Previous Client Work: Bespoke Brand Photography for Travel Blog - Live Learn Venture

Just before finishing up our final year in South Korea, I had the pleasure of working with Natasha, the lady behind the popular travel blog Live Learn Venture.

Natasha had gotten in touch with me to work on her brand photography for her travel blog, and was in the middle of a rebrand. She needed beautiful, high resolution images for her to use on her blog posts, as part of graphics for the main layout of her website and also wanted some updated headshots. All of what she needed forms part of Creative Headshot package (click here for more info) and we got started straight away on the planning stage of her shoot.

I also worked alongside my stylist friend Samantha (find her over at There She Goes Again) who is incredible at what she does. I've worked on lots of styled shoots with Sam and always love the energy and creativity she brings to shoots. 

The Live Learn Venture brand is feminine and fun, but Natasha wasn't sure what her brand colours would end up being, and so we used the shoot to determine that for her. Using the backgrounds and textures of the various locations we shot at, it was very clear that shades of peach, grey and brown would form a big part of her new brand.  A big part of my work is ensuring my clients feel 100% comfortable in front of my camera, and this is how I am able to ensure I capture the personality and essence of each client and their brand. I loved working with Natasha, and I have loved seeing her brand develop and evolve since this shoot. She has put all of her new brand images to use on her new website, and it's incredible how the images have helped  her develop a wonderful cohesive style.

Below are a selection of the images I created exclusively for Live Learn Venture. If you're interested in finding out more about my headshot packages, then please feel free to get in touch. Each package includes a good mixture of styled stock type images as well as pretty portraits.

Enjoy!

x

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Find out more about working with me on your own brand images by clicking the button below. I'm so looking forward to hearing from you!

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Want to see more of my previous client work? I've worked with florists, skincare product designers, copyrighters, yoga enthusiasts, life coaches, bloggers and just about everyone in between. Click here to see more of my previous work.

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Wondering whether you need brand photography and how you would even use it?

Click below to find out more:

Lorryn Smit Photography - Custom Creative Styled Photographer Photo Shoot

Earlier this year I was contacted by Lorryn Smit from Lorryn Smit Photography. Lorryn wanted to book me for my signature styled photo-shoots, as she wanted photographs taken to showcase her and her photography business.

Lorryn is a fellow South African photographer, based here in South Korea who specialises in weddings and engagements. I was honoured to be contacted by her as I have been an avid admirer of her work for a long time.

Lorryn wanted me to capture her in a very natural setting, while she was actually doing her own photo shoot. It was almost a photography inception kind of setting, with me behind my lens, capturing her behind her lens. It was a lot of fun and I so enjoyed being 'behind-the-scenes' of a fellow photographer at work.

If you feel a little shy in front of the camera (let's be honest, who doesn't!) then having your photographs taken while you do something that you love and are passionate about is a wonderful way to produce natural photographs that show of the real you. You can find out more about my styled shoots and how to book me by clicking here.

We started off in Lorryn's home and studio in Gwangju where I was able to get some more styled, lifestyle shots of her workspace, and then we headed off a coffee shop downtown. After a quick coffee (and Lorryn touching base with her actual clients) we headed off to the Asian Culture Complex to make use of the beautiful winter light, before finishing off at a gorgeous pine forest.

A big thank you to Aimee Klass of Aimee Klass Makeup who did Lorryn's hair and makeup for this shoot.

Thank you for picking me to capture these photographs of you Lorryn. I had so much fun working with you and being a part of your photography journey too. You are incredibly talented and I look forward to seeing of your beautiful work.

You can find & connect with Lorryn at the following places:

Website: http://www.lorrynsmitphotography.com/

Facebook: Lorryn Smit Photography

Instagram: Lorryn Smit Photography

If you'd like to have some photographs taken for your business or blog (I LOVE photographing fellow bloggers and creating images for you to use to promote your work and services) then head on over to my Hire Me page (click here) where you can read more about my booking process and my rates.

High Street Fashion Inspired Styled Photo-Shoot in Buan, South Korea

Hi everyone! Not only do I use this blog to share business and blogging tips (click here to read more on that) but I also use this space to showcase my photography portfolio, especially the Styled shoots I love creating here in Korea.

This High Street Fashion shoot was shot on location in my small town here in Korea. I had so much fun working with my stylist friend Sam (who blogs over at There She Goes Again) and our two wonderful model friends, Heejoung and Stephanie (who blogs over at Hedgers Abroad).

This shoot was originally planned around the snow, but as tends to happen when you plan for a particular kind of weather, you usually end up with the opposite. So instead of soft, white snow, I got harsh, bright sunlight. But, we have to work with what we have and I'm really happy with how the photographs came out. 

This shoot was something very different to what I usually do (click here to see some of the other styled shoots I have done), but I really enjoyed the challenge. If you have any ideas in mind of a story or theme you'd like me to capture, then please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Click here to read more about my photography and to find out about my rates. I will only be available here in Korea until June this year (when Farmboy and I head back home to South Africa...yippe!). 

The shoot would not have been possible without the following incredibly talented ladies. Thank you to all of you for all your help, for all your talents and for being so easy to work with:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Model: Heejoung Park
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

And now the result of our High Street Fashion Inspired Styled Photo-shoot.

Enjoy!

Thank you again to each and every one of these ladies:

• Models: Heejoung Park & Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

Bridal Inspired Fairytale Styled Photo Shoot in Buan, South Korea

A few weeks ago a group of really awesome creatives arrived at my house in Buan, South Korea to work on a bridal inspired photo shoot to showcase a beautiful set of wedding stationery made by Bohemian Mint.  

This is the second styled photo shoot I have done with Marketa (the talented lady behind Bohemian Mint). Our first shoot was a wild flower, bohemian bridal inspired shoot (click here to see the photographs) with a very light and feminine feel. That shoot was so much fun and has even been featured on a number of wedding websites. After it's success we have felt inspired to continue creating more. These styled shoots are also a lot of fun and working with likeminded creatives to create something beautiful is what I love doing.

Marketa and I 'met' over Instagram, and with the help of a group of local creatives here in South Korea, we were able to bring to life our next idea of utilising the changing seasons into another bridal inspired theme. We created a Pinterest board and Marketa used all of our ideas to create the beautiful wedding stationery set pictured below. Before the stationery arrived I worked on finding a model, stylist and makeup artist who would all share our same vision.

Once the stationery had arrived from the USA, the idea behind the shoot changed slightly and Sam (our stylist) and I started leaning towards something a little more fairytale like. What we ended up with was a loose Red Riding Hood fairytale theme with a twist. After lots of brainstorming with Farmboy, he gave us the idea of incorporating a few apocalyptic shots to make use of the stunning Autumn harvest setting surrounding my town here in Korea . After a late night of creating flower crowns and persimmon baskets (persimmons are in season right now here in Korea) Sam and I created a story board for a shoot. I'd love to hear from you in the comments below if you are able to follow the story we created through my photographs!

The shoot would not have been possible without the following incredibly talented ladies. Thank you to all of you for all your help, for all your talents and for being so easy to work with:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Makeup Artist: Aimee Klass from Aimee Klass Makeup
• Stationery Designer: Marketa Forstova-Horton from Bohemian Mint
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

And now the end result of our Fairytale Bridal Inspired Styled Photoshoot.

Enjoy!

x

Thank you again to each and every one of these ladies:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Makeup Artist: Aimee Klass from Aimee Klass Makeup
• Stationery Designer: Marketa Forstova-Horton from Bohemian Mint
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

Forest Fairy Styled Shoot in Buan, South Korea

Last month I got together with Rachel from KIT Makeup to work on one more styled shoot before she left Korea to go back to the UK. Rachel did the beautiful bridal makeup for the Wild Flower Boho Bridal Inspired shoot I did a few months ago, and so I was very happy to work with her again. 

For this shoot, the initial idea was for a forest fairy using an inspiration board of cream, white and blues. Then our ideas changed when our gorgeous model (Rhea) mentioned that she had a black, lacy slip that she wouldn't mind wearing for the shoot and we decided to go for a darker, almost nymph like fairy. We then used the forest nearby my house as inspiration for our makeup palette and I am so happy with how it all turned out. I was very nervous about the light in the forest as I knew there would be a lot of shade and dappled light and I don't like using flash. The light ended up being much easier to work with than I had expected. We chose two slightly different looks and had so much fun playing with the ivy. After a near disaster (whereby I formatted my memory card without checking to see if I had backed up the RAW photographs first...blog post to come soon on the amazing recovery software I found!) here are the results of our collaboration.

If you're here in Korea and would like to book me for you own styled or themed shoot, please do get in touch! You can email me using the contact form above or using citygirlsearching(at)gmail(dot)com. 

In the mean time, here are the photographs of our Forest Fairy shoot.

Enjoy!

x

All photographs taken with my Nikon D700 and 50mm 1.4.

Edited gently in Lightroom.

Korean Wild Flower Wedding Inspiration Styled Shoot

This styled photo shoot has been three months in the making and came out of an email conversation after a chance meet up with fellow creative Marketa from Bohemian Mint. I found Marketa on Instagram one day while searching for illustrations (her work is amazing!) and so began a friendship despite us living hundreds of miles away from each other. Marketa is originally from the Czech Republic but is currently living in the USA. It was after interviewing Marketa for my LifeAfterTheDress series that she asked me if I would be interested in collaborating with her on a styled wedding inspiration shoot. I couldn't contain my excitement as I love doing styled shoots (you can see more of my styled shoot portfolio here) and so began the process of brainstorming and putting both of our ideas onto paper.

As I am living in South Korea we both thought incorporating a Korean model would make this shoot very unique, and Marketa also chose to design the wedding stationery with a Korean bride in mind. We chose a soft pallet of neutral colours, with pops of pastel shades throughout. 

On one of the Korean Expat groups I found a makeup artist (Rachel) who had been looking for models for her makeup course and so I got in touch with her asking if she would like to be involved in a bridal styled shoot. Rachel is from the UK and is also teaching here in Korea, so we had lots to chat about while planning the beauty aspects of the shoot. Then we needed to find a model, and after a disastrous experience with a professional Korean model I was at my wits end, resorting to a last minute group post on Facebook. A friend messaged told me that she had someone in mind, who just so happened to be on her way to Seoul the weekend of the photo shoot, and would be free to stop past my town on the way. It really couldn't have worked out better, as Jess (a fellow Korean Youtuber) was just such a delight! Both Rachel & Jess were happy to run with all of my ideas for the shoot, and both had so many good ideas to add.

I'm looking forward to many more collaborations and working on more styled shoots while here in Korea. You can find all the creatives contact details below if you'd like to get in touch with them.

Enjoy!

x 

Stationery: Marketa from Bohemian Mint

• Website: Bohemian Mint
• Facebook: Bohemian Mint
• Instagram: Bohemian Mint

Hair & Makeup Artist: Rachel Porter

• Facebook: KIT Makeup
• Instagram: Rachel Porter

Model: Jessica G. W Han

• Facebook: Jessica Han
• Instagram: I am Jessica Han
• Youtube: Jessica Han

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Alysha & The Blossoms....A Spring Styled Shoot

It's Spring here in Korea, and along with every other person here, I really wanted to make the most of the pretty blossoms. I teamed up with my new friend and fellow blogger, Alysha (who blogs over at The Wayfaring Heath...a stunning blog filled with recipes and DIY's to help you live a more wholesome and natural life). 

The problem with most of the blossom trees here is that the actual blossoms are all on the top branches, out of reach and even harder to manoeuvre around. We took these photos in and amongst the cherry and peach trees scattered around my school and had to do a whole lot of manoeuvring and jumping around to get these shots. Alysha, thank you for being so patient and so willing to stand in and amongst the bees. I really had a great time, thank you for being such fun to work with.

I've done a number of other styled shoots, including blueberries & temples, beaches and snow. Click here to see them.

All photographs taken with my Nikon D700 & 85mm 1.8 prime lens and gently edited in Lightroom. 

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer or a fellow creative here in Korea and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Dominique & the Snow

During the last snowfall we had here in Korea, my stylist friend and I decided to do one last styled shoot before she left Korea to return home to South Africa. It was a freezing cold afternoon in Jeungeup, a small town in the South West part of Korea, and we broke up the shoot into two parts; one filled with snow and the other a more tropical styled shoot. These are the photographs from the first half of our shoot.

I've done a number of other styled shoots, including blueberries & temples, beaches and flowers. Click here to see them.

To Dominique our model, thank you for being so patient and for being so dam easy to photograph. Thank you for braving the old in the outfits we chose for you, and for being such so amenable to the poses we put you in. From these photographs it's impossible to guess that you you've never modelled before, you really photograph beautifully.

To Aimee our makeup artist, thank you for bringing our ideas together with our brushes and your makeup. You really are so good at what you do and I hope we can work together again soon.

And finally to Storm, your creativity and enthusiasm is limitless my friend. Cape Town is lucky to have you back.

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer here in Korea and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Jacques & Susan Maternity Shoot...Imsil, South Korea.

At the end of last year, Storm and I spent a wonderful morning with Jacques & Susan for their maternity shoot in Imsil, South Korea. Jacques & Susan welcomed a beautiful, healthy boy into the world a few weeks ago and we wish them so much joy as they embark on this new adventure called parenthood.

Susan had contacted me earlier last year as she was looking for something a little different from the usual maternity shoots she had seen. Storm and I suggested we do the shoot in her home in Imsil, and had some idea's in mind of very natural settings with very little posing.

Storm and I loved working with you Jacques & Susan, and hope these photographs bring back happy memories for the both of you.

I am so happy with how the photographs came out, and would love to continue doing more of these shoots in the future. If you are looking for something a little different for you maternity/engagement/family/baby shoot then please do get in touch with me using the contact page above! You can see more of my work by scrolling over the menu above, under Photography. 

For any photographers who may be interested, these photographs were all shot on my Nikon d700, 24 - 70mm 2.8 & 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Vintage Fashion Shoot in Buan, South Korea

A few weeks ago I posted the first batch of photographs from a blueberry styled photo shoot  I did with the lovely Helen, pictured below. Here are a few more, these ones with more of a focus on Helen's collection of vintage items from her travels. I contacted Helen asking her is we would like to be my model (click here to see more of the styled photo shoots I have done with my stylist and friend Storm). Helen was happy to join us, and we also turned the shoot into a bit of a fashion shoot too, so she could get some shots for the vintage clothing store she is planning on resurrecting when she gets back home to the States.

If you're in South Korea and are in need to a photographer, please don't hesitate to contact me.

x

Blueberry Picking Styled Photoshoot

This is the fourth styled shoot that my friend Storm and I have worked together on. We both have had such much fun organising and brainstorming ideas before each shoot, as well as scouting out locations. We started styling shoots earlier this year as a way of growing our creativity, and being productive here in South Korea. I take the photographs, hair and makeup and Storm handles the clothing and general styling of the model and our location. 

So far we have done a flower crown shoot, a late afternoon picnic beach shoot, and a Korean temple.

We hope you enjoy these photographs from a trip to a blueberry farm near the small town of Jeongeup, South Korea. A huge thank you to our beautiful model Helen, a Southern Gal from the US who was such a delight to work with. 

x

Late afternoon beach picnic Styled Photoshoot

This is the third styled shoot that my friend Storm and I have worked together on so. We seem to feed off one another creative energies and have loved the planning processes that have gone into each of our shoots.

For this shoot, Storm suggested a picnic, and I have been wanting to photograph one of the secret beaches nearby, so we combined our ideas and I am so happy with how the pictures came out. My friend Hillian contacted me, wanting to be involved in some way, and  so we had our model...isn't she just lovely?

The weather changed constantly during the few hours of daylight we had to work with, and the local creatures (one of which I managed to capture, balancing on a tea cup) descended upon as as soon as were began. We had to be quick as every flying insect took an immense liking to any exposed areas of skin, and we left covered in bites and scratches. Thank you Storm and Hillian, for a great afternoon filled with lots of giggles and stuffing of faces with grapes and delicious sandwiches. 

Photography Styling Challenge {Personal}

First a little apology, I nearly a week late in posting my photographs for this challenge. This months theme, Personal, is the last instalment in the monthly photography styling challenge created by Redesigned by M. Life just got away with me (doesn't it always) and I am only posting my photographs for this challenge now.

The photographs cannot be edited, and only a maximum of five images may be posted (always difficult for me, as I can never choose which ones I want to display!). My first submission was for Morning {click here} followed by Bedroom {click here}, Order {click here}, Patterns {click here}, Fashion {click here}, Light {click here} and Living Room {click here}. Each theme or concept is open to interpretation by the photographer, and it has been really interesting seeing how each of us have handled the themes in our different ways. 

I wanted to share with you a little more of what I have been doing in my spare time for this personal theme. I met a wonderful new friend (Storm) who shares my passion for photography and beautiful images and we have been meeting up to create styled photography scenes (using our friends as models). We have done two so far (click here to see more of the photographs) and we just finished up a third one last week. This time a late afternoon, beach picnic shoot a short drive from my little town here in South Korea.

I used the following settings on my Nikon d300s & 35mm 1.8 lens:

-ISO 400

-Aperture of 9

-Shutter-speed 1/250

-I had my white balance on shady

The weather was changing constantly while we were shooting, and I wasn't quick enough with my white balance (well actually, I was too distracted with getting my angles and composure just right that I started neglecting my settings). I try not to focus so much on getting my settings 100% correct (some of my photographer friends out there are probably cringing right now!) as I feel touch ups can be done later in an editing program (I use Adobe Lightroom), but creating the actual picture cannot be done at a later stage. Anyway, I plan on editing the images in a slightly different way that is my usual style, this time trying some film textures and edits. So I had this in mind the whole time while shooting, and so I am not that happy with these photographs as they are, raw and unedited. But, it was a lot of fun frolicking in the waves and eating the sandwiches once we had finished shooting.

As always I would love to know your thoughts, please do leave me a comment below.

Enjoy

x

Make sure to check out the other particiapnts in this challenge:

At The Corner Of Happy And Harried, My Food Tapestry, Inge Kathleen Photography, The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy, A Tree Grows in the Bayou, I Live Under A Rock, Hooked On Homes, Samta Photography, Miss Wang Photography, SimplyVegetarian 777, Coconut Craze, Redesigned by M

Disney's Frozen inspired Wedding shoot by Nadia Meli

Disney's recent release, Frozen, has taken over South Korea by storm. I still can't walk through the halls of my school without hearing at least 10 different voices screaming 'Let it Go'. No one really knows why this particular animation has has became so popular here in Korea, but, regardless of the why, I can't help joining in, no matter how fed up I am of hearing the same song over and over again. And there really is no denying that Frozen was a fantastic film, with subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the traditional fairytale story that make all of us ladies feel some kind of connection with Elsa.

While planning a Frozen inspired lesson for my middle school girls I came across this beautiful styled shoot by the talented Nadia Meli. Nadia lives in Germany and has such a beautiful portfolio of images ranging from romantic weddings to soft lit lifestyle photography. She was very sweet in allowing me to showcase this styled shoot here. Isn't it lovely?!

It was Nadia's work that inspired me to really dip my toes into the world of styled photoshoots (I started off with a flower crown shoot with a Korean friend, then captured a South African friend at a temple here in my town, complete with red roses and full red lips. And yesterday I finished a fun filled picnic inspired shoot on the beach...photographs to come soon).

Thank you for making such pretty pictures Nadia, I hope my travels bring me to Germany one day so I can meet up with you over a cup of coffee or attend one of your incredible workshops.

x

You can find Nadia at the following places:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Korean Temple Styled Photoshoot

My friend Storm and I had such a great time creating and styling the flower crown shoot we did a few weeks ago (click here to see the photographs) that we have decided to do another styled shoot. Our next model was a South African girl I met on a rooftop braai a couple of weeks ago, Roslyn.

I really wanted to incorporate something truly Korean into the shoot, so we decided to again shoot here in my small town. This time, at two of the local temples.

Roslyn, you were a pleasure to photograph and I had a wonderful afternoon chasing the light with you and Storm. Thank you for being our model, I hope you (and my readers) like the photographs!

x

We are going to make these styled shoots into something of a series here on the blog, often incorporating DIY elements into them (just like this flower crown). The next shoot is going to have much more of a summery, salty flair so make sure to check back here on the blog soon. I'll also be posting sneak peeks on the Facebook page soon.

Happy Friday everyone!

Korean Spring Flower Crown Styled Shoot

After a recent trip to the Yangjae Flower Market in Seoul, my friend Storm and I felt inspired to do a flower crown shoot here in South Korea. Styled shoots are a wonderful way to practice and hone your skills as a photographer, while working with other creatives and producing something that may be very different from your usual style. These kind of shoots are a far less stressful way to try out new ideas, with little to no time restraints and are a really fun way to spend an afternoon. They do require quite a lot of planning and preparation (and hunting for possible vendors and suppliers depending on your theme) but if you choose to work with people who have the same vision and ideas as you, they are the perfect platform to grow your skills and learn new things about yourself and what you are capable of.

As we are in South Korea I really wanted to try and use more of a Korean backdrop, to emphasise the Oriental elements of Korea. I had grand ideas of temples and pagoda's, soft afternoon light reflecting off clear waters but the weather had other ideas. It poured with rain that day, and so we just had to make do with what we could find for backdrops right here in my small town. This was something else I learned, that beauty can be found everywhere. You just have to change your perspective. Textured walls provide amazing backgrounds, different angles help conceal ugly buildings and cars, and the most amazing things can be achieved when you have a team of people thinking outside of the box.

I want to say a huge thank you to our stylist, Storm. Storm is incredibly creative, she handmade the flower crown we used in these pictures (blog post to come on that soon!) and had to help me with an umbrella for not just me, but for Heejoung too. Watching her holding two umbrellas, touch up lipstick, scout out new photo opportunities all in the pouring rain, was hilarious. Thank you Storm, I couldn't have done any of it without you and your ideas.

And then to our model. I've known Heejoung for a year now, she lives in the same town as Farmboy and I and is just the sweetest person. When we first mentioned that we wanted to put an oversized crown full of flowers onto her head and photograph her standing in the middle of an open field she looked terrified. But after reassuring her that it would be fun, she jumped on board and waited patiently, in the rain, wearing the most impractical outfit while I fiddled and played around with settings and angles and all kinds of different poses. Thank you for being so patient with us Heejoung, I hope these photographs make you happy. You are an incredibly beautiful woman, and were so easy to photograph. You made our job easy!

 Here are a few highlights from the shoot. I'd love to know your thoughts, please do leave them below.

We also have a few more ideas in the pipeline (f you are here in Korea, we might have a giveaway coming up soon so make sure to keep your eyes open for that).