What makes wedding photography so special…?  I think it is the essence of love   Deciding to get married and to commit yourself to one person for the rest of your life is truly a momentous decision.  So to celebrate this decision we have a ritual called getting married.  Every culture does it differently but the outcome is basically the same.  Carey-Ann is Louise’s cousin and I play soccer with CA at Alberton Football Club.  We always have a great time together and are perfectly in sync on the soccer field.On the day of the wedding we truly had the best weather any professional wedding photographer could ask for.  I’m not quite sure where the bride and groom ordered their weather but I’ll let you know when I find out   I’ve heard a rumour, if you don’t want it to rain on your wedding day you have to put a fork in the ground and a broom in a tree… on the other hand I’ve also heard that rain on your wedding day signifies that you will have a long and happy marriage, so you decide! CA and Shaun I hope you guys will be happy together forever until eternity…!!

Riani

I just had to post a few photographs of my baby girl…. we went to visit granny and grandad the other day because my little brother Vince is visiting for 3 weeks (all the way from Liverpool in the UK).

As usual, the kids had a ball and Demi ended up in the plants first, eating all the sand and leaves and then in the box of water and finally in the pool with her granny. And boy did she love it…..

I just couldn’t resist and had my camera out like a shot – I am always taking photographs (wherever I go) but when it comes to taking photos of my baby girl, I am a sucker…. I just can’t help myself – she is sooo cute! Guess I will have to do another post of my other 2 babies and put up some photos of them too – they are really photogenic but then I am biased (lol).

Makes me think of my mom – Ryan always teases her because when we had Jamie – her first grandchild – she always used to say that he was so advanced! Then Mikey came along and she said the same thing. Then my brother JJ had Jordy (the cutest kid on the planet) and you guessed it – he was advanced too!!

So it was no surprise when Demi was declared advanced as well and granny still claims that they all are advanced and she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks! Guess that’s what grandparents are for…..

I recently did a corporate photoshoot for a company called CFT Labels – a wonderful company that specialises in manufacturing high-quality self-adhesive labels. They were recently feautured in a prominent magazine for the manufacturing industry called ‘Packaging Review’. 

I love doing corporate photoshoots or professional business photoshoots as some people call them because you get to learn. In this case, my photos were published in a magazine which is always nice. What I really love about CFT Labels is the people that work there. They are a fun, dedicated team of professionals who aim to give the best possible service to their clients (okay, I must confess, I own CFT Labels so I am biased!!!) Anyway, here is the article that was published in the September issue of Packaging Review.

A photographic and design service for labels
CFT Labels, Turfontein-based supplier of self-adhesive labels, is currently in the process of expanding its premises to provide new office space and additional capacity to its factory, and is also offering a newly-launched, full photographic and design service, not only for labels but for all print and marketing requirements.

‘We had reached our full capacity – running permanent double shifts and at weekends,’ says Louise Diesel, the company’s director. ‘In order to meet customer demand, we are also investing in new technologies that will position us to provide a strong focus on high-quality labels.’
To this end, the company is considering the purchase of a new eight-colour ELS Servo Aquaflex printing press, with full UV flexo capabilities as well as complete multi-substrate versatility. The other alternative is a new Mark Andy 2200 press which offers similar printing capabilities. CFT Labels is celebrating its 10th anniversary in February next year, having originally been established by husband-and-wife team, Louise and Ryan, and remains a family-run business. Current equipment includes two Aquaflexes (one six and one seven colour) and three-colour flexo die cutters and a foiling machine.

A complete design solution
Louise Diesel recently launched her own photographic studio, following successful completion of several photography courses at the National College of Photography in Bedfordview. ‘I started taking pictures for family and friends, but it grew so phenomenally that it was a natural progression for me to explore ways of incorporating this skill into our business,’ she says.
‘Obviously, many clients need photographs to be taken for their labels or product shots, as well as corporate photos for financial reports. I have just employed a qualified photographer so that we are able to offer clients a complete design service for their labels, as well as for packaging and printed materials such as cartons, brochures and containers as well as online marketing material’

CFT Labels also supplies peel-and-read labels which list the ingredients of a given product on the reverse side. ‘We were originally approached by Revlon to find such a solution and we had to get approval from the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association (CTFA). The smallest peel-and-read label that we offer is only 36 x 13mm in size!’ This unique type of printing offers many other applications such as competitions, double-sided labels, etc.

On completion of every job, CFT Labels supplies the client with a barcode verification certificate to GSI specifications, and an overall rating. ‘This is becoming increasingly important as many retailers are now fining suppliers for barcodes that are not up to specification,’ says Louise Diesel. ‘It’s no longer sufficient that the barcode can simply scan. It also needs to be verified.’

Diesel owes the company’s success to several factors, not least of which include lead times of just a week and a no-minimum-quantity requirement for any label.
Its customers include huge multinationals, national listed companies as well as small privately-owned entities with primary markets being food and beverage and pharmaceutical and cosmetic; and secondary ones being agricultural and chemical.
CFT Labels: T +2711 683 1155 www.cft.co.za

Johannesburg Wedding Photographer

Wedding Photography is a subject so vast and so varied, I could write for hours on the subject. Just google the term ‘wedding photography’ and you get over 6 million results!!! Being a professional wedding photographer, many people seem to think that I am an expert on Johannesburg Wedding Photography. However, the subject of wedding photography is a really, really subjective one, so it would be wise to be careful who you take advice from.

Let’s take wedding budgets as an example – budgeting for wedding photography is a cause for huge debate. Google that and you get 403 000 results!! Many people spend years planning their wedding day, right down to the finest details (after all, most of us plan to only do this once in a lifetime – so we want it to be perfect) and budgets are normally huge considering everything that goes into making a ‘perfect wedding’….. from the wedding dress, to the colour of the table cloths, to the wedding venue, to the flowers, to the music, to the food, the rings, the first song, to the wedding favours and on and on and on….

If I think back to my own wedding, I think my husband was so relieved once our wedding was finally over because he was so tired of hearing about all the details (I planned it for nearly a year and that’s all my friends & I spoke about for a whole year!!! He always used to say: ‘Why are you asking for my opinion? You aren’t interested in what I have to say anyway!’)

So considering all of that, I just don’t understand why so many people budget so little for their wedding photographs??? Some even forget to budget for a wedding photographer at all! Okay, I admit I am biased (after all I am a professional wedding photographer….) but once all is said and done, photographs are all you have left of your wedding day (and possibly a video).

You spend a lifetime planning your wedding, probably a lifetime of savings too, so you want to have more than memories to show for your special day – and that’s where you photos come in. So my advice to you (and I said this was subjective) is to budget a decent amount for a professional wedding photographer.

It could be the single most important thing that you do because at the end of it all, no-one really remembers the cake or what the song was for the first dance (I don’t think my husband even remembers ours…. no, just kidding!!) but you get the point, so your wedding photos will become one of your most prized possessions for years to come. So considering Johannesburg wedding photography and all that it entails, expert or no expert, one thing I can guarantee is that a good photographer will capture those special moments in a way that will allow you to relive your special day again and again and again – and that is priceless!!