Venter Family | an in-home session

Family sessions are always special but when it is a family that you have photographed before, the “special” becomes so much more.

Jean-Mare is known for the incredible birth parties that she organises and it shouldn’t be a surprise really that my first Venter shoot was that of a little 2-year-old Bea’s birthday. That was many moons ago and photographing them for almost a decade has been a roller coaster ride of note: birthday parties, baking sessions, school photos and a very little premature baby boy. 

This session though was a gift from the family to them and we decided to do an in-home session one Saturday morning. And by the looks of it, everyone had fun.

Black-and-White

But why another black-and-white session? This session was everything but black and white. It was rather colourful and beautiful. (And the gallery they will receive is also painted in colour). But for a very long time, I have struggled with the editing crazes that encapsulate social media.

It started with the browns and yellows… then the greens were removed. Some photographers tend to go all out and remove just about all colours. Then came the “like film” edits with all the grain. The current craze is the direct flashlights and blurry images. I do wonder if we’ll return to the phase where we removed all the colours and just left the reds. Having been in the industry for more than a decade I have seen just about all of it. Sometimes I too find the styles beautiful. But what bothers me is this – if I look back at a shoot 10 years from now and all my photos are orange and yellow – will I want to have those photos on my wall? Or will I regret the craze and wish that I had chosen a photographer that had a more timeless style?

Black and white isn’t just the oldest style of photography we have, it is also timeless. And since that is what I aim for, I decided to do this post in black and white. 

But do look out for the splashes of colour – I’ll be filling my Instagram with true Venter colours!