STYLE & STORIES PORTRAIT PORTFOLIO: Anzel

BY MARTIN

When you possess light within, you see it externally - Anais Nin

We met Anzel  when she came to the studio to model for a portfolio shoot for a friend who had recently qualified as a make-up artist. 

Despite it being her first time in a studio, she just worked so well in front of the camera, we just had to do a glamour portrait shoot with her. We also discovered that she lived just down the road from the studio so we got her back here as soon as we could. 

And Anzel did not disappoint! We love the images. It achieves what glamour portrait photography is about - getting to know a woman as she really is. 

Anzel's shy but playful personality is so visible in her beautiful smile and laughing eyes. 

Nothing less than exceptional!

MAKE-UP ARTIST: Candice Harker http://www.mobilemakeupartist.co.za/

In the right light and at the right time, every women is exceptional

- After Aaron Rose

Visit our website or call us today to discuss your time in the spotlight

BUSINESS PORTRAIT # 1 Happy Birthday & Cheers to Xtraordinanry Women, Somerset West!

BY ERIKA

Last week we celebrated the second birthday of the Xtraordinary Women’s Somerset West chapter as always with good company and good food but this time also with good wine spritzer from Jaydex Distribution.

What is more, we all received a gift from Jaydex owner and fellow Xtraordinary women, Janet Graham – a bottle of red wine with a personalised label.

I have been involved with this community of business women started by Gwen Kloppers, for only about eight months. Yet it feels like I have known these extraordinary women for ever and the support our studio has received from them, has been invaluable.

Since March this year we have had the opportunity to give back to the group when Martin was asked to document our monthly breakfast events at Erinvale for the Xtraordinary Women’s social media campaign. It is a privilege for both of us.

Happy birthday XWSW! May there be many more!

A very special birthday gift to Xtraordinary Women and members from Janet Graham of Jaydex Distibution, distributors of upmarket quality products, mostly associated with celebrations, romance, style and luxury.

 Xtraordinary Women members and visitors at the Somerset West chapter's second birthday celebrations at Erinvale Clubhouse

PORTRAITS OF GENIUS & ENVY: Amadeus in Somerset West

BY MARTIN

Splendour and spite, pomp and paucity, genius and envy!

We experienced it all last night in 18th century Vienna while doing a portrait shoot of musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the envious Antonio Salieri. 

Well, actually we just drove down the road to the Playhouse Theatre in Somerset West to document the dress rehearsal of Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus directed by Philippe Prengiers.  

But we did meet and photographed the actors who bring these complex characters to life.

The award-winning play runs from 3 to 12 April and tickets can be booked at Computicket.

For more information go to The Playhouse website or the Facebook page .

Viennese court composer Antonio Salieri played by Richard Higgs, tells the story of how his path crossed that of ...

... the gifted but vulgar and frivolous composer Wolfgang Mozart (CJ Opperman) ...

... whose musical genius he envies and plans to destroy so completely ... 

... that Mozart and his family ends up in dire poverty.
To see what happens in the end, 
book your seats today!

INSIDE OUT: Reflections of Stellenbosch

By Martin Van Niekerk

If you really love what you do, it won’t feel like work.

That was definitely the case recently when Erika and I spend several days walking the streets of Stellenbosch on assignment, looking for images that align with a particular company's branding. 

We felt like tourists strolling through town, absorbing impressions and features of the Boland town that you otherwise fail to spot for being in too much of a hurry.  As our eyes became adept at seeking out minute detail and layered reflections, I started capturing images outside the brand-related brief. 

Here are some images that caught my eye. 

Ou Kollege building across the road from the Oude Werf Hotel in Church Street

Window shopping in Church Street

Across from Morkelhuis in Ryneveld Street

Window shopping in Church Street

Window shopping in Church Street

Geometric shapes repeated in the De Wet Centre

Bookmarks , De Wet Centre

Night and day in the courtyard of the De Wet Centre

 Aspects of Asia in Simonsplein Centre, Plein Street

OUT OF SIGHT IS OUT OF MIND ... AND OUT OF POCKET: Why visual communication is vital

By Erika Kruger

Out of sight is out of mind!

So often, familiar expressions such as these convey important life and business lessons. 

Being out of customers’ minds can leave business owners seriously out of pocket.

Any business that is not harnessing the power of visual communication will soon discover that their services or products are not uppermost in the buyers’ minds. If our business or our brand is not in direct view of our target market, it is easily forgotten. People tend to stop thinking about things that they don’t often see.

Worse than being forgotten, is being lost in obscurity. If consumers have never seen you around, out of sight, out of mind actually means that you just do not exist and they have no idea that your business can be of service to them.

Now that badly affects the bottom line. 

It leaves you out of pocket.

Yes another stock phrase but one that boasts two different meanings these days.

The conventional use comes from an accounting term to pay from ones personal funds, something us business owners are going to end up doing if we don’t push ourselves to see and be seen quickly and effectively.  

The other, more recent meaning of being out of pocket often used in Silicon Valley and implying that someone is unavailable, that we are no longer in other people’s pocket. 

It also suggests that no-one can get hold of us in any way possible – not via email, not via telephone and not via cell phone. We have isolated ourselves.

But that may not be the only way we are playing hard to get.

 Feeling invisible? 

Our customers might find it hard to get what our business is all about.  Our brand message could be getting lost in:

•      too much text,
•      bad design and
•      poor quality, bland and badly chosen images.

Read also: IMAGES CAN MAKE OR BREAK A WEB PAGE: Using images to put the brake on a speedy click through

 Do you feel your business is being overlooked? Is your business playing hard to get?

Are your branding, marketing, advertising and PR campaigns failing to harness the power of high quality and appropriate images to keep you in direct vision of your customers?  

5 things you could do:

If you answered yes to those questions, this will help you improve your business' visibility: 

• Learn a new language. Become visually literate.

• Explore research done on visual communication, images as web content and eye tracking. Read also: Photos as Web Content - Jakob Nielsen

• Invest in the best visual communication team you can afford – designers, web designers, photographers etc. 

• Develop an image strategy as part of brand building and involve a professional photographer from the start. Read also: Photography in UX Design - Tim Bilsborough

• Involve a professional commercial photographer from the start.

Remain in your customers’ sight and minds so that you can find a place in their hearts.

PERFUME POWER TO THE PEOPLE - Land n Sand Digital Magazine Nov/Dec 2013 issue

By Erika Kruger

Perfume Power to the People - Fragrant Finery for the Festive Season

 

While perfume can be described as liquid art, perfume bottles can surely be considered objects d' art in itself.

And the ones available from Perfume Power SA are no different. 

Towards the end of last year Martin and I collaborated with Somerset West perfumista, Diana Rankin to contribute an article to the Nov/Des issue of the digital magazine Land n Sand.

The article told the story of this very successful e-commerce and perfume events company but Diana also shared some tips on how to select and apply perfume to complete that special outfit for end-of-year functions.

I wanted the images to convey the feeling of good cheer and the excitement of the festive season. My brief to Martin was to create the illusion of the perfume bottles actually attending a party.

So rather than shooting straight-forward product shots against a white background, Martin placed the bottles on clear glass and positioned multi-coloured Christmas lights in the background. 

He used a slow shutter speed with the 105 macro lens to prevent the strobe lights from overriding the much weaker fairy lights causing its effect to disappear completely. 

Different coloured gels were used to add variety to the shots.

I was delighted with the result. The images truly complemented the story I wanted to tell. 

And above all, both our clients were happy!

NEW YEAR IN CAPE TOWN IS CARNIVAL TIME!

By Erika Kruger

In Cape Town  New Year celebrations are associated with the Kaapse Klopse or Minstrels taking to the city streets in a high intensity burst of energy in their colourful outfits and variety of musical instruments. 

Later in the year the different troupes also participate in the annual Cape Town Carnival.

In 2010 Martin was assigned to documented the carnival in March and in June of the same year, he also photographed the Cape Town Street Festival held to welcome the 2010 Fifa World  Football event to the city.

Here are some of the images from those two memorable events.