We always say that each family is different, each family is uniquely put together and have their own different dynamic and way they operate. Whether Afrikaans, English, Portuguese or young or old, we get so many diverse and different types of clients who come to visit us, and with each and every shoot, we can remember some vital moments that made that shoot special.

When you have boys you know how hectic things can get – they just tend to be so much more energetic and lively as girls, and can cause havoc in their way if you don’t watch out. We run around after them in the studio, and sometimes get images all taken in the action of the moment, as little kids have everything better to do, than sit still by their own or with a sibling, or with a parent and take a photo. Kids have the most amazing things to say though and they are so entertaining, we still think back to so many small children who said the darndest things in their shoots.

Kids have this amazing ability to just be themselves though, even if they are cross or bubbly, they always give you 100% of themselves, and on a great day, it’s those smiles we want, and those little giggles and laughter’s, to make for images you’ll treasure, and remember your kids’ phases fondly.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labuschagne

 Cool family photos

Pregnancy is such a special time in any woman’s life.  Some of us will be blessed with one or more pregnancies and each one is different with a unique individual softly being woven together close to your heart.

In our pregnancy photoshoots we portray you as a Goddess (don’t  laugh, cos it’s true    )  We make use of low-key lighting (as seen in the pics above) to accentuate all and everything which is beautiful – the love you and your hubby share, the joy and laughter,, placement of your hands,  your beautiful tummy (and if you have stretch marks I have a “magic wand which you will just adore”, so don’t even think to stress about that ) and simply the beautiful shape of your pregnancy body.  Let’s face it, there is something very magical about the shape and silhouette of a pregnant woman.

And of course we also use this low key lighting to “hide” everything you are not too fond of, so it’s a win-win scenario   You are also more than welcome to bring along every and any prop you like and we will incorporate this into your shoot, be it blocks spelling baby’s name or pearls you got from your grandmother.

Have your pregnancy capture at the perfect time which is 33-37 weeks and you will have memories to last you forever.

Riani Labuschagne & Yolandi Jacobsz

Pregnancy photoshoots

Every family is special in their own unique way…  Some families are big and others are small but this is just part of what makes your family photoshoot interesting.

Here at the Real Life Studio we aim to capture the very essence of your family, be it everyone’s similar smiles or their infectious laughter.  A sure way to get toddlers to enjoy their photoshoot is to literally just play with them.  Throw them up in the air and rough-and-tumble them all over the floor.  Tickle them till they can’t laugh anymore and you will see how magical moments are created especially to be captured.

The A family came into the studio with these two little ones who are 2 years apart.  And as you know 3-year olds don’t find the thing’s which entertain 10 month old kiddies funny at all so I had my work cut out for me…

But as you can see it all worked out wonderfully, we managed to get both of them to thoroughly enjoy the entire photoshoot and capture beautiful lifestyle family photos to adorn their walls!

Riani Labuschagne

Real life studio photos

Lifestyle family photography is all about a family unit having fun together (in a photography studio) whilst a creative photographer is capturing all the special moments in between. 

Being part of a family unit makes you feel that you belong somewhere.  There is certain signals, inside jokes, sayings and “that face” which only your family will understand and laugh at and joke about (because they know exactly what happened when a certain joke was told or why you are pulling such a face)

Being from a big Afrikaans family I can write volumes about all of these inside jokes shared between siblings, and this is one of the many reasons why I love to capture this powerful family bond through what we call “lifestyle family photography”. I always joke that my family is like their own little colony of 12 people (and that’s only counting brothers, sisters, their better halves and a few kids…). 

When we say lifestyle photography you might raise the question:”What this means?”  Well it’s all about fun, interactive posing.  Doing things together like piggyback rides, kicking soccer balls around, playing imaginary instruments and doing fun poses along with the family dog.

We love to share in these special moments and to have a good laugh at these “age -old” jokes which nobody will ever forget.  So cpome and join us for a morning (or afternoon) of bonding and shared laughter…

Riani

The real life studio

As artists we have to constantly remind ourselves that it is a true privilege when someone puts their trust in you and pays you to apture their special wedding in your own unique way…

Have you ever thought what goes into being a wedding photographer?  Big responsibility and just a little bit of stress but when you get to the end of the day and you review all the beautiful wedding images which you have captured you know that it will forever be worth it… I often start the day out listening to romantic weekend and keep the couple in my mind, as well as recall certain ideas and landscape scenes from their chosen venue (Oakfield farm in this case)  This sets the scene even before you meet your bride.  As once you start photographing the preparation process there is no stopping until about 6 hours later when you can sit down for 5 minutes and just get yourself together again.  We truly make each and every wedding a personal experience and becom part of your family on this special day.

This was the first wedding I have gone to in my 4 years of photographing these celebrations where the groom’s speech included only one person, his new wife   The way he described how they were made for each other and fitted together perfectly was just so special that it still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it… A match made in heaven!  Capturing their special wedding photographs was one of the most natural things to do as they couldn’t keep their eyes of each other along with constant laughter.

After these special events we spend days and weeks going through each and every single photograph enhancing it in just the perfect way so that your wedding day is captured exactly the way you wanted it to be.  We often hear the groom saying that after going through the photos he realizes just how big the moment was for him as he didn’t even notice half of the details…

We don’t just capture your wedding day, but we add a little bit of our own soul to make your wedding photos unforgettable!

Riani

Today’s blog is all about the essence of photography…  Take a close look at this photo and the one below:  Which one do you like the most and why?  I know that the natural gives both that little something extra, and I am not 100% sure myself if I prefer the pensive look or the laughter shared between these two girls.  This goes to show you how versatile photography is.  Beauty truly is in the ey of the beholder!

Being a photographer I have realised that the essence of photography is natural lighting as seen above.  The girls were sitting next to a big window on the staircase and the light filtering through from the late afternoon sun certainly is what makes this photo so fabulous.  Whatever subject matter you are photographing try and incorporate the natural light, this will give bring out the contours of your subject’s face (in this case it highlights their eyes and their smiles.  If you think the essence of photography trluy lies in some other aspect of this wonderful artistic medium, please feel to contribute…

Riani

Family Photographer Johannesburg

family photos done together (when you have a big family this rarely happens and you have to cherish every moment)  As you can see from these beautiful family photos we had a lot of fun and laughter in the studio playing around with

unique and funky family poses and this was causing all the laughter.  We took family poses as James Bond, just everyone together and loads more.  I thoroughly enjoyed this family photoshoot and can’t wait ti do one just as exciting with my own family…

Family Photography

Riani