Hi everyone,

As some of you already know, we are thinking of moving our studio to a more central location. We have found the ideal premises on Rosebank Corner and are negotiating with the agents as we speak.

We would love your comments on our proposed move.

- Would the location suit you?

- Is location important?

- What other factors do you consider when choosing a photographer?

- what have you loved about our services?

- what can we do to improve our service to you?

Please post your comments on the blog below. And while you’re at it, have a look at our new, upgraded website. We’d really appreciate your comments on the new website too.

We are constantly striving to improve our service to our clients and your feedback will help us tremendously to do so.

Thanks and have a beautiful spring day!!!
Louise & Riani

PS- if you missed us on Top Billing, you can watch the video on our home page…. enjoy!

Being female wedding photographers I believe that we are able to capture every moment of your special gauteng wedding day honestly. I look at a photo of someone fixing your grandad’s tie and I get this warm feeling in my heart (the kind of thing guys don’t understand) Or the way you glance at your groom for just for that second longer than you should or the lingering smile on your lips as soon as you have been kissed by your new husband…

It is said that the best things in this world cannot be seen but felt by the heart. As Gauteng wedding photographers we specialise in capturing that special moment and freezing it for eternity. Looking back at your wedding photos you will be able to relive every second of that wonderful day.

Gauteng wedding photographers are like us are very central and so that means that we are in the middle of all the wedding venues, so we can come and capture your wonderful wedding memories anywhere and anytime. You need someone who can connect with you the bride as well as the groom which will ensure that you always feel comfortable enough to be yourself and laugh and joke. We aim to make your wedding photo session just as special as the formal ceremony of saying “I do” If you take a minute and think about it you will also realize that the photo session is the first time you get to spend time away from your family as newlyweds. This is a very special time in which you will float on cloud 9 along with your new husband / wife and we just love to capture these beautiful moments (we are hopeless romantics and this is why we truly love photographing weddings all over the country)

So if you are gettign married somewhere in or around Gauteng (even somewhere on a tropical island) give us a call and we can discuss all your wedding photo dreams…
Riani

Here is an insider’s guide to picking a wedding photographer in Hampshire that helps people choose the best photographer for their special day!. It has suggestions from professional wedding photographers who have an idea of how to create great photos. It goes through the entire process from choosing potential candidates to picking the photographer who works with you. Along the way, you’ll find some tips that aid in finding the best photographer possible.

According to wedding photographer Brian Trudeau, the first thing step is to look for local photographers that specialize in wedding photographer.In Trudeau’s Associated Content article, he asserts your best resources to find the best photographers are wedding websites and married friends who have had great wedding pictures taken.Trudeau also believes that married family members are the best sources of information because they have actual knowledge of the photographer’s capabilities.Use resources like these to find several photographers to choose from…

Once you have your list of choices, do a little research to whittle the list down to 1-2 finalists.” To help your research, go smoothly, Trudeau also thinks that you should look at samples of the photographers’ work. When you look at the photographer’s samples, try to compare how each uses different photographic styles and techniques to see if you like his “style. After viewing some samples, you can pick your “finalists” based on how your sense of style meshes with the photographer’s.

– It’s vital that you feel safe being around the photographer . He’ll be working closely around you throughout the wedding. Be sure you can live with that!

– It’s also important that you hire a photographer who will work throughout the entire wedding. Too many photographers stay on for only a certain timeframe. Too often, this isn’t long enough to cover the whole wedding. Therefore make sure you find someone who is able to be there the entire time.

– In addition, try to pick competency and ability over work experience. New photographers offer great services at lower costs because they want to establish a good reputation. As a result, why not consider hiring a “newbie” photographer?

After deliberating about these and other things, hire your photographer and enjoy yourself!

Let me start off by telling you how grateful Louise and I am for getting the great opportunity of doing a shoot for TOP BILLING which was broadcasted on National TV and for the chance to meet and photograph Lady Lira and her wonderfully dynamic family   TO everyone who has helped and supported my passion I am forever grateful to each and everyone of you!

As all of you know by now we did an Unconventional Family Photoshoot for multi-SAMA-award winning Lady Lira and her Mom and Baby Sister.  WOW did we have fun.  But let me start at the beginning…

Louise and I had to leave at the crack of dawn for our profesisonal studio because we had been advised to be “camera-ready” and so had gotten the help of a Make-Up artist to make us look “natural & camera-ready”  If you know me you will have noted that I don’t wear make-up except Mascara and on the off chance Base.  So everytime I have to sit and have a make-up artist do my make-up for me it’s a whole big story   

Lady Lira’s make-up artist and wardrobe stylist arrived first and the camera crew’s followed shortly on their heels.  Lady Lira is such a free-spirit and let me tell you she has both feet planted firmly on the ground. (Her mom is such an inspirational woman and made sure Lira has her priorities right) 

We shared so many laughs during this dynamic family photoshoot… We incorporate something I like to call interactive posing which consists in guiding Lira and her family rather that formally posing your them.  We put some great music on to play in the background (Lady Lira’s new CD    ) and then we got her and her mom to sing and dance to it.  According to Lira’s mother, Lady Lira used to sing with the wooden spoon when she was little probably hinting at what her life passion is…  

At this year’s SAMA awards held at the Sun City Resort just outside Johannesburg Afro-Soul artist Lady Lira took home the night’s big award – album of the year – along with three other SAMAs including female artist of the year and best adult contemporary album: English.

We just appeared in a segment on the national lifestyle magazine programme “Top Billing” on SABC 3. Riani and I photographed South African Female Artist of the year “Lira” and Top Billing filmed it all. It was an absolute blast and Riani and I loved it. Lira and her mother and baby sister were so wonderful to work with – they have an incredible bond and really enjoy each other’s company. It’s always such a pleasure to photograph families that are so close as it makes it so easy to photograph those special images… you know the ones that capture a giggle between 2 sisters or the look of love and understanding between mother and daughter or the naughty pose of a young woman not wanting to grow up completely….. It’s what makes our job so special and is the reason we love what we do!

But it dawned on me tonight that it takes a lot of people to make the special things in our lives a reality….. I was thinking about how far we have come as a photographic studio, feeling quite proud of myself, quite puffed up after appearing on national television, when I realised that I didn’t make this happen, at least not on my own anyway….. and so this blog is dedicated to all the special people in my life who have helped me to do what I love and to do it successfully. It is a blog of gratitude…..

First if all, I need to thank my father John. Because he was the one who taught me to take photographs when I was a very young girl. As a mother of 3 children of my own, I now realise how much patience he had and how much he loved teaching me because he never worried about me using his expensive Pentax or Nikon (whatever the best camera’s were at the time) and he always encouraged me. He would praise me for a job well done (even of the photographs weren’t that great) and then he would suggest ways to improve the composition or the lighting the next time and so I developed a good eye for composition at a very early age. Because of him, I developed confidence and certainty that I could do anything I choose and for that I will always be grateful.

Then I have to thank my mom. Because she was never very good at taking photographs (which meant I got to take more – my dad would rather ask me even though I was very little because my mom would always end up cutting someone’s head off LOL) but that’s not the reason I am grateful. I am grateful to my mom because there is nothing more important in her life than her family. Her family is her wealth and because of that, I learnt to value family too. As a result, we both had an incredible passion for family photographs so guess where my inspiration came from….

When I had children of my own, I decided to study photography formally so that I could take even better portraits of my children. I had no intention of ever doing it professionally, I just loved taking photographs…… So the next person I need to thank is my husband Ryan who encouraged me to follow my passion and looked after the children while I did course after course after course…. I just loved it and eventually Ryan encouraged me to start taking photographs professionally. He has been my biggest supporter ever since and is now very instrumental in marketing the business online (not to mention looking after the children on weekends when I am photographing families or weddings or functions) Some of the school mom’s call him super dad because he arrives at the kiddies parties with 3 children and has a great time. I also need to thank my children for understanding that mom is working and doing what she loves even though she misses special family time on many weekends. I am grateful for their support and love the fact that they are so proud of me. It really means a lot.

Again, I need to thank my dad as he was instrumental in establishing and marketing our website – he is an international expert on Search Engine Optimization and online marketing and was able to get our site ranked on the top pages of Google in a very short time. This accelerated our growth along with all the support and referrals from friends. To all my friends and family that offered to be our guinea pigs when we first started shooting in studio, I am eternally grateful. And even more so for all the referrals and connections that you all send my way.Without you all,Louise Diesel Photography would still be a dream rather than a reality.

Next I need to thank Riani – our young, dynamic professional photographer who is so inspired by what she does that you can;t help being inspired yourself when you are around her. She is a package of dynamite and an incredible asset to our business. She loves what she does and it comes through in every image that she photographs. She connects with people in such a special way, that clients love dealing with her and return again and again. It’s not just about the photographs, it’s also about the experience and Riani ensures that you walk away from one of our photo shoots with incredible photographs as well as a special and memorable experience. It’s what makes us unique as professional photographers – our work is all about inspiration and feeling…..

I would also like to thank Kerry for ensuring that all our accounts are up to date and that we actually get paid for all our hard work and Althea for organising all our collections and deliveries and Nelson for all our design and marketing materials and everyone else at CFT Labels (our design and printing company) You are an incredible source of support and I am truly grateful to all of you.

To my friends that have stood by me and encouraged me and supported me (and challenged me) I am very grateful – you are all very special and my life is richer because of all of you.

And of course, I would like to thank all of our clients. Without you we would not have a business. But more than that, we would not have experienced all the love and laughter and tears and drama and inspiration, the honour of photographing your wedding celebrations, or your children’s birthday parties or your precious newborn. We fall in love with our subjects and find it an absolute honour to be a part of a special moment in your loves. Our lives are forever changed because of our interactions with all of you. We see a little of ourselves in all of you and discover new ways of experiencing love and that is why we love what we do.

Finally, I would like to thank myself. For believing in myself, for working hard, for realising that I could not have done this alone and for creating a vision for my life that is inspiring, challenging, rewarding and fulfilling. Watch out world, we are just beginning…..

Thank You – I am truly grateful!!!

Being a wedding photographer is a true privilege…   You get asked by a couple whom you have met only once to share in their special day and capture memories which they will treasure forever!You basically become part of the family for the whole day, I’ve even had some families hugging me and telling me that it was such a pleasure…  This is all the little things which make it worth it That is the part of being a female photographer that I think really suits us to the job of photographing your wedding.  We’ve also dreamt of our wedding day’s for like FOREVER, we also get all sentimental about your great grandma and great grandpa attending your wedding etc.  When choosing a wedding photographer it is truly important that you click with them, so make a few appointments and go meet with a few professional wedding photographers and take your time to get to know them.

Riani

We took the children to the Drakensberg for the mid-term break. We went to Alpine Heath which is a wonderful resort for families – they have so much for the children to do!!! We played tennis and cricket and rugby and rode bicycles (up some tough hills I might add!!) and putt-putt and chess – it was fantastic! And we loved it!

We also went on a hike one day (we left Florence and Demi at home so Demi could have a nap) and the boys thouroughly enjoyed it! It was only a 2km hike which was just perfect for the boys. We hiked to the little waterfall and had a picnic at the base of the falls and the boys played in the river with all the rocks (they just love to play in the river!) What a wonderful way to chat to your children – they have nothing else to do while they are walking so they just spoke away! It was really special! The last time I did that hike, I was 6 months pregnant with Demi-Leigh so it brought back lots of teasured memories. Of course, I took tons of photographs again and I have made two animated dvd’s of the photographs which is such a lovely way to look back at the photographs and share with family and friends!

I also had to share the photographs with granny and grandad overseas as they are coming to visit us soon and are going to take the children back to Alpine Heath for a week. The boys are sooo excited to go back there with their grandparents (I have already warned my parents to get ready for it  as they are going to be run off their feet!!)

One of the days was extremely cold, so we decided to take a drive to Kwazulu Natal Weavers and Candles – the boys love it there are they make the most deliecious waffles. I love it as they make the most amazing candles so we all had fun. I even bought a new rug for our upstairs lounge which is beautiful!

Ryan and I also spent a lot of time reading. It was wonderful! Demi had a sleep every afternoon for a few hours and then the boys would go the games room and play with the other children (the entertainment team there is very good too) and that gave Ryan & I just enough time to warm up with a cafe late and a good book and restore our energy levels for round 2 with the kids in the afternoon!

It was a wonderful holiday and I loved the time with the children! I know they are going to have a blast when they go back with their grandparents (and Ryan and I are going to have a week of peace – what bliss!!!)