Jenna, Garth and the Bump @ Groot Constantia.

Possibly my favourite shoot of 2013 so far... Jenna and the Bump :) <3

Nestled in the valleys and comforts of Groot Constantia, we couldn't have asked for a more awesome setting and weather. I met Jenna and Garth when she was about 8 months pregnant and soon to pop. They were such a pleasure to photograph - so sweet, kind and fun. They pretended for a while that they were camera shy but let's all be honest - you don't take such inspiring photos without a little bit of camera love ;)

They didn't know the sex of the baby before it was born and so we had a lot of fun with the blackboard and many a laugh over who thought it was going to be a girl and who was adamant it was a boy!!! If you don't know how it turned out, stay tuned for their newborn shoot and all shall be revealed... mysterious I know :)

By the end of it we had lost track of all time (time flies when you having fun) and we even got treated to a little juice and muffin break - all in a day's work. I really do have a tough time on location!!

Anyhoo, I was really proud of these photo's and how they came out. Everything came together in a bunch of fantasticness. Much thanks must go to Garth and Jenna for making it all so easy and to my all amazing Claire, for holding, carrying, getting wet, directing and making sure the convo never died.

#LivingTheDream.

Matti

Kelly & Bart's Wedding at Knorhoek

Kelly and Bart... where to start. And no I'm not trying to turn this into a rhyming game :) I've known Kelly and her family for years - and after working together in 2006 at the green dot, I didn't really see her again until last year. She moved to Australia where she met and fell in love with Bart and eventually moved to Amsterdam together, where they live now. When I first met Bart, it was while discussing wedding packages and sifting through an album of photo's - a pretty standard meeting, small catch up and intro of the groom to be. We met a few more times, really liked him but had yet to really spend time with them. I had subsequently heard about the crazy bunch of friends that would all be flying in for the wedding, and stories that came with them. One didn't think too much of it until the wedding weekend arrived - but crazy was one way to describe it, awesome another and a magical love and laughter filled day of amazing friends and family was pretty much what it boiled down to. The colourful socks matched their effervescent personalities and I knew it was going to be a great day! Kelly was resplendent in her white gown as bride and everyone came together just perfectly.

The dark clouds threatened on the mountains nearby Knorhoek but ultimately never revealed themselves. I'm not sure anyone even had time to stop and worry about it. The day went without a hitch, the energy and atmosphere made my job effortless and into the night the fun went. It was not until all the formalities were over and the dance floor opened that the Dutch really came out to play. We stuck around a little after the photos finished and it felt like we had been part of the fun all day.

Many many thanks to everyone involved. To Kel and Bart for looking after us and making sure we had everything we needed. Too all the awesome Dutch friends we met and made - thanks for so much fun and laughter.

So now with all that in mind it was truly hard to show only a select bunch of photos, so while the post is long, make sure you get to the end and feel the magic!!

Until we meet again.

Matti

Sian & Simon Got Married at Zorgvliet

Sian and Simon got married earlier this year at Zorgvliet in Cape Town. Sian was originally from Zim, studied in SA and then jet-setted off to London where she had been living for a while. Here she met and fell in love with Simon :) Cape Town and their wedding would be the last stop en route to new beginnings in Australia.... so only appropriate then for a proudly South African wedding ;)

Most of the wedding party came from London and made a full trip of it with plenty of pre wedding festivities in the week leading up. Cape Town, as only it could do, brought some amazing and terrible weather to the table. On the morning of the wedding, driving over Helshoogte, we struggled to see 5m through the fog. Once this lifted, the heavens opened and the rain belted down. Cape Town, in all respects, was letting us down. The rain continued throughout the morning and early afternoon... but eventually everyone would make it to the church in time. Besides a few soaked boots, everyone was still in high spirits.

Then something truly amazing happened... after a beautiful ceremony and the saying of I do, within in minutes of the church erupting in celebration, the clouds parted and the sun came out... from arriving in the pouring rain, they would walk out into the sunshine!!! The sun lasted throughout the family photos, couples shoot and pre drinks. Once everyone was safely inside the reception it let out a small flood before holding off for the rest of the night... :)

It was a fabulous day in the end - the love and happiness, friendship and family could not be dulled by anything. Huge thanks must go to Sian and Simon for being so calm and collected and just as great thanks to the lovely ladies who ran the formalities on the day and making sure everything ran smoothly, we were hydrated and had as many back up photo plans as we needed!!

Right, so enough from me.... let the photos tell the story of a fabulous wedding. To Sian and Simon.... Cheers!

Robyn & Amy - Coming up next.

COMING UP NEXT....

Robyn & Amy: A Mother and Daughter shoot

Stay tuned.

Full post now available at: http://mclaganphotography.blogspot.com/2013/04/robyn-amy-mother-and-daughter-shoot.html

Dani and Xander Engagement Shoot

It's 2013 and we're back in action! The McLagan Photography workshop has been busy, busy, busy and it's time to share some of the past months action with you. So, what better way to kick off the new year than with one of my favourite shoots of 2012 - Dani and Xander's engagement shoot at Noordhoek Beach.

 Location, Location, Location. Heard that one before? Well it's true... but in this case it was Dani & Xander, Location, Location, Location. I'd been eyeing a spot on this beach for ages and finally got the chance when Dani said they were all for a beach vibe setting. The location did not disappoint but add a dash of Dani and Xander spice and we had a whole new kettle of awesomeness to work with. They were fun, spontaneous, energetic, full of love and up for pretty much anything - all I had to do was point and shoot!

By the end of the session, you'd swear we'd been friends for ages. As the sun set behind us, it was the perfect end to a great weekend. Thanks so much guys, I cannot wait for the wedding - it's going to be a rock star event!

Before you get to the photos, just one last word (if you are still reading) from me - I recently said that some people put far too many photos in a blog post and you race through them to the end - ironically I'm guilty as charged in this post. There were just too many great photos not to share them all. I do hope you stick with it and make it all the way to the end - it's worth it!

Keep your eyes posted for more to come soon. Until then...
Cheers

Matti

Lovely Lara Smith and Family

Ahhhhh man, if this isn't one of the cutest happiest kids out there :) Rich and Nina you guys have created a fabulous little bundle of joy!! Love her!

Ok, so this shoot feels like an age ago but, better late than never, I'm happy to finally be sharing it with you. I had offered Nina's playschool a voucher as part of their annual raffle for a free family shoot - alas it was not used by the winner(????) so I offered it to Nina and Rich for some updated pics of Lara - who has grown up so much since I first took pics of her about a year ago!!

We met at Kirstenbosch Gardens where the family had set up a little picnic spot in the corner. Lara had the open plains to run around in and plenty of snacks and drinks to replenish herself on (it's tough work all this fun). Favourites of the day were definitely Ghostpops and strawberries. A seemingly odd pairing... but not when you're kid - anything goes!!! It also made sense, obviously, to get the all the Ghostpops out of the packet to be enjoyed all at the same time!! :)

My favourite moment / game of the day was after Lara had done a little run around with dad or mom or the ducks, and she would come running back to the blanket, lie down and gently but firmly say - " Mommy lie" - and so she would. "Daddy lie" and he would oblige. Then after a quick succession of giggles, she would hop up and make a run for it... man so cute!!!

It was a beautiful afternoon at Kirstenbosch and thanks to the Smith family for the treats, fun and catch up!!! We'll definitely be doing it again soon.

Enjoy and see you again soon,
Matti

Isla Greta McLagan - a little angel!

Please welcome Isla Greta McLagan :) To the clan McLagan another one is born... Mom and Dad besotted, Mac the dog overly excited and Grand Parents couldn't be happier. McLagan Photography and all the other McLagans are and will be totally infatuated with this little gorgeous bundle of joy :)

The McLagans are historically male dominated, that sounds terrible, but from an all boy original family, girls have been a dime a dozen over the years. Treasured so that each time a new one arrives there is a little dance of joy ;) So welcome Isla, and rest assured you will have many McLagan men to watch over you!!

Us McLagans are Scottish by decent and Drew and Tina decided to stay in tradition with the name Isla. Isla, a Scottish river, also comes from the word 'island' - and Isla, they say no man is an island, you however my girl are your own magical Island!! Yes I can be dramatic too :)

Ok so enough of the history lesson and so on... I'm so excited to share these photos with you :) Just the cutest little girl and a fabulously good looking family. We had such a good morning - Isla was intrigued and relaxed, totally loving the white fluffly blanket and her ballerina outfit! While Drew wasn't keen on too many tutu shots, he'll have to admit that she pulled it off like a superstar. We even had the blue jeans out, just to bring things back to the more fashionable!!

Ok so before I carry on waffling away... you guys are a super awesome family and I was honoured to be able to take some photos for you... I can't wait to see you guys more often and watch little Isla grow.

Now enjoy the trip to Isla Island, I hope you like :)

Until the next time,

Matti

 

Photo of the Day: Reflection

    Just reflect... thats all :)

Keep loving, living and doing everything else to make those moments count!