We just loved the Bogatsu family! They had such fun, and their little one was an extremely friendly 2-year old, with a dashing smile, and lots of giggles. It’s not always that we get this lucky, as little people rule the world, and when they do not feel like smiling, they will certainly not. Still, it is very much the photographer’s responsibility to engage with your clients. Most people are not inherently comfortable in front of the camera, and could feel very overwhelmed when they get on the big white backdrop.

But when you talk to them some, and get them to open a bit about their family life and the unique dynamic that makes their family them, most people feel a bit more familiar with you, and great images start to happen. With our shoots we aim to always have magic happen in front of our eyes, and there is few things as precious as a little kid giving their ear-to-ear smile, and you know it’s earnest and sincere, because small children give the world their honest selves.

We’ll always try and make your family feel comfortable, and show you that our shoots, is a fun experience, something you’ll remember in years to come, and we’ll do everything but about stand on our heads to get our little people to give us some smiles.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labuschagne

Studio Family Photos in JHB

We encourage people to bring their own personality as much as they would dare, to the studio. Because when you bring with you elements of what and who you are, it makes for great photos, as you are comfortable, and when you’re comfortable in front of the camera, something just lights up inside of you. The camera is your closest friend, it shows everything very faithfully, and when you are tense or putting on a pretentious smile, the camera picks it up, and the audience will notice it as well.

When I recently did a group shoot with a whole bunch of ladies wanting to make a calendar of their images, I encouraged them to bring something that represents them, and what great fun we had, and what amazing captivating images I got.

With a boudoir shoot, which is basically a shoot with lovely underwear or nightclothes, the women are on their nerves in anyway, not knowing what to expect, and it’s quite a big exposure to get undressed in front of the photographer. It’s very much our responsibility to make our subjects as comfortable as possible, having a good knowledge of good lighting and your equipment, and a great deal of charm reassuring your clients that they will receive an amazing product. Bring your personality to the studio, you’ll enjoy it so much, and have great images that shows a bit of who you are.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labuschagne

Boudoir Photography

Long gone are the days when any type of shoot should be stiff and boring. When we shoot any type of shoot, we do it with as much fun as possible, because one wants to look back at those photos and remember it as such a great time, and the photos must definitely display exactly that. And when you have a couple that already has this chemistry between them, the moments just flow.

This couple was such a blast in the studio, I truly enjoyed photographing them. People come to a studio to get mostly one thing – professionally taken photos of them – wanting to get a product with something extraordinary, something they might not be able to get at home themselves, so they trust us as professionals to use what we know, and do best, to get these amazing shots, not only with some spark, but technically to have it taken well, because we use professional high-end cameras and good lighting.

It’s such a fun idea to come for a couple shoot, two people enjoying their time in the studio, a place that can intimidate a lot of people, makes our day. Know that you will receive such an awesome product, taken by professionals to the best of our abilities.

Yolandi Jacobsz

Fun couples photography

I found this wonderful quote on the internenet today and thought it would be perfect to add onto our blog about newborn baby photography :”A new baby is like the beginning of all things, hope, a dream of possibilities…”

This  quote is exactly what makes each newborn baby photoshoot so unique and magical.  Having photographed a significant number of newborn babies in our studio the wonderful promise they bring never ceases to amaze me.  They are so beautifully pure and this is what we portray in our photos pf these little people….

Having a newborn baby in the house literally turns your house and routine upside down (and that’s probably how you will feel for quite a while) The first few weeks of their lives just whizzes past you as you are getting to know them and coping with sleep deprivation.  Don’t think you are alone if you feel a little bit nervous when taking your little one out of the house for the first time, to our studio, as this is a perfectly natural feeling for parents with new babies and so we take the utmost of care to heat the studio perfectly and keep your little one (as well as our new mommy and daddy) extremely comfortable as we talk you through each of our poses.

And if your little newborn baby needs to have a “lunch break” in between we really don’t mind as it’s really hard work to be such a perfect model

The ideal time to have your baby’s newborn photos taken is when they are between 5-10 days old.  They are still as comfortably flexible as a gymnast but “old enough” to feel safe when they are unwrapped.

We consider it an absolute pleasure and honour to take the first photos of your newborn angel…

Riani Labuschagne

Newborn baby photography in Johannesburg

Zetske van Pletzen is daughter to veteran actress- & actor, Pierre van Pletzen & Elzette Maarschalk, but an actress in her own right. Zetske has the wonderful combination of strong lines & dark & striking features and has that magic that she brings with her to the studio. Some people just have that inherent ability to make our work so much easier; they just know how to turn their head, arch their back, open their shoulders, or turn their chin just that smidge this- or that way for the right look, and Zetske is one such a perfect model.

She loves acting, & her stage- & on-set camera experience is probably what gives her such a great aire in a photo shoot, and getting those stills of her that make you feel you’re being drawn into what she portrays outwards, is what makes it such a success: she just knows how.

I’ve had the chance to shoot with her a few times now, both in the studio & in natural light, & I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both situations. I enjoy the studio as preference, because of the control one has to light specific & strategic areas, and where one could make sure to put light in dark places such as raven hair like which Zetske has.

She has such a great ladylike- & always-smiling personality, & she has that unique ability to be herself in front of the camera, whether she’s laughing spontaneously, or being more sensual & serious.

She definitely has the potential to become a classical beauty & a remarkable actress.

Yolandi Jacobsz

In today’s age and time, almost everything has been thought of or tried and done before and almost rarely is a “new” idea, that new or that unique, as it has sprung from an idea seen or read of or thought of by someone else before. The technology of cameras and the digital age has come a long way, and these days anyone could be an instant photographer with cameras being fairly inexpensive and could be bought anywhere. So being a market leader in a field comes down to a skill being better than a competitor’s and maybe also how your clients are serviced, and the team at Louise Diesel Photography, know that we have that responsibility to deliver a service to a multitude of different clients and it’s still a strive to get it right each and every time.

For us, it’s about bracing ourselves each and every time – taking a deep breath and moving into a zone before stepping into that studio, as the next thing to do – is very simply – to capture brilliance. And it makes us live for this; it’s a rush for that which only the combination of a camera and a finger clicking that in front of you, brings. It’s always a good reason, and good goal to click towards, a way of captivating people long after we’ve captured and they have left our studios. If this profession gets to a point where it’s a chore or a bore – it’s a dishonour to people that expect something they feel they are not able to get themselves, which makes us miracle workers virtually every day. And we step up to that challenge, through everything, only with a love for this job.

Photography has opened the door for life etched onto us, our lives, our computers, our sharing with families and friends close-by & abroad, it’s there not to be forgotten and to realize how we’ve all grown, how situations evolve, how babies become grown and life-contributing people, and in elderly stages of some people’s lives, some get the unfortunate condition of not remembering important aspects of their lives or even their loved ones around them, but it’s been shown that some memories certainly never get lost or fade, and us here feel it our job to give of what we are, to have those great slices of our lives not forgotten – what an honour for us.

Yolandi Jacobsz

“If it wasn’t for dogs, some people would never go for a walk.” – anon – isn’t this just so true

“Don’t make the mistake of treating your dogs like humans, or they’ll treat you like dogs.” ~ Martha Scott – yes, you said it…