Photographing kids is one of the most difficult things…  They act very differently at every age and stage.  Take Callum and Brooklyn for instance, Brooklyn is almost two and a half and Callum is 5 months old.  Our little toddler wants to explore the world and has no inclination whatsoever to sit in a little room and smile at an unfamiliar lady holding a camera… Little Callum just loves all the attention and as long as his bum is dry and his tummy is full he can’t help but smile   The art lies in capturing their two very personalities in different but complementing ways…  So I always say:”  Do what comes naturally to you”  For example my brother has 3 little boys and let me tell you they play rough.  He dangles them upside down by their feet and thows them into the air over his shoulder, and other times he just has to tickle them to get them in fits of laughter.  As long as your kids are enjoyig themselves they will laugh and play and smile right where they are.  Does this little face look like he’s having fun? You bet!  Always keep your family portraits relaxed and natural, ask everyone to do day to day playthings or even tell a joke.  Get dad to put the kids on his back and give them a horsey ride etc.  Let your imagination run wild!

Riani 

My cousin got married a few weeks ago and it was a really special day! Mandy (the bride) and Clint (he groom) make such a lovely couple – they are so in love and it is beautiful to see!!! I of course was taking photographs and was in my element – I love to photograph weddings! There is something contagious about them: the love, the excitement, the nerves,the families, the tradition…. there are so many special moments to capture on film, and that’s what I love!!!

Of course, I also got to see some of the family that I never get to see, which is always nice. I have so many cousins it’s scary but it’s fun when we all get together and share crazy family stories and always has us in fits of laughter!!!

The wedding was a morning wedding (a really cold morning too – poor Mandy in her wedding dress!!) And so it was short and sweet and simple and special! You could not take the smile off either Clint or Mandy’s face the entire morning. But my best part of the day was when Clint cried as Mandy walkied down the aisle…. I think all the women were watching and aaahing at how sweet that was – he truly is lovestruck!

Well cuz, I wish you guys a wonderful life of love and gratitude together! Enjoy every moment as it seems to fly by so quickly….

This year mothersday falls on the 10th of May.  My mom is really special to me and I’m sure your mom is really special to you too (even if she is your stepmom  :-)   )   I don’t think there is enough words in any language spoken around the world to describe what my mom (and my dad) means to me.  Somehow this person has always looked after me unconditionally.  When I was feeling sick, she was the one who brings you medicine without asking any questions, when I am exstatically happy she shares in my joy, when I need guidance she is there to turn the “light on” and guide me…  I can’t really explain it… but you get the idea.  I’ve heard a saying:’ The only thing of real value in this world can’t be seen with the eye but must be felt with the heart”  and that pretty much sums it up for me.  So if you feel the same way about your mom you are obviously on the lookout for the perfect mothersday gift.  Why not get everyone in your family together and buy your mother a family photoshoot this mothersday?  All mothers tend to be sentimental about great family photos, because it represents a moment in time of shared love and laughter.  We offer a the ideal Mothersday gift special, a family photoshoot voucher which comes in a small A5 photoframe, and she can then redeem this voucher in the next 3 months, no rush.  So contact us today to find out about our amazing offer on a unique mothersday gift!As you know I just love quotes so I decided to find a few nice ones for this Mothersday on the 10th of May.  “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”  ~Tenneva Jordan      “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new”.  ~Rajneesh

“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.”  ~William D. Tammeus    “My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being.  I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.”  ~Graycie Harmon      “Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Haim Ginott ” Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children.”  
Sam Levenson    “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”
 Washington Irving

Riani

Ever wondered What the difference is between using your own digital camera to photograph your kids and going to a studio and having you kids photographed in a studio
enviroment?

Well for starters there’s always someone missing from the photos (mom or dad, depends on who is taking the photos) and you tend to lose the family dynamic of everyone
laughing and making jokes together when someone gets up every 5 minutes to push the shutter button.  Having a consistent background and great lighting

Take the Anderson family who came to the studio for funky family photos on Saturday.  Laura-Anne has her own camera and takes photos for her company so naturally
she is always testing her camera out on the kids so they end up having loads of photos without mom in them.

It was fantastic photographing older kids in studio for a change, you can have a chat with them and make jokes, and they’re so easy to pose informally.

I had so much fun photographing this family, mom and dad is still as in love as ever (like a fairytale story) and the kids do everything fom ride motorbikes, play soccer
to skateboarding.  We photographed everyone together with fun posing like the family stack, then we took photos of ‘the guys’ with dad holding Jethro upside down and lastly
we photographed the girls lying together with their arms spread eagled   Then we started all over again…..

Funky family photos is about a lot more than just informally posing a big group of people, it’s about capturing the dynamic of the family, all the love and laughter they
share.  When people look at these photos they need to see the essence of this family and that is exactly what we do!    

Riani

I found some old photos the other day and they brought back such wonderful memories….

One of my dad & I reminds me how much I love my dad and how grateful I am for everything he has taught me & how grateful I am to have him in my life….

It also reminds me of my own daughter Demi-Leigh – I think she looks like me though everyone says she looks just like her dad!! Maybe she just reminds me of me when I was little? Who knows….

The next photo is one of my ouma and I when I was very little. My ouma is no longer with us now but she is always in my heart!!

The last one that I found was a family photo from 1990! It is really special to me as there are a few family members in that pic that are no longer with us: My wonderful Aunty Kathleen, my granny and grandad and my uncle Hilton – who are all aslo in my heart! That’s the beautiful thing about love, it never dies and is always in your heart… This pic is also very special to me as it is when Ryan and I first met and one the first times that he got to meet my family, so it brings back all this efeelings of puppy love!! Also, my brothers are so tiny in this photo, whereas now they are grown men and JJ even has a child of his own! We’ve also had many babies come into the family since then, including my own 3 angels and it just gives me such a deep appreciation for life!

That’s why I am so passionate about photography and taking photos – they bring back so many memories and I can relive any of those moments just by looking at the photo…..

So this festive season, be sure to take lots and lots of family photographs – one day you will be sure to look back at them (or maybe even your children or grandchildren will) and remember this special christmas with fond memories… and their hearts will be filled with love and gratitude!

May you have a wonderful festive season filled with love and laughter and lots of photos!!!

It’s our wedding anniversary today – 8 years!!! It’s hard to believe… We were talking last night and it seems crazy that 8 years ago, our children didn’t even exist (well maybe they did but that’s a whole other discussion…)

Thought I would put up some pics from our wedding day! We got married at Glenburn Lodge in Muldersdrift – it is an absolutely beautiful venue! It rained the entire day and I had to get photographs under an umbrella (which actually looked beautiful) But as luck would have it, the rains stopped just as I arrived at Glencove and I was able to walk down the stairs (which are not covered) without getting wet! We had the bagpipes playing the wedding march and my niece Brittney was our flower girl. She is nine now! How time flies…..

We have grown older, wider too (yip I meant wider not wiser…) older definitely after having 3 children!!! and we have changed in so many ways! I often think back to the “good old days” and reminisce but when I think of how far we have come and how much we have grown both separately and together, the one thing I know for sure is that the love we have for each other hasn’t changed one bit! 18 years down the line and we are still best friends….

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect but in an imperfect world, I guess it’s my fairytale and Ryan is my prince charming (of all the things I could call him, I have no clue where that just came from – he will probably shoot me just for typing this) but really, I am very grateful to have such a special man in my life and I am so grateful for the wonderful times we have shared together!

To my darling husband, I love you with all my heart and soul and I look forward to a lifetime of love and laughter together!! Thank You and I love you!!

Rika, Kobus, Annika & Hein made a visit to our studio over the weekend.  We started our shoot with talking about what camera to buy? SLR cameras (cameras with interchangeable lenses like the Canon 350D) or point and shoot cameras.

Photography tip:
If you are not going to take the time and invest a little bit of money in attending a course on how to uses this camera, I would say rather go for a biggger point and shoot.  You have to think about what you want to do with your camera.  Can you afford to be swopping lenses when trying to photograph that burst of laughter from you little ones ?

Annika and Hein are very protective over their daddy.  When I asked one of them to lie on dad’s back the other would tolerate this only for a few minutes and then run into the shot to declare that it’s their turn now.  Kids tend to go through these phases where they only want their dad or only their mom. 

They really enjoyed throwing and catching the coloured balls.  At one stage t felt like we were staging a war with them as I had made the mistake to tell them to throw the balls at the camera in order to get them to look at me.  Can you imagine their delight when I started juggling with 3 of these balls.  They even attempted to do this themselves which was very cute

Fun family photos requires a litte bit of hard work from the parents side.  The more you play with your kids, throw them in the air, swing them upside down by their feet (yes that’s what I said) the more natural laughs we will get from them.  Taking family photos is usually great fun, it’s like a  play session for your family that lasts about an hour or so.

So bring some of their favourite toys, roll up your jeans, kick off your shoes and come and have some fun with us

Riani 

PS – a family photoshoot is a wonderful idea for christmas gifts – buy a gift voucher for your family for christmas or alternativley bring your family for a shoot and use the photos as gifts in frames, canvas prints, box mounts, storybook albums, puzzles, calendars etc. Give a special gift this Christmas – photos that last a lifetime….