If you saw this magazine on the shelf, would you buy it just to know how to bake or where to buy some of this delectable cheese-cake?  I certainly would!  And this is exactly what food photography is all about.  Taking photos of food to advertise it.  Whenever we go out to a restaurant I always look at the photos first and then order my food (maybe it’s because I’m a photographer)  but it goes to show you that the photos of your product makes a big impact when done professionally.

Beiing a food photographer in Johannesburg I have taken photos of food at coffee shops like Second Cup and exclusive hotels like The Raddison in Sandton.  The location where you photograph the food should have a lot of natural lighting and you are good to go.  The most important aspect when taking photos of food is to make sure your lighting is perfect.  Not tioo many highlights blowing out, but ensure that you reflect light into the more darker areas too.

It sounds like something of an art doesn’t it?  Well it is an artform of sorts.  Patience is key, when setting up for your shot use a plate of similiar size to your dish and try and get your lighting as close to perfect as you can.  Remember that your camera should normally be viewing the food at a 45 – 50 degree angle (this is the viewpoint from which we normally see food)  For more information as well as tips contact us on info@louisedieselphotography.co.za or give us a call on 011 869 7759

Riani

Food photographer Johannesburg

My top photography tip for today is to always try and make your photograph unique.  If you are lucky enough to be doing a photoshoot on location take your photos to the exact specification of your client but also remember to try and do some creative shots.  This not only keeps your creative eye in training but serves to impress your clients every now and again as they didn’t know you were capable of a shot like this.

My tip for shooting silhouette shots like above (which was taken at Roedean School for Girls in South-Africa for their marketing campaign) is to try and expose your shot for the background which tends to be the skyline most of the time.  This will ensure that your subject is “dark enough” to make them into a silhouette and it will also give you nice colours in the sky. 

They say a photo is worth a thousand words and this shots goes to prove it.  It was taken as St Margaret’s which is the Grade 0 and Grade 1’s.  Throwing the girls into silhouettes serves the purpose to show you that this could be your daughter or any other girl who will have the privilege to attend this culturally rich school.  So always try for the impossible…

Riani

Event Photography

Take a good look at this photo and then tell me if it doesn’t just melt your heart…

Being a newborn baby photographer in jhb means that we are extremely privileged to meet little babies who are as young as three days old.

I often get asked the question:”Is it hard to photograph newborn babies?”

Not really, having a climate controlled studio makes my job a 100 times easier.  Keep them warm and their tummies full and you can pretty much pose them in any way you like   I cherish each and every newborn photo that I create, and it is capturing the emotion like you see here with mom and baby that keeps my passion alive…

Newborn baby photographer Jhb

“You always admire what you really don’t understand.” – Blaise Pascal

“Those who cherish a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in their hearts, will one day realize it. ”
– James Allen

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
– Marianne Williamson

Riani

These little ones might only be pint-sized but let me tell you they are equipped for world domination.  They are really cute and have the most angelic little smiles which just melt your heart…  Here are some funny quotes about toddlers that I really enjoyed…

“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”  ~Stacia Tauscher

“A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn’t act that way very often.”  ~Author Unknown

“Children seldom misquote.  In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn’t have said. ” ~Author Unknown

“Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble -” Dennis Fakes

“There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, employ someone to do it, or forbid your children from doing it. – Monta Crane”
Toddler Photographer

Today I want to show you how to add textures into your photos using Adobe Photoshop.  You can use almost any version of photoshop to do this technique because it is so basic.  First you start out with your “main image” , mine was of a person

as you can see (  me    )  As you can see there is a lot of “unused space” in this photo (all the black areas)  This gives you more areas which you can play around with your textures.  So you start off by editing / enhancing your main pic until you are happy with it.  Then you open your texture as a seperate photo and copy paste it on top of your main photo (so paste the texture onto the photo of the person)  Then go to your layers palette and drop the opacity to 20%

or play around with it until you are happy with the result.  Normally, I would then take my eraser tool (set to about 40%) and just slightly erase some of the texture which covers the subjects face which will then make this the main focus og the photo.  You can also desaturate the textured layer or erase other parts of the texture which you find distracting…  Have fun!

Riani

Living with twin 7 year-old boys and a little whirlwind of 2 and a half I have come to understand why some people are hesitant to bring their little ones in for a photoshoot.  I often hear people mention :”I’ll bring them when they’re a little

bit older…” But I am here to tell you that this is when they are at their cutest.  We understand that they are busy, never sit still and are sometimes just naughty, but hey they’re just little kids.  We also know that if you tickle them enough you are bound to get beautiful shots (and maybe laugh a little too) or playing peek-a-boo can coax most shy toddlers out

from behind the couch so bring them along to our studio for some fun Lifestyle family photography.  We love to photograph toddlers and kiddies so come along to our studio and find out why it’s all about the experience! (and gorgeous photos of course   )

Riani

Toddler and child photographer