How to unboring your wedding pics?

How to unboring your wedding pics?

I recently gave a lecture to a group of 30 odd photographers on behalf of Nikon on “How to unboring your wedding Photography” and one of the questions I asked the audience was “What is it about wedding photography that makes you love it?”

I believe that in order to make authentic images we need to turn inward to discover what we really love and what we are drawn to instead of blindly copying trends or trying to do what everyone else is doing. If we know what we like and why, then we can apply these to our own work and use it as a map or a guide. If we keep coming back to this map we can create our own path instead of looking at everyone else and following the status quo which aside from being boring, can be an endless cycle.

I studied Fine Art and this has become a guide for me as it is important for me that I make images that have meaning behind them. I love to tell stories with my camera and also create new stories every time I shoot. It would kill me to keep making the same images over and over and have a repertoire of shots that I reproduce in every album. I also love to people watch and so I love taking unscripted documentary images of people doing all the weird and wonderful things that they do at weddings. I draw much of my inspiration from my clients. Weddings offer me the opportunity to take creative portraits, tell stories with my camera and also capture moments like a photo journalist. This is why I love photographing weddings and I use this as a map every time I shoot. This is also why my clients come to me!

Huge thanks to everyone who came along to my chat! So good to meet you all!!!

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Ode to the wedding ring – My thoughts behind shooting specific detail shots

Ode to the wedding ring – My thoughts behind shooting specific detail shots

I have just read the article you wrote about your approach to photographing wedding shoes and I found this rather intriguing. I understand that you use the overall theme of the wedding when photographing details but please can you elaborate on this. i Would love to know your thought process behind each shot, even if you just have time to write about one or two. I know I am probably being cheeky asking you to do extra work but I noticed you now have a Q&A section on your blog.

Thanks for the email Lynne! Instead of going back to the shoe article which you can read by clicking here. Let’s chat about wedding rings as my approach would be similar for both objects. Firstly I would like to say that not every couple wants a ring shot … some would rather me take pictures of actual people as opposed to objects. I always ask my couples alot of questions before shooting a wedding and the answers they give me changes the way I approach the day.

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In the shot above the couple got married at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga. The red and white lighthouse is an icon of this area and very much loved by the couple. The bride was not from South Africa but the groom was and he had great memories of growing up in Umhlanga. I simply placed the rings on top of a post card I found of an aerial view of the Hotel. For me this not only places the wedding in terms of it’s location, it also evokes their mutual love for this landmark and each other.

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We took this pic in the Caribbean which is all about the white sandy beaches and cocktails with mini umbrellas. Enough said!!!

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When I arrived at this wedding I noticed the free newspaper for hotel guests at the door and grabbed it to draw reference to the couple’s wedding date.

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This particular couple live in the UK but specifically chose to get married in South Africa hence me using a map of SA to photograph their wedding rings on.

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Cagla is half Turkish/ half German and Brendon is from South Africa but lives in Zambia and they met in Australia and have traveled all over the world together. It was therefore important for me to communicate the idea of world travel and so I used their wedding invite with a world map on it as a base for their ring shot. They had their names printed onto M&M’s as sweeties for guests and I added these to the pic for some extra interest.

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It was a very rainy wet wedding … need I say more!

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There always seems to be sev and nuts available at Indian weddings and so I shot the rings with this unique Indian treat!

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This particular couple love to play chess. They also loved all the quirky details at the place they got married. This chessboard therefore became the perfect place to photograph their rings.

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I took this pic in Zambia. The groom was mad about tiger fishing and the lodge where they got married is right on the Zambezi river which is known for this type of fishing, in fact we actually photographed the guys fishing in the morning before the wedding. I therefore had some fun with a fishing lour and some hooks.

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ThIS particular couple came down from Joburg to have their dream beach wedding! I found a travel mag with a great beach shot on it and used this for their ring shot.

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This couple are both Afrikaans and very proud of their heritage. They got married on the bride’s Grandfathers farm and it was filled with all sorts of trinkets like old wagon wheels and potjie pots.

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Camilla and Don got married on Camilla’s family fruit farm up near Nelspruit – the one thing that struck me about their farm life was the fact that there were always grapefruits available for breakfast and so I photographed the ring with a breakfast tray.

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The Natal Midlands in autumn is absolutely gorgeous. I love the golden leaves that litter the crunchy driveways! This couple chose to get married on the farm where the bride grew up and they particularly chose an autumn month to get married on. It therefore seemed obvious that I had to photograph the rings using an autumn theme. This was a very rainy wedding … what more can I say!!!!

So in essence one can use detail shots to talk about the couples interests, the location of their wedding, the theme of their wedding, the weather on the day, the date of their wedding …….. etc etc
Instead of just taking pictures I like to tap into my passion for story-telling and create narratives. This makes the work more meaningful.

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Best Wedding Pics of 2013

Best Wedding Pics of 2013

2013 brought with it some wonderful things to be grateful for but also some incredibly difficult challenges. Huge thanks to everyone for the support over the past year. Thanks also to all my clients … I feel blessed to have walked along a path filled with interesting people who have hired me to explore and create. Lastly thanks to all the service providers who we have worked alongside. I hope the year of the horse will be as noble and magnificent as the real life creatures! Let’s go 2014!

Here are some of my favorite wedding images from 2013!

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Why I take time to push my creative boundaries.

Why I take time to push my creative boundaries.

Are you a photographer who is feeling in a rut? Do you feel stagnant or bored with what you are doing? There are many ways to solve this and one of them is to push your creative boundaries. This is always scary at first but as they say, you only grow when you are out of your comfort zone!

In the past 8 days I have done 5 styled shoots. Anyone who has ever been involved in a styled shoot will know that this is complete madness! But there is method in my madness.

For those of you who are unclear about what a styled shoot is, the name is self-explanatory. Simply put, it is a shoot that is styled. These kinds of shoots always start off with brain storming sessions and a lot of research. A theme is picked and then outfits, location, colours, hair, make up and props, etc are all co-ordinated to tell that themed story. Generally there are a number of creative people involved, which means collaboration and a LOT of organization!

Why do I do styled shoots?

I am a curious photographer and an artist. I like to push myself, I like to explore, I like adventure and I like to create. I cannot do this if I just sit around making the same old work over and over again. I also love working with people. When shooting weddings, I am often left alone to make creative choices and this can sometimes be lonely. I love collaborating with other creative folk to make beautiful pictures. This process is nurturing for me, and I always learn so much and land up doing far more than I ever dreamt of. I also get to experiment with techniques that I wouldn’t necessarily try out at a wedding, especially not for the first time! I have found that if I don’t take time out in my schedule to do creative work I land up stagnating and I don’t push myself to learn more technically. I also know that if I am constantly producing creative work I will find clients who like creative photography and those are the people I love to work with!!!!

Recently I have been on a mission to learn more about light and posing. I have been playing with these two elements to communicate certain emotions and feelings, but also to make my clients look gorgeous! These are the factors I have really pushed in these shoots.

I would like to thank Charelle who has done make up for most of these shoots, Drew Christie who has done both hair and styling, and Carolyn McNeil who has done styling and flowers. Huge thanks also to Tracey Laubscher from Olivelli Durban for lending us the two gorgeous black wedding dresses. To Richard Chennells and Peter Engblom from The George Hotel in Eshowe, you have been so generous and we so appreciate it! Thanks to Sven from Davida for opening your shop for us and for being so incredibly patient. It has been a dream working with all of you talented folk! You all rock! I will be posting each shoot once they are all edited and will then go into detail about all the collaborators.

Last but certainly not least I need to thank my amazing clients. Everyone you see here came to me for an engagement shoot or a portrait session and didn’t quite know what hit them when the giant production unfolded. Thanks for running with our ideas and for being so wonderful!

PS The fifth shoot is top secret as the client bought the portrait session I auctioned off for Jess Nicholson and doesn’t want it blogged.

Hair, concept and styling: Drew Christie of Evolve Salon 031 8377334

Make up: Charelle Mc Allister 072 02 544 53

Olivelli Wedding Dresses: Tracey Laubscher 071 509 3223

Flowers, Styling, Concept: Carolyn McNeil from I Adore Weddings 

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Cape St Francis Engagement Shoot – Kat + Garrick

Cape St Francis Engagement Shoot – Kat + Garrick

I have always felt like my soul has had a good scrub after a few days in Cape St Francis. It’s my special place, my soul place .. the place with the unique fynbos smell that sends my mind, body and spirit into instant relax mode. Cape St Francis also known as Seal Point also happens to be one of my favorite waves in the world. So …. when Garrick contacted me about shooting their wedding in PE my mind immediately thought about the fact that PE is just an hour away from Seals and that I would naturally have to extend my stay by a day or two. Then I discovered that Garrick is a surfer and that he asked Kat to marry him in St Francis Bay and that was that! Kat and Garrick’s engagement shoot just had to be done there. I have always wanted to do a portrait shoot down in that part of the world and they were the perfect couple for it.

Thanks to the two of you for being the perfect couple for this shoot!!! (that is really the highest compliment from me by the way) We loved our time with you and we loved our time in Seals! Happy Honeymooning!

PS If you are looking for a well priced place to stay in Seals contact Hilary on 083 216 47 44  www.wheretostay.co.za/sandown Their self catering flats have a great view and are a stone throw from the beach.

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