On Location Photography In Cape Town

I have always loved and adored Johannesburg, Johannesburg’s hustle and bustle fully works with my own rhythm and I love being here during the great seasons it gets to go through a year.

But one other place I fully feel at home is when I get to go to Bloubergstrand, in Cape Town.

Other that the yellowish sand of the Natal coast, Blouberg has silver, light sand that is very velvety and a beach you could stare at for hours. It’s a view you can’t get sick of in millions of lifetimes, with the wonderful majestic mountain on your left hand side, and Robben Island straight ahead.

And even though is seems as if all of the Cape’s winds come together right in Blouberg to blow you away, the community adapts and it’s right there and then that the free spirited people pull out their hair ties, and wakeboards to take on the surf.

On location photography is always fun, a whole new set of rules apply. You are more subjective to what nature offers you, than what you get to control in the studio.

But once you’re hooked, you would want to experience more of that thrill of capturing beautiful images with natural colours and light.

All families are compiled differently, some have two fathers, some eight kids, some ten grandchildren, some a single mother, and that is what makes your family unique in its own right. We adore families who come and visit us, because each and every shoot, we try and bring a fun element in. No one wants to look back at photos and remember a stiff, too posed kind-of time they had with us. Kids are in anyway much more comfortable with their parents tickling them, and playing with them, that what they would be with some strange lady doing it, and those giggles are what we’re looking for.

Kids will always be kids, and when they are still small, no amount of force will get them to smile if they are really not into it. We have the biggest success rate with smaller children, when their photos are taken first, and when we try and do all combinations that have them in it, over and done with, without rushing it, just knowing that they only give a small amount of time before they are spend and very stimulated. Our studio is based on the principle that your shoot should be good, positive experience, for everyone involved, from Granny, to the very littlest baby, and we try our best to not to make children scared of the experience.

It’s always a pleasure to work with kids, because they are so honest and only themselves, and those amazing faces breaking into (sometimes toothless) smiles, are priceless.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labsuchagne

Fun and creative family photoshoots

Photographing families will never get old, for the simple reason that each family is differently, and have their own way of doing things. We have such great families visiting us, and each family has their own groove and it’s hard not to sometimes become a part of their banter and jokes.

Families are the cornerstone of our studio, and we get to build great trusting bonds with people who put their image and ultimately some great memories of theirs in our hands, and it’s our photos of them that will show who they are, how they have grown and changed, and parents get to see their children change from small helpless babies, into young adults. We have the best fun with all our families, and sometimes get them to do the craziest of things.

Our studio has the policy of giving you high-quality products, but that doesn’t mean they only have to be posed, stiff images, we love to do a bit more interactive posing with our families, get them to open up a bit, and enjoy the shoot as much as we do. It’s the best idea to treat your family and yourself to one of our fun shoots, it’s an occasion you’ll never forget and it will make for images you can treasure for many years to come.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labuschagne

The real life studio photography

One day Johnny Bravo walked into our studio without us noticing anything out of the ordinary…  Ok ok, his real name is Daniel but I promise you he has the moves and charisma of Johnny Bravo

He is just so smooth and knows exactly what to do to put the attention squarely on him.  When a family arrives for their fun photoshoot and are getting settled we know that it’s really important to engage with the kids and get them talking (in other words getting them confortable in this new environment)  So I asked this little man how old he is?  He looked at me, lifted up one eyebrow, smiled and said 5… Where after mom corrected him and then he was like:”ok… 3″  How cute is that?!

Throughout this while photoshoot he kept on being his charming self, doing his eyebrow moves and in general just charming the socks off everyone.  He was even full of love for his baby sister who is but a few months old, smiling, holding and kissing her.

I just truly love these comical expressions and truthful sayings with which our toddlers come up with in the studiom it has really given us lots to smile about…

Riani Labuschagne & Yolandi Jacobsz

Family Portraits

It’s always such a grateful feeling when a venture (which you are part of) gets ready to leave the nest and soar high in the sky.  So it’s an absolute pleasure after all the years of hard work and fun shoots to be part of moving to an bigger and even better property.  The best way is to describe it is it’s kind of like taking your toddler to nursery school for the first time, on the one side you are slightly apprehensive as there are so many lovely memories of just you two, BUT on the other hand you know this is the beginning of big things!

We are moving FROM 101 Michelle Avenue TO 18 Leipoldt streed (in Randhart) on the 1st of October - right around the corner!  There are some amazing specials running (like 20% off the first 20 confirmed bookings) and 15% off all canvas prints ordered in Sept (T’s & C’s apply)

There will now be two studio’s to accomodate shoots ranging from couples, newborn’s to big family shoots (both studio’s at the same time), display area’s and much more…

So come and visit us at our new place and see what all the fuss is about!’

Riani Labuschagne, Yolandi Jacobsz & Louise Diesel

Professional Photography

I recently did a fun-filled family photoshoot for my brother and his family and I can’t tell you just how hard I had to work…  Obviously the boys thought they could get away with a lot more because they know me, well well did I have a surprise for them!

My sister-in-law had the great idea to print moustache’s for each of them just to make the shoot a little more funky and the boys had such a giggle when they had a look at the photos J

The twins had some funny ideas all of their own which included dancing which they refer to as electric noodle and each took a turn to pretend to be a horned-ram jostling into the other to make him jump up in the air…lol.

The smallest little guys also brought his absolute favourite suit “THE fire chief” along for some very very adorable shots.  But in the end we captured some beautiful family portraits which portray the essence of who they are!

As you can see they colour matched their outfits to be jeans and black shirts which brings an element of unity into the photos.  So if you are looking for a fun filled family activity contact us for a day you will never forget :-)  -and you will have the memories to show…

Riani Labuschagne

Fun-filled family photoshoot

It’s the time of year that many companies are starting to plan their year-end functions. Or, many have the planning of it down already, but are now trying to find a photographer for the event who will be able to shoot their function in a professional way to have great images of the whole evening.

We at Louise Diesel Photography, The Real Life Studio, make it our passion to pour heart-and-soul into every job that we do, and we understand how important these functions are to companies – it’s the closing down of a year’s work, to get inspired for a new year ahead, and to have the event be a fun one for all attending so that they can relax and not think of work for a while.

Event photography is a specific format, involving a lot of people photography, and the photographer truly has to show some charisma in order for people to look natural in front of the camera. At our studio we use high-end professional cameras with a high pixel output, so that you as our client can be sure to get images that are of great quality and that can be used for brochures, reports and company websites.

Trust us with your event when planning your year-end function this year, you can be sure of committed service and excellent photography.

Yolandi Jacobsz

Year end event photography