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….

Louise Diesel Photography sponsored a photoshoot for a children’s home in the north called Miracle Mission.  We had another blog article up about them a few weeks ago.  The work that the ladies do there is absolutely fantastic and it is a place filled with joy, love and laughter….

We paid a visit to the wonderful family who purchased this shoot (making a contribution towards the home which will be put to good use)  Sandra preferred to have the shoot done at her house as her garden is absolutely gorgeous this time of the year.  It had been cloudy the whole day and started to drizzle as we were driving there (murphy’s law I tell you)  But by the time we got there the rain had stopped and we had overcast weather which mad for even, soft lighting with no harsh shadows.

Upon entering Sandra’s house, you can’t help but see her awesomely restored wooden staircase.  We joked with her that we would definitely bring other families and even wedding couples around to photograph in her beautiful house and garden.  Sandra, the wonderful person that she is replied she would love it if we did that as it would be bringing her good luck.  We had everything from crumpets with jam to delicious watermelon (which we then incorporated into the shoot)

Sandra and Jack has a total of five grandchildren and decided they were to be the main focus of the fun family photoshoot. Frisbees, sunglasses and umbrellas are just a few of the props we used to get the kids to relax and enjoy the shoot.  Louise and I photographed them while having a few races among themselves, jumping on each other and just basically doing what kids do best.. PLAY of course!

I would recommend photographing kids at home any day rather than in a studio.  Being at home means they know their surroundings, they’re comfortable and feel safe to run around and interact with us as professonal photographers. Kids like to be free and that is what we intend to portray in our photos.

There is nothing like the innocence on the face of a child who is giggling so much that they almost can’t breathe, it makes the world stop doesn’t it…

Riani

We went to visit our friends 3 weeks ago to meet the new addition to the family. Little Adam Tarr was born on the 9th of October at 3.2kg’s and 51cm’s tall. The poor little thing ended up getting a touch of yellow jaundice and so he and his beautiful mommy had to spend an extra 2 days in hospital while we were there.

He is such a good little baby that we didn’t even know he was sick and only realised when his eyes went a little yellow. But he responded really well to the lights and was home in no time much to his brother and sister’s delight. Fortunately, we were able to take a few pics of him before coming back to Jhb – he is such a sweet little thing.

 So to our wonderful friends, we want to wish you all the love and laughter and joy that a family of 5 can bring. It is a handful but they are so precious you wouldn’t want it any other way! Adam just seems as if he has always been around, but then we always knew you would have 3 kids (okay Bruce maybe you weren’t so sure but I always knew…. )

Anyway, we love you guys dearly and look forward to you visiting us in Joey’s. Give Nicholas and Lexy and Adam a big hug and kiss from their aunty weez – love you my friends! mwah!!

I went to my cousin’s wedding on Saturday at a lovely venue called Sun Valley Ranch (in the South of Johannesburg). I was fortunate enough to take some photographs at the wedding but by the time the music started and the champagne started flowing, I was no longer interested in wedding photographs. i was ready to PARTY (and party we did!!!)

I got to connect with old cousins (even met a few new distant cousins) and had a blast with all the girls at the bar. My wonderful aunt decided that all the girls should have a few shooters together, but no-one could decide on which one… my aunt then decided we should start at the top of the list and have every shooter on the list. Of course everyone thought this was a great idea (boy did we regret it the next morning!!! that song: “who’s sorry now??? who, who, who???” comes to mind – but hey, what do you expect from a Currie wedding)

It was such a fantastic wedding – I had such fun and so did my hubby (who after a few drinks takes on the role of photographer and catches all the ‘end-of-night pics’ which should never be photographed) Anyway, that’s what makes up our memories – wonderful moments with friends and family….

Thanks Angela and Darren for a wondeful wedding – Angela: you made the most beautiful bride (both on the outside and the inside) and Darren: where did you learn to dance like that??? Awesome!! May your marriage bring you as much love and joy and laughter as your wedding did!!

And thanks to all my wonderful family – aunts, uncles, cousins, distant cousins, etc – we hardly see each other but I love you all to bits and am grateful to have you in my life!!! Here’s to the next wedding – who’s it gonna be????

wedding photographer johannesburg

I had the honour of photographing a wonderful couple on Saturday: Candice and Garreth Fisher and their princess daughter Kyra-Lee. I just had to post a few pics as they are really beautiful.

I just love the lighting on this pic – they got married at a beautiful venue called Ascot Mews

The flowers were done by Sharon Fisher and it they were absolutely stunning!

This photo just captures

the essence of little Kyra…..

Kyra and her mom Candice – 2 beautiful princesses…

I just love these 2 as they remind me of Ryan and I – they have something very special – something you can’t put into words, but something that everyone can feel

Krya getting ready for the big event!!

Love is like a ring – no beginning and no end….

how much do I love thee? let me count the ways…..

doesn’t this just say it all?

May you 2 have a long, happy marriage filled with days of love, laughter and friendship!!