In today’s blog we set our sights on wedding photographers AndStory. Together, married couple Reinhardt and Melanie run AndStory, a wedding photography company that focuses primarily on bespoke wedding photography to give their clients the ultimate experience. Travellers, visual story tellers and entrepreneurs, it’s clear to see the love of their craft shining through in their work. Every picture embodies a certain wonder and captures the emotion of the moment. I could happily scroll through their work for hours - my very own Pinterest!

With Where’s My Wedding branching out to Gauteng, we are excited to feature the work of AndStory and other top photographers based in Johannesburg.

Enjoy!

 

Tell us a little bit about yourselves

The best thing about what we do is that we love what we do. We are Reinhardt and Melanie, visual storytellers and a husband and wife team based in Johannesburg. We are addicted to traveling, slightly obsessed with good light and design and believe that life is too short for bad coffee!

In 2010, we decided to follow our passion for visually capturing the special moments of life and started Creative Emporium as a wedding photography business. With our background in film and video production, Creative Emporium soon expanded to include design projects as well as corporate video production.

In 2014 we decided to split our interests.  As the wedding photography business is very special to us, we created a new entity just for weddings, known as AndStory.

We have a fondness for celebrations of love and we aim to tell the beautiful and intimate stories of each special event through our camera lenses.  It is one of the most important days in any couple’s life, so we strive to give it all the proper creative attention that it deserves.

Who or what got you started in photography?

Both of us where interested and studied photography before we’d met each other. As a couple we practised photography together as a hobby and a couple of years ago a friend asked us if we would be interested in shooting their wedding. Without us realising it, this was a major tipping point in our lives. We shot that wedding with very little knowledge of wedding photography, with very limited gear and two small memory cards. But someone accidently saw those photos and showed them to their neighbour who showed it to Bob, their uncle, and here we are, 10 years later. You could definitely say we were wedding photography accidents and that wedding photography chose us. One of those accidents in life most people dream of… definitely our wildest dream so far.

Tell us why you both decided to pursue wedding photography.

I think it’s our obsession with the story and the person behind every photo. The reason we chose to concentrate on wedding photography and what inspired us to create AndStory, a bespoke wedding photography company, is that weddings are the perfect environment to find beautiful story opportunities with many different views to tell them. We also just really enjoyed the excitement and emotion of these celebrations and that environment is a space that lends itself to beautiful photographs.

How has wedding photography made you stronger photographers overall?

Fifteen years ago wedding photography was something many established photographers looked down on. Guys that couldn’t really make it as photographers ended up as wedding photographers, or it was seen as the bored housewife’s side-line job.

But as technology and the market developed, wedding photography became an art form that requires a versatile and capable photographer. Not only must you be a good landscape photographer, but also a good portrait photographer. You must also be able to be a documentary photographer but at the same time have the ability to style and set up a bride up for that beautiful portrait. You also need to be good at shooting décor, landscape, architecture, food, family, and night and lifestyle photographs.

 Wedding photography has developed our skills on so many different levels. We are now photographers that have mastered and perfected every form of photography within the wedding landscape.

How would you describe AndStory’s photography style?

We incorporate a modern yet romantic style in our photographs. We have a natural curiosity for ‘human truth’ and the sometimes unexpected beauty of the ordinary − and we love to capture this.

Our aim as visual storytellers is to find the wonder and emotion in every little moment and to capture that. We try to stage as little as possible on the day and are focused on telling the story from both the couple’s and their guests’ points of view.

 

What has been your favourite venue/location in Johannesburg to shoot at?

This is a really difficult question to answer as venues and locations are all different and unique and for us more about the people inside them. That said, there is something very special about Johannesburg and the rich history hidden in its buildings. And we just adore urban weddings.

If we had to choose a favorite venue it would be a difficult choice between the old and the new Johannesburg. On the one side it will be The Forum Turbine Hall in Newtown and on the other side, Katy’s Palace Bar in Kramerville.

 

What are your favourite recent images?

Wow this is really difficult… Possibly the wedding of clients Alex and Christo in Greece. Every wedding has so many favourite shots!

Do you have any tips for couples looking for the perfect wedding photographer?

Except for your dashing spouse and new in-laws to get used to, your wedding photos are the only other lasting things of your wedding. It is worth it to budget for great photographers as they will make sure that you get to look back at the wonderful memories and experiences you, your families and friends shared on one of the best days of your lives.

Make sure that you choose a photographer whose style and personality suits both of you. Meet with them and go through a full wedding they’ve shot, not only one or two of their best shots. Last, and very important, don’t just settle for the first photographer. Meet at least three photographers before making your decision. Remember, they are interviewing you just as much as you are interviewing them. Both of you must feel super comfortable with each other to make the magic just happen.

To contact AndStory or to see more of their work: http://andstory.co.za/

Shelley at Where’s My Wedding