Niki M's Top Tips - Get The Most Out Of Your Wedding Photography

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Today's post is a bit off course compared to the usual Niki M posts, but my latest quest is a guide to resources and a collections of tips for clients. This is pretty important as most couples invest upwards of 10% of their total wedding budget on photography/videography, so I decided to share some of it on the blog. This is not a complete wedding guide. This is a forget-me-not guide; a small guide - partly to make sure you get the most bang out of your buck, and also to point out things that many couples forget (including me) during their planning stages or on the day itself. So here goes...

Sarah and Mark - Tzaneen

Niki M Photography has a brand new website! Visit www.nikimphotography.co.za to view all my latest work :)

Sarah and Mark's wedding was so refreshing! But lets start at the beginning before I tell you why...

Sarah and Mark are missionaries from America, and they currently look after 12 orphaned and vulnerable children (12!) at a house in Modjadjiskloof, Tzaneen. Sarah is also actively involved in Pfunanane Ministries (http://www.pfunanane.org/, go read all about it) where she is Children's Home Director.

So when she contacted me and told me all about it, I was nervous. Traveling with strangers, to a place I had never been before. But I should not have worried... this experience was so liberating. I flew to JHB and caught a lift up to Sarah's home with Cricket and Mary Floye. Luckily they were awesome company, and we had a blast.

The brief from the very beginning, in Sarah's words: 'I want lots of photos of the kids, and don't worry about me'. So thats exactly what I did. These kids are a laugh and a half, each of them is so special! That combined with Sarah and Mark's awesome sense of humour, and their friendly and energetic families from America... this was a wedding never to be repeated. 

So, now that you know all of that, the reason it was so refreshing was that I got to photograph children, not worry too much about formalities, fight off killer emus and seriously energetic Shangaan dancers, and also because I now have memories of very special people that I will never, ever forget.

This post is overdue, but its because there are a LOT of photos... so enjoy! :)

Benjamin and Georgina

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Charlotte and I have been trying to coordinate a photo shoot of her two little ones for so long! The time finally came during my last trip to Joburg. Benjamin and Georgina are twins, and they are so so so gorgeous, I'm sure you will agree!

We spent a few hours together and I really think these photos are so special. Ben (you'll notice) was much more at ease with the camera, and he had a ball jumping for me and playing peek-a-boo from behind a gigantic tree. Georgie was much more reserved but she definitely let us know when she was having fun :)

Enjoy!