Jason & Yolette's Wedding | 12 February 2011

Bride: Yolette
Groom: Jason

I generally allow myself a week to get to know the bride and groom before taking pictures at their wedding, this time I could not, I got to meet Jason and Yolette 2 days before their wedding!

The few minutes I got to spend with the couple were all I needed to know what kind of people they are and I have to say that they are super cool, facial expressions and all (lol Jason).

"Nothing beats knowing who you going to spend the rest of your life with, knowing that there is someone you trusts you as much as you trust them, knowing that no matter what your flaws are someone will overlook them and love you unconditionally"

 

Black Dragons Valentines Dinner | 14 Feb 2011

14th Feb 2011, a very romantic day for many couples.



The Black Dragons MCC hosted a Valentines Dinner in celebration of this day. With tickets going for as little as R200 a couple there was no excuse to get one and spend the evening with that someone special.

Shane (a member of the Black Dragons) spoke to me in January about taking pictures at the event which I was only happy to do. Shane wouldnt just throw me in the deep end if he knew it wouldn't be something I'd survive. And survive I did, I had my little photo printer and camera ready to take pictures of the couples. Below are the peeps that made it all possible.

Next is the Pondo Rally also Hosted by the Black Dragons, here are details on that event:

What: Annual Pondo Rally
Hosts: Black Dragons
Where: Mabaleni Dam, Langeni
When: 4, 5, 6 March 2011

Bring your family and friends for a weekend full of fun guaranteed!

Plaza Promo Photo shoot

When I initially decided I want to become a photographer I didn't even think of having a studio, for me I just wanted to pictures of things other than my (then) nature pictures.

I opened a mini studio in my room last year December, just the basic - 2 backgrounds; white and black... clothes! Anyway from then I got my huge white & white backgrounds fully fitted to take a picture of max 16 people! I'm totally thrilled about that! lol. I even got my umbrella and flash - SB900 for my Nikon cam. Hopefully I will be expanding in April and moving to a new area to take studio pictures on a more regular basis. I wont say to much about that right now until I have completed it and its really to be shown off ;)

So here I was taking my first really huge studio photo-shoot with about 15 people! Lolo approached me in January this year and told me that he has this huge idea of how he wants to make more things happen at the Plaza (our local shopping centre in Mthatha) and his plan was to go all out for Valentines Day. So there we were doing a photoshoot with all these girls (drama queens) and guys (charmers). It was pretty fun, I think everyone had a good time and we got a lot of work done.

The whole point of this photoshoot was to get pictures for the banners and poster that were made to place up around the plaza and else where.

The pictures can be seen on my photography fan page on facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52112&id=138756376153287

Pre School Pictures

Last year I took Pre School Pictures at Crafty kids, it was an awesome experience. This year I get to cover 3 Pre Schools, even though I dont get to meet the kids parents I try to make sure that the pictures that they receive are picture that they cherish and are proud of. But most importantly I try to capture a moment in time where the kids will look back at the pictures and have their school or part of it in the background. I dont believe in having a plain canvas as a background. I mean what purpose does that serve. The kids should be able to look at their pictures in 10, 15, 30 years time and be able to say "hey I remember that jungle gym" or "hey, come see here kids. This was the pre school I went to and my fondest memories are..."

When taking pictures at pre schools, patience is of the utter most importance because you will find that some kids are camera shy where and some are not willing to smile whereas others are ever ready to say "cheese" and when I say "now give me a big smile" or "smile" then they say "smile" lol. Its cute. Theres honestly never a dull moment when dealing with pre school kids.

I have been asked to take pictures of schools at large but I have decided to put that on hold until next year. Its not that I dont feel that I can handle the challenge, its just that I want to be completely prepared for it, equipment, assistance etc.

So here's the tip for the week: take pictures of your kids, capture as many moments of their lives as you can so that when it comes to school pictures they completely comfortable and you will receive amazing pictures :)