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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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Baby Ryan | Robert and Kirsten | Lifestyle Session

I love lifestyle sessions because I get the opportunity to capture a glimpse of people's lives at their own homes! And it was no different this time with Kirsten & Robert! And their little Ryan is so freakin cute! He is so lucky to have you two as parents! 

Baby Ryan | Robert and Kirsten | Lifestyle Session

Family is the most important thing in the world. Princess Diana
 

I love lifestyle sessions because I get the opportunity to capture a glimpse of people's lives at their own homes! And it was no different this time with Kirsten & Robert! And their little Ryan is so freakin cute! He is so lucky to have you two as parents! 

What stood out for me with this shoot was how they wanted the dogs in the shoot, and how much energy they brought to the table...it was chaos to get them all in a shot! We managed, but not without much laughter. This made for funny and real moments, and it was fun to capture. I can just imagine how it must be with them and little Ryan...Ryan will one day be super easy with dogs and not be afraid...amazing!

Enjoy the photos and please leave your comments at the end!

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

Teaser! Baby Ryan | Robert and Kirsten | Lifestyle Session

Teaser! I love lifestyle sessions where I get the opportunity to capture a little glimpse of people's lives at their own homes! And what was no different this time with Kirsten & Robert! And their little Ryan is so freakin cute! He is so lucky to have you two as parents! 

Teaser! Baby Ryan | Robert and Kirsten | Lifestyle Session

Family is the most important thing in the world. Princess Diana
 

Here is a little sneak peak of Robert & Kirsten's lifestyle session!

I love lifestyle sessions where I get the opportunity to capture a little glimpse of people's lives at their own homes! And what was no different this time with Kirsten & Robert! And their little Ryan is so freakin cute! He is so lucky to have you two as parents! 

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The Blignaut Family | Family Session | Irene Diary Farm

Wow, I had a super special family shoot with the Blignaut family at Irene Dairy Farm. Chantel, your late husband would have been proud to see your boys so confident and strong!

“He made you you - on purpose. You are the only you - ever. Becoming ourselves means we are actively cooperating with God's intention for our lives, not fighting him or ourselves.” 
― Stasi Eldredge, Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You

I had the most amazing family shoot at Irene Diary Farm with Chantel and her 2 boys, Ruben and Nathan,. I am in love with the winter sunsets, and the sun didn't hold back.

I just love it when clients open up a bit while doing the shoot, because I am continually reminded that I am photographing people. People has stories. Amazingly God has a Story, which is captured in the Bible. And God is interested in our story because our story is intwined with His Story. Wow, Chantel's late husband would have been proud to see his sons this confident, happy and strong! 

One of the most memorable moments during the shoot was when the farm released the cows from milking and they walked through our shoot. Chantel got "trapped' on the other side of the cows and I got a few shots while they just enjoyed the moment...and it was funny when I had to shout at the cows for them to leave my camera bag alone...long story short...my reflector had some cow spit on...not cool :( 

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Cleopatra's Maternity Session | Hertford Country Hotel

Cleopatra's magical maternity shoot is on my blog! She looked smashing in her yellow dress! And her daughter was so cute!

"I sustain myself with the love of family." Maya Angelou

I enjoyed capturing Cleopatra's Maternity session, and she said she is bringing her daughter to the shoot, but little did I know how cute she will be. I have not met many kiddos that has as much energy as my son, and her daughter kept me on my toes, but I loved it! At a point she even played frisbee with my reflector...funny!  Wow, look how pretty Cleopatra looked in her yellow dress!

 Cleopatra's makeup was also magical, thank you Shelley from Butterfly Blush Make-up Artists, and I just love Hertford Country Hotel as a venue! 

Venue: Hertford Country Hotel

Make up: Butterfly Blush Make-up Artists

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

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The Malston Family | Lifestyle session | Gauteng

Wow, I absolutely loved this lifestyle session with the Malston Family. There is so much love in this home!

“It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it.” Peter Buffett

I must admit, I havent done many lifestyle shoots before. I have been doing location shoots and I haven't focused on doing shoots at my client's houses...and wow...I love it. A big part of my inspiration for photography, in the days I started out, was I loved how photography tells a story. "A picture speaks a thousand words" they say...and I remember how I would travel to places or a country and I always tried taking photos (street photography) where I would place a person or a subject in their own environment. By going to someone's home you automatically photograph them in their own environment. That is the place where they live, laugh, cry, sleep, eat...amazing! 

Tracey's sister, Jacqui, bought one of my lifestyle photography vouchers last year for Tracey's birthday. Tracey and Byron (her husband) has a 1 year old boy (the cutest little boy) and they wanted me to capture a little bit of their lives at their home. I absolutely loved it! They has a cozy little home, and I just felt the love when I walked in there. This little boy is loved to bits, and it was great to see it. Their little boy is also a poser and he definitely makes me look good...I mean...just check out the way he looks at the camera...! 

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

 

 

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A beautiful Urban Maternity Session {Ohna & Melt + Twins}

Ohna & Melt's maternity session are on my blog! Its twins!

There's two to wash, two to dry; There's two who argue, two who cry; There's two to kiss, two to hug; and best of all, there's two to love!     

Jerry Smith

I get to do really fun things with regards to photography. So when I don't have a wedding to photograph I get to photograph fun people like Ohna & Melt!

Ohna is expecting twins, and she asked me to do this Urban shoot early enough before she becomes super uncomfortable. I mean, she is carrying twins, and there isn't a lot of space to grow for one little kiddo in your tummy, and she has two in there.

Wow, being a parent is probably the best thing that happened to me after I got married. It's the best feeling in the world to be loved by my son, and I can just imagine being loved by two of them! And the one thing nobody can teach you or people say it but you never really fully understand...is the fact that no matter how many sleepless nights, how many diapers you change, how many times you go to the doctor because you kiddos are sick....it's all worth it in the end!

We did this shoot early in the morning in the streets of Mellville, Johannesburg and we had loads of fun!

May you experience God's love every day when you look at your children, and may they learn how to love from you both! Lots of blessings!

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

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styled shoots, Featured Wynand van der Merwe styled shoots, Featured Wynand van der Merwe

Wild and Free | Kids Forest Party | Styled Shoot, Pretty Blog

How to hold a Wild and Free forest kids party got featured on Pretty Blog.

Styled Shoot | Wild and Free |Kids Forest Party | Pretty Blog

"Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded."
  — Jess Lair, author

I really got excited when Nicky asked me to be a part of this styled shoot, and it was going to be held at one of my wife and I's favorite venues, Buitengeluk. We stay literally a few minutes away and we visit probably weekly for coffee or lunch.

I am not going to write a huge story about this, because amazingly it got featured on the PRETTY BLOG.

Here is the link to the post on their blog. http://www.theprettyblog.com/family/wild-free-kids-forest-party-may/

The suppliers who were involved in the shoot are listed below.

Photography: Wedding and Family Photography by Wynand van der Merwe
Concept and Styling: Pudding and Pie
Stationery and Invitations: Chrystalace Stationery
Catering: Infusion Catering & Events
Events Venue: Buitengeluk Venue

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@the_prettyblog @theprettyblog @buitengeluk @chrystalace

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