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lifestyle photography, portrait photography Wynand van der Merwe lifestyle photography, portrait photography Wynand van der Merwe

Ryno and Simone | Urban couple shoot | Parkhurst

Ryno and Simoné beautiful urban coupe shoot in Parkhurst was so much fun!

Wynandvandermerwe ryno simone couple shoot urban parkhurst street gauteng-71.jpg

I hosted a little competition on my Facebook page and Simone was one of the 2 winners!

Originally I wanted to create a super romantic Valentines Day shoot on a rooftop, but due to circumstances I postponed and postponed, up until I said to Simone let’s just do a normal Urban couple shoot. I am so glad we ended up doing an urban shoot because Ryno and Simone are such naturals. They were keen for me to experiment a lot, which I loved, because during couple shoots I have less stress to provide “perfect wedding or engagement” photos but rather very creative and personal photos for them as a couple. I am not saying that I dont create super cool photos for my clients during engagement shoots or weddings but rather that the stress to create them is less. (So I can play a bit more and experiment a bit more…which I love). I also use these platforms to practice shots I would not dare to try during a wedding shoot due to the time limit and error factor…during a wedding I can’t make mistakes!

We went to Parkhurst for photos in the streets, and Ryno and Simone are such a cool couple. They are not engaged…well not yet…wink wink. It’s actually quite funny how many people responded on the photos “I see wedding bells in the distance…!”

They looked absolutely beautiful and so much in love!

Enjoy the photos and please leave a comment at the end!

(Click on the image to enlarge)



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Zander and Akira | Engagement shoot | Bank Towers, 012Central

Akira asked me to capture their actual engagement, the moment she asks her prince charming to get married. I was obviously over the moon, because this is such a cool moment to photograph! and just look how happy they are!

This year is 2020 and also #leapyear…yup, the year with a 29th of February, and we always make these jokes that “If you get married on the 29th of February, then you only have to celebrate your union once every 4 years”. I mean, then husbands have less opportunity to forget their anniversary…hahaha!….but there is another unwritten rule…it’s the year when girlfriends are allowed to ask their boyfriends to marry them…well, thats what happened…Akira asked her prince charming to marry her and he said yes!

Akira asked me to capture exactly when it happens, and I was obviously over the moon, because this is such a cool moment to photograph!

I told Akira that we have 2 options: you either do something together and when the moment presents itself, I jump out of the bushes and take photos (but then you aren’t necessarily ready for photos), or we can arrange a romantic couple shoot, then you are dressed and ready for photos…and Zander won’t suspect anything. So that is what we did. We agreed on a couple shoot, and Akira would give me “the knod” or thumbs-up and she will then take out the ring to pop the question. Akira arranged access to the rooftop at the Bank Towers, 012Central, and we did the most amazing couple shoot in the gorgeous golden hour sunlight on the rooftop, with the most amazing view of central Pretoria.

We were very lucky. When you are taking photos between buildings, chances are that you will take photos in the shade and then you miss the actual sun shining through your hair, but the sun was in fact bounced onto them from a tall glass building during their shoot…so it looked like the sun was beaming on them!

I had this idea of posing Zander facing away from me, and Akira facing me, and I would then give her a thumbs-up (I didn’t know if I would be 150% ready for the moment if she gave me the thumbs-up…I mean I can’t miss the moment)…and it worked SOOO well in my favour! I had a chance to photograph Akira holding the ring, without Zander noticing. WOW, what a cool photo and moment!

Congrats again on getting engaged…you guys are such a lovely couple and look sooooo happy together!

Enjoy the photos, and please leave a comment at the end!

(Click on the image to enlarge)


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Teaser! Zander and Akira | Engagement shoot | Bank Towers, 012Central

Akira got a hold of me to capture their actual engagement, the moment she asks her prince charming to get married. I was obviously over the moon, because this is such a cool moment to photograph!

This year is 2020 and also #leapyear…yup, the year with a 29th of February, and we always make these jokes that “If you get married on the 29th of February, then you only have to celebrate your union once every 4 years”. I mean, then husbands have less opportunity to forget their anniversary…hahaha!….but there is another unwritten rule…it’s the year when girlfriends are allowed to ask their boyfriends to marry them…well, thats what happened yesterday!

Akira got a hold of me to capture their actual engagement, the moment she asks her prince charming, Zander, to get married. I was obviously over the moon, because this is such a cool moment to photograph!

I Akira that we have 2 options: you either do something together and when the moment presents itself, I jump out of the bushes and take photos (but then you aren’t necessarily ready for photos), or we can arrange a romantic couple shoot, then you are dressed and ready for photos…and Zander won’t suspect anything. So that is what we did. We agreed on a couple shoot, and Akira would give me “the knod” or thumbs-up and she will then get ready to pop the question. Akira arranged access to the rooftop at Bank Towers, 012Central, and we did the most amazing couple shoot in the gorgeous golden hour sunlight on the rooftop, with the most amazing view of central Pretoria.

I had this idea of posing Zander facing away from me, and Akira facing me, and I would then give her a thumbs-up (I didn’t know if I would get 150% ready for the moment if she gave me the thumbs-up…I mean I can’t miss the moment)…and it worked SOOO well in my favour! I had a chance to photograph Akira holding the ring, without Zander noticing. WOW, what a cool photo and moment!

Congrats again on getting engaged…you guys are such a lovely couple and look sooooo happy together!

Enough said for now! Enjoy the photos, and I can’t wait to share more!

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lifestyle photography, family photography Wynand van der Merwe lifestyle photography, family photography Wynand van der Merwe

Melt, Ohna and the twins | Urban session | Melville, Jhb

This was one of the coolest shoots I have done and love the photos! Melt, Ohna and the twins are such a beautiful family!

Wynandvandermerwe melt ohna family photography street mellville urban gauteng-14.jpg

I had the privilege to capture Melt and Ohna’s maternity shoot two years ago, and look at the twins now! Wow, they are soooo freakin cute and they were a breeze to shoot! They were doing their own thing, and I have learnt to follow what the kids do with family shoots, and it works amazingly! It also helped to show them the flash button on my camera, and they could press the button and “shoot” someone (I mean it looks like lightning going off when the flash fires) as incentive! They loved it! We did the maternity shoot in Melville one early morning, and they wanted to recreate some of the images but with the kids, and its amazing how a place can change. Many of the places were not there anymore, but I must say the “updated” Mellville looks amazing. I just loved the protea murial which wasnt there the last time!

Enough said. This was one of the coolest shoots I have done and love the photos! Please leave a comment at the end!

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Urban portraits with Dené Vorster | Sandton City Parking

I had the pleasure of creating some urban portraits for Dené Vorster at Sandton City's parking area! amazing!

Urban portraits with Dené Vorster | Sandton City Parking

I had the pleasure of creating some urban portraits with Dené Vorster at Sandton City's parking area this week and I just loved working with her! She is a down-to-earth powerhouse and I believe she is going to go far with her music! 

I just LOVE sunsets in Johannesburg, especially in Winter because the sun turns almost red, and the sun didn't disappoint. 

Dené entered into Idols SA Season 7 and reached the top 8 during this particular season...amazing achievement! Her music style is R&B/Soul and her music is amazing! Here's a link to her version of Adele's "Someone Like You" at the Idols Competition. (Click here)

Enjoy the photos, and please leave a comment at the end!

Here's one of Dené's music videos on Youtube...love it! Support local and buy her CD on Itunes!

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Teaser! Urban portraits with Dené Vorster | Sandton City Parking Lot

I had the pleasure of creating some urban portraits for Dené Vorster at Sandton City's parking area! amazing!

Teaser! Urban portraits with Dené Vorster | Sandton City Parking Lot

I had the pleasure of creating some urban portraits with Dené Vorster at Sandton City's parking area this week and I just loved working with her! She is a down-to-earth powerhouse and I believe she is going to go far with her music! 

I just LOVE sunsets in Johannesburg, especially in Winter because the sun turns almost red. 

Dené entered into Idols SA Season 7 and reached the top 8 during this particular season...amazing achievement! Her music style is R&B/Soul and her music is amazing! Here's a link to her version of Adele's "Someone Like You" at the Idols Competition. (Click here)

Here's a sneak peak of the shoot. Enjoy!

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engagement photography, wedding photography Wynand van der Merwe engagement photography, wedding photography Wynand van der Merwe

Stephen & Gena's urban e-session

Stepen & Gena's urban e-session in the inner city of Johannesburg!

Wynandvandermerwegena stephen urban engagement shoot maboneng johannesburg38.jpg

Wow. This was a super fun shoot. We got to go to the inner city of Johannesburg to do an urban shoot, and Stephen & Gena just rocked! They looked absolutely exquisite, and I just love the way that they contrasted with the surroundings...amazing!

I had a bit of a laugh with Stephen because he was very stiff and on his nerves, and I had to train him in front of the camera. The greatest moment for me was when we were almost at the end of the shoot Gena said: "Wow, I have never seen Stephen smile this much". Thanks for the compliment.

I so wish I was going to take their wedding pictures, which I am not. They already have a photographer booked, but I can just imagine how wonderful their weddings pics are going to be!

We had an interesting moment though during the shoot. My camera was almost nabbed. There was a guy who came up to me and asked that I take a picture of him, but while his buddy was behind me looking for an opportunity to nab my camera (I didn't know this, Gena told me afterwards). Gena went into a praying frenzy and her faith got us out of that situation. The 2 guys left us but our nerves only really settled once we left the area after the shoot.

A big thank you to Fourways Flower Market at Pineslopes, JHB, for the bouquet of flowers!

#urban #engagementshoot #esession #wedding #weddingphotography

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