories in our studio. Make use of our fantastic Mothersday Special:”20% off all photoshoots taken during the week” (until the end of May). For more information on this Mothersday Special contact us on info@louisedieselphotography.co.za or call us on 011 869 7759

Riani

Being pregnant is a very special time in any woman’s life and so we believe this has to be captured in the most beautiful way known to man, photography.  We are passionat about photographing pregnant women, big tummies, small tummies and everything in between…  Our aim is to capture that special bond you share as a couple with your unborn baby. Weuse  specialised low-key lighting to accentuate your tummy and hide everything your not too fond of.  This is definitely and experience not to be missed.  Our photoshoots lasts anything from 40 mins to and hour and a half and make sure that you are totally relaxed in front of the lens.  Our female photographers have years of experience and will guide you right from choosing the right outfit up to helping you on the posing front.  For more information feel free to contact us on info@louisedieselphotography.co.za or on our studio landline 011 869 7759…

Riani

Have you ever had someone love you truly unconditionally?  So much that you actually mean the world to them…?  C’s mom is like that.  This little boy is ecstatic

everytime his mom comes closer to pick him up or even just talk to him.  He smiles and performs   I think he is the perfect baby model and they absolutely need to enter these professional baby photos into a magazine like

baby & me or living & loving.  He was an absolute pleasure to have in the studio, I smile and then he smiles.  And he absolutely adores playing peek-a-boo.  For more information on professional baby photos contact us on info@louisedieselphotography.co.za

Riani

Roedean School for Girls (SA) contacted us to take some commercial photographs of the school.  The brief was” Inspiring a life of significance”  As you can see all the girls in the photos are silhouetted giving the photos the feel that it could be any girl in the world attending this heritage-filled school.

We thoroughly enjoyed the this new challenge to be very creative within  a school environment and would reccomend commercial photography to anyone out there.  Then there was also the element of working together closely with some of the pupils and teachers of the school and I would

like to thank the science teachers and the Nicky down at St Margaret’s (GR1) for all their effort in helping us out with everything from blue chemicals in test tubes to getting the “littlies” to hang upside down on the monkey bars.  As commercial photographers we love the challenge of

following every brief to the tee (and then add a little bit of creative flair) so that we can provide the client with an excellent product at the end of the day.

Riani