Best of the Decade

Best of the Decade

I fell into wedding photography about 12 years ago, but it was only in 2010 that I really decided to focus on this genre of photography and career path. When I put my mind to something I am all in, even though the initial idea was that I would use the money that I earned from wedding photography to pay for life whilst I made art and exhibited on the side. I was rather naive to think that someone like me could do both, because there is truth in the saying which tells us that “where your focus goes, energy flows.” I had decided that if I was going to become a wedding photographer, I would work until I was as good as the best in the world. I was obsessed, and with that extreme dedication came a very fast acceleration. One minute I was figuring out how to use flash and the next I was being flown across the world to photograph the nuptials of strangers.

Now there are some who think that I was born with an innate talent for wedding photography and this is entirely untrue. My early photos were absolutely ghastly, but I worked myself to the bone to improve every single time I picked up my camera. I worked so hard that I put myself in hospital with adrenal burnout because I was a perfectionist and my own worst critic and was working 80 hours a week. I didn’t really care about accolades, only about being the best that I could be. I was so focused on improving my craft that I had neglected to work on my workflow and the business side of my business and so that trip to the hospital and the year that it took to recover put things to perspective. I loved the fact that wedding photography allowed me so much creative autonomy and that I was being paid to people watch and travel but it had taken its toll!

I put my prices up because I realised that I could not do what I did for average prices, as I was not putting in an average amount of effort. I kept putting them up and people kept hiring me. Fast forward a few years and I have been acknowledged by reputable international organisations as being one of the best wedding photographers in the world and have made some incredible memories during my career, but I haven’t made any non commissioned artwork that I am proud of nor have I had a single exhibition during this time. Over the last couple of years there has been a stirring in my soul that has been itching for a change but I felt a gigantic creative block inside of me. I still loved every single one of my clients and put my all into every assignment I took on but I knew that I wanted more.

It is interesting that I was awashed with this knowing just as the wedding industry came crashing down under the weight of the pandemic of 2020. It felt like the universe was giving me a huge slap as I fell into a pit of despair. This year has been emotionally exhausting and certainly one of the most stressful that I can remember, but I have made some enormous changes like tidying up my personal life, letting go of my beloved Mouse House which I had poured myself into whilst refurbishing, packing up my stuff, applying to Rhodes University to do my Masters in Fine Art, investing in a water housing for my new Sony gear and completing a free diving course.

I have no idea where this journey is going to take me, nor do I have a step by step action strategy. I have no five year plan. I only know that I am opening a new door to a new future and a new way of doing life.

In my time as a wedding photographer I have met some of the loveliest, most interesting and diverse people from all over the world. I have photographed weddings everywhere from sheep barns to mountain tops to white sand island beaches to 6 star hotels. I’ve had access to some of the most intimate moments of what it means to be human in so many different cultures and in so many different spaces. I have been moved, touched and transported and I know that everything that I have learnt and every one that I have met along the way are all stepping stones towards the next chapter.

Huge thanks to each and every person who has walked this journey with me. I am so deeply grateful for your thread in my life’s tapestry.

And so I present my favourite wedding photos from the last decade with deep gratitude and honour. I am still truly humbled that people have entrusted me to interpret their connection to the people and the world around them in my way.

PS I am being asked this alot. “Will I continue to take on wedding assignments?” Yes I will, but only a selected few per year.

PPS I could have chosen 1000 more photos so please don’t take it personally if your wedding pics aren’t in here. It was very hard to narrow this blogpost down as I have literally shot hundreds of weddings.

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World’s Best Wedding Photos: The Impeccable Portrait

World’s Best Wedding Photos: The Impeccable Portrait

Just before the crazy Coronocoaster hit the world I received a very exciting invite, but then the world went mad and I forgot to tell you all about it!

I was invited to be a part of an international wedding directory which recognises the best wedding photographers in the world. This is run by the incredible Blair DeLaubefels who started Junebug weddings. Some of my photography idols are on this list so I was blown away to be included and am at present the only South African on the directory.

They recently ran a competition titled The Impeccable Portrait and I decided to enter. I don’t actually enter many competitions besides the Fearless photographers awards when I remember. So I was very honoured when I received an email from Blair which said : “After days of deliberation your work stood out from the crowd and our iconic judges chose 3 of your attached portraits as three of the 50 Best Wedding Portraits of the Decade!”

Wow! Thanks so much to the judges and thanks to my amazing clients!

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Best of Weddings 2018

Best of Weddings 2018

2018 …..

What was that?

Seriously though, what just happened?

This year has gone by at the speed of light in a giant rollercoaster. One minute I was on the top of a mountain in Lesotho on New Years eve writing my goals for the year and the next they were playing Bony M in the shops and now here I am doing my annual Best of Wedding Photography post.

2018 saw some great thing happen work wise

• I ran 3 creative photographic workshops for a really great bunch of photographers Gosh I do love teaching and inspiring others

• We shot weddings all over South Africa and also Tanzania for beautiful souls who all inspired me to no end So grateful for the clients I attract

• We shot a record number of portraits this year Met so many interesting people and animals along the way in all sorts of interesting places

• I took a mini sabbatical and went down to Rhodes University to do a self created artists residency and processed my first roll of film in over a decade! Thanks Dyan McGarry, you are one of my most favorite humans in the universe.

• My new website and branding was finally re-launched Thanks Dylan McGarry for illustration, Tyrone Bradley for branding, Chanelle Segerius Bruce for coaching and Chantal from one day webs for coding and a serious amount of patience

• I spoke at the Foto Plus Africa Photography Expo in Johannesburg. Still have fomo from not being able to stay for the whole event

• I won two Fearless awards which is so hard to do these days as they literally get thousands and thousands of entries from all over the world. So chuffed about this as it had been a while!

• One of my pics was included in Bored Panda’s Top Wedding Photos of 2018. What an honor

• I had photos published in the Huffington Post and the Rangefinder magazine amongst other. Shooow thanks to my clients for giving me the opportunity to create shots that interest the world enough to publish them

• I was placed on Nicholas Purcils 2018 Top Wedding Photographers in the World List WOW didn’t’ see that coming!

• I was invited to speak at the Fearless Wedding Photography Conference in Germany in 2019 STILL CANT BELIVE IT!

It was also the year that our beloved dog called Panther Bear dropped dead out of the blue and I went into a depression afterwards which is rather surprising for someone who previously didn’t like dogs. Just as I was getting over that, a number of other personal bombs landed in my lap. It’s been a challenging year, but I feel that there has been a lot of growth and lessons that have been learnt, I have also experienced a lot of love and for that I am truly grateful.

So what have I learnt this year?

You never know what is around the corner so be grateful for everything you have now, Be present, Meditate every day, Love your people, Time is precious, The mind does not always serve us so be careful of getting caught up in the head, Things are not always as they seem, Good friends and family are to be cherished and Gardening makes me happy.

Thank you so much to all the clients who have entrusted me with their precious memories. I am so grateful for you all! Thanks to all the service providers who I work alongside who make my life easier by creating your own magic. Thanks to Lizzy for training up Charne. We miss you! Thanks to Charne for all your dedication and hard work. You survived your first year!!!! Welldone! Thanks to my friends and family that have supported me, put up with me and celebrated with me. Lastly thanks to the man in my life Riaan for giving guidance when needed, for making fires, for hanging pictures, for helping pack and unpack and for being there for me. I so appreciate you all.

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Unstuck Yourself Creative Photography workshop in Durban

Unstuck Yourself Creative Photography workshop in Durban

If you are a photographer who has been itching to attend my Unstuck Yourself workshop but haven’t been able to get in I’ve got good news for you I am coming to Jozi in June! Yip here are the dates.

UNSTUCK YOURSELF ONE DAY CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
13 JUNE 2018  IN JOHANNESBURG

OPTIONAL EXTRA DAY OF PRACTICAL SHOOTING DESIGNED FOR THOSE THAT NEED A BIT MORE HANDS ON FUN
14 JUNE 2018 JOHANNESBURG

If you would like to attend or be put onto a waiting list drop me a mail on jacki@jackibruniquel.com

YAAAY!

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Today I will also tell you about the workshops that happened here in Durban at my home this summer. We had 17 wonderful souls attend on two separate days. Some had been in business for years, some had just started out, some had flown in especially for the workshop and some lived down the road. We had people from Nambia, Zambia, the UK and Salt Rock. One thing they all had in common is that they found themselves nodding to the following questions and they came to the workshop for a creative reboot.

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If you find yourself relating to what I am about to ask you then this workshop is designed especially for you too!

Are you

  • feeling like you are stuck in a rut when it comes to your photography?
  • struggling with the immensity of maintaining creativity whilst running your own business?
  • terrified of putting your prices up, meaning that you are taking on so much work that you don’t have a moment for yourself or your family?
  •  fearful of shooting in tricky lighting situations and messy rooms?
  • feeling burnt out and uninspired?

Do you

  • feel afraid to push your own boundaries and try new things?
  •  find yourself blindly following trends for the sake of it?
  • find that your flash gives you anxiety? 
  • feel like your work sucks and that this is causing you to feel inadequate?

My aim with this workshop is to help you move past any fear based mindsets you have surrounding your work and give you confidence to turn tricky situations into creative possibilities. I want to help you speak with your own visual language and create images that you are proud of so that you can put your prices up and have more balance in your life! I want to inspire you to have fun with photography – just like when you first started out. Your camera can’t kill you so why then all the anxiety? The aim of this workshop is to move you out of a place of stuckness and into a place of self expression and confidence!  This is not a workshop where you will be shooting pretty models or learning how to be someone else!

I know what it is like to feel totally burnt out and uninspired but with my Fine Art background, introspection and lots of reading I manage to push through the dark patches! I want to help you to do the same! So far I have done workshops in Jozi, Cape Town and Durban and I love seeing my past attendees thriving.

Here’s what Angie had to say about her experience

  I thoroughly enjoyed the Unstuck Yourself Workshop with Jacki! Jax shares an abundance of knowledge that’s been poured from her heart. Not only did I leave with practical tips and tricks for dealing with difficult shooting environments, but found what makes my soul sing and why I love shooting. The workshop has given me the confidence to experiment and play with my flash, as opposed to being afraid of it! The Unstuck Yourself Workshop has given me a fresh perspective to creative shooting and I can’t wait to play again! 

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 (This photo of Ang was taken by me on the day by the way. She was warned to bring an extra set of clothes – also we have no drought here in Durbs at the mo!)

But back onto the Durban workshop. As mentioned I held this workshop at my home in Ballito as I wanted to teach in a casual, creative space where folk can kick their shoes off and feel like they are at home.

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I should back track though and mention that our work together actually starts 4 weeks before the Unstuck Yourself workshop even happens when attendees are given weekly exercises designed to kickstart the creative process.  These are the beginning of our journey together and ensure that everyone enters the right mindset before the big day even starts.

When the big day for the Durban workshop eventually came around we started off with lectures in the lounge where I told my story and shared advice on everything from finding your own language to the importance of educating your clients.

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When the sun was high in the sky we went outside to work with lighting techniques to get rid of what I call “racoon eye”. I don’t use professional models for demonstrations – Nope I take pics of everyone who attends! This isn’t that kind of workshop!

As you can see Milo is a gorgeous girl that’s for sure but no one looks great under the unflattering noon sun. Here’s a before and after problem solving lighting technique pic that doesn’t involve expensive strobes.

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And here’s what Milo had to say about the workshop

Your workshop was amazing, Jax. I left feeling like I had new life breathed into me, not only in my photography journey but in my personal life too, and with a greater knowledge of who I am as a photographer, what I want to photograph and with the tools to create truly amazing ‘out of the box’ photos.

Here’s another example this time with the gorgeous Des.

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Here’s what Des had to say about her experience

 I needed a workshop that gave me a reason to shoot as I was in a slump. I needed something that would give me a creative reboot. The workshop gave me some perspective. It was kind of the light at the end of my dark tunnel. I know I need to work seriously hard but I feel like I have a reason to now.

After our first practical shooting session we hit the lunch table which was beautifully decorated by the uber talented Carolyn from Adore Weddings and Events. Thanks Ca you are a ray of sunshine in my life!!!

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The food which was made by Carissa from Bleu Berri Catering was delicious, nurturing and vegetarian! I wish she could cook for me every single day!!!

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Huge thanks also to Kendal from the House of Hudson for providing the tables and chairs. My balcony feels very bare without them now and I miss them – A lot of learning and sharing happened over that lunch table!

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After lunch we went into more lectures which cover everything from how to unboring your pics to how to deal with creative anxiety. We also had time for questions of which there were many!!!

The afternoon/evening involves practical shooting time where I show attendees various techniques to problem solve tricky shooting and lighting situations.

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Here’s a few examples of shots I took of attendees and a few words about their experience

Talitha Ullrich

I took this photo to teach people not to be scared of of a bit of rain!

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I had a very special day at the Unstuck Yourself Workshop and I personally feel that this workshop goes beyond photography

 Jacki’s humbleness and kindness was so prevalant throughout the day and her ability to share and teach others is a special gift and something not many share

Lisa Woest

Shot in a boring white room in tricky light to show you that you don’t need to shoot in fancy venus to create something interesting

 Everything about the workshop was beneficial and the cost was worth it 🙂 A great investment to my own business. 

Leah Van Zyl

 Shot in a boring white room to take the fear out of boring

 I loved every second of your lovely workshop, I feel so inspired, thank you. 

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Elizabeth Donnell (also my long term assistant who has just gone out on her own)

Image taken in a boring white room to demonstrate the idea of using flash to make shadows.

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Jacki is a brilliant teacher, not only due to her wealth of experience but her humble, honest nature allows her to completely open up about her flaws, failings and mistakes in a way that many others egos wouldn’t allow. She has taught me to take mistakes as lessons, unforeseen chaos as opportunities and ways to navigate through the photography world, clients and life. I have learnt that photography can be a business but most importantly it is a way of playfully capture the best moments of life that will tangibly represent our fondest memories.

I have been incredibly privileged to have such a remarkable human open up to me and teach me everything she knows without reservation and I have grown in ways I never dreamed I could under her watchful eye and persistent nudging.

Kim McDonald

 Shot in the mid day sun with flash to show you how easy flash can be when explained simply!

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 This workshop is really helpful with creativity. Seeing what you created in those situations was amazing.

 I loved the homework and the fact that you showed us practical tips. I don’t have a lot of gear so I loved when you were using unconventional things to create your shots. 

Bailee Guy

Shot to show attendees how handy a constant light source can be when in a rushed situation. The light bulbs were just added for a bit of fun!

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Loved everything minute of the workshop 
My brain is still trying to process and absorb all the invaluable informational you gave us – I am seriously amped for my next wedding in a couple of weeks time

Chantel Oosterberg

Having some fun here with constant light sources

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I was feeling pretty burnt out before the workshop so it was important to be reminded that you need to take time out for yourself to get those creative juices flowing constantly.

Weddings are not always completely pretty and perfect so I loved the fact that Jacki taught us how to problem solve difficult shooting situations by using little tricks that she demonstrated to us.

I am feeling inspired after the workshop and can’t wait to start applying some of the things to my work.

Derryn Semple

 Shot at night when all the light is finished and many photographers are freaking out

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 “Jacki’s workshop was like a big hug and a kick up the arse at the same time. Her barefooted, casual approach allowed us to feel completely at ease in the cozy setting of her home while she delivered some hard truths. I left feeling inspired to experiment more with the lighting equipment which was getting dusty in my cupboard, and prepared to put in the time to improve my skills. Hearing the journey Jacki has been on to get to this point and understanding that her struggles as a creative are just the same as mine, and the same as everyones, made me feel inspired and motivated. Jacki shared her knowledge openly and freely, and has equipped me with the tools and the confidence to take my business to the next level. Thank you Jacki – the hug was nice but the kick up the butt was necessary.”

 We end the evening off with more sharing and cheese and wine around the table and the great news is that if you attend my workshop you get to join my private facebook group which means that we continue to support each other along our journies.

If you would like to attend the next Jozi workshop here are the details

When: 13 June 2018

What: Full Day Unstuck Yourself workshop plus 4 weeks of homework which will be completed before the day to get you into the right mindset.

Where: Johannesburg Natural Park Lights Studio

Cost: R5000 for the One day Unstuck Yourself Workshop 13th

Times 10am – +- 8.30/ 9pm

NEWS FLASH I AM ALSO OFFERING AN ADDITIONAL DAY FOR THOSE ATTENDEES WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEND MORE PRACTICAL TIME WITH ME WORKING WITH FLASH AND SHOOTING TRICKY LIGHTING SITUATIONS.

When 14 June 2018

Where: To be confirmed

What: The group will be divided up and given challenges to overcome using lighting and problem solving techniques taught the day before. You will be photographing each other as opposed to models. We will be on hand to help and guide you throughout the day.

Times : 2pm – 7pm

Cost : R3850

If you would like to attend the Jozi workshop or be put on a waitlist drop me a mail on jacki@jackibruniquel.com

Classes are limited to 12 people and sell out fast so don’t delay if you would like to book.

PS Thanks to Lizzy and Charne for the pics xx

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Best of Wedding Photography 2017

Best of Wedding Photography 2017

Someone must have sped up the clocks last year. I feel as though it is still June 2017 and yet here I sit on the 3rd of January 2018 about to hit “publish” on my yearly Best of Weddings blog post!

2017 was a crazy year for me and I will tell you why. When that calendar ticked over from 2016 to January 2017 (just a nano second ago!), I was still recovering from a bicycle injury which involved a broken collarbone and a horrible case of post-concussion syndrome. With the help of my dear assistant Lizzy I managed to shoot a number of weddings with said injury and the next moment I blinked I found myself in the heart of the Karoo on the 1st of May celebrating turning 40! In the middle of all this we refurbished an old 1970’s house which I have nicknamed The Mouse House. This was meant to take around 4 months but landed up taking 9 months. I think everyone close to me was very relieved when we finally officially moved in mid-2017. It was a traumatic time, not only for us but also for our loved ones who had to hear us talk obsessively about tiles, taps and building contractors! Once we had moved in I put my work head firmly back on, and before I even knew it I had launched the Unstuck Yourself Creative Photography Workshop that I have been dreaming up since my trip to Bali in 2014. So far I have presented this workshop in Joburg and Cape Town and have another two sold out dates coming up in Durban. I also spoke at two “Be Inspired” wedding photography conferences up in Jozi. All this busyness has meant that we still haven’t unpacked all the boxes or hung up a single picture! On the flip side, I have photographed some very special weddings and done a truck load of smaller shoots too!

I don’t quite understand 2017. It’s been an emotional year. It’s been a year of being totally shaken up and yet it’s also been a year of seeing some of my dreams come to actuality. 2017 has without a doubt been the most taxing, and ironically fulfilling, years that I have experienced in my 40 years on this planet.

One thing I am very sure of is that gratitude brings blessings. I am so darned grateful to have moved into The Mouse House and to see the fruits of our blood, sweat and tears! I am also extremely grateful for the beautiful people that come into the view of my lens. This gratitude that I have seems to bring more equally inspiring clients into my life! And because of that, I will continue to thank 2017. I have worked with such lovely people this year yet again. Thanks to all of you for entrusting me to eternalise your memories! Thanks also to the lovely people who have attended my workshops and talks, and all the suppliers who have helped me along the way. I feel very lucky to get to work with such gems!

Enormous thanks to Lizzy who has assisted me for the past four years and has stood by me through thick and thin! Love you girl! Thanks also to Chanelle Segerius Bruce who has been helped me so much not only as a business coach but also a friend. Last but not least thanks to my family and friends, and especially to Riaan for holding me when I needed it and celebrating when those times came!

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