Family Photography | Hein Family

June 10, 2017June 26, 2017Sam Leave a comment

‘Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we’d give blood.’ – Charles Dickens

Meet the Hein family! They no all about this saying by Charles Dickens. Man they are living it!

Tiffini was very specific when se contacted me about a family photography session. First I could not understand why but after some discussions it was very clear to me that this woman and her family are special!!! Incredible actually! Inspiring!

You see, this family is not just Dad, Mom, a little girl and a little boy, but there are 3 other babies whom they love as much as their own!

As you can imagine, a photo session with 5 kids under 5 can be a little unpredictable, and of course we had a few acrobats in the trees as well, but the love I witness here was incredible!

There is a saying by Maya Angelo that goes

“What I love most about my home is who I share it with”

Hein bunch you are owning Maya Angelo’s words! Thank you for being so amazing and what you guys are doing out there! You are an inspiration!

xXx
Sam

*Images of the littlest ones are deliberately not included for safety reasons.

Family Photography | Dreyer Family

February 27, 2017February 28, 2017Sam Leave a comment

It is a happy talent to know how to play. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

As they say there is a first for everything. This was the very first time I had to incorporate a grass cutting machine into my a family photography session. Looking through these images of the Dreyer family reminds me of the quote on top. “It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

This boy have loads of talent in that department and he kept me on my toes…. He loves all things boy! I had a hard time getting any shots unless he was busy with something wheels. As long as it turns he is happy and all smiles. O yes the only other thing he thoroughly enjoys are his cousins!

Odette and Christy you are dear friends to my heart. Enjoy playing with this special little man.

xXx
Sam

Lifestyle Maternity Photography | Charl, Lizette and little Darius, waiting for a baby girl

February 24, 2017February 24, 2017Sam Leave a comment

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~Lao Tzu

I always seem to be in a hurry, but when Lizette Pretorius contacted me to do this Lifestyle Maternity Session, hurry changed to worry. I was very worried that baby would arrive before we had our time in nature. All ended well, as you can see and baby’s timing was as nature, perfect.

Can you believe this stunning mom was already 38½ weeks pregnant when we did this session? Her little boy Darius is one of those old souls. You can see it right away when you look into those gorgeous blue eyes. He can not wait for his sister and is very informative of how she is going to enter our world 😉

Enjoy this very special time and I believe our journey has only begun, even if it was in a bit of a hurry!

xXx
Sam

Lifestyle Family Photography | Lubbe Family

February 3, 2017February 3, 2017Sam Leave a comment

Gauteng_ Family_ Lifestyle_Photographer_ Sam Schroder Photography

“Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.” Winnie the Pooh

The theme of this lifestyle family photography session was “Punk Rock”. Not many mom’s are brave enough to attempt something like this, but when one of best friends wanted family pictures, I knew they would rock it!

Finding a venue that is safe is always a challenge. Finding that perfect, save, available venue is almost impossible. We had some grace on our side that day as we only confirmed venue an hour before the session. Everything just worked!

I love the attitude that comes with a family photography session like this!

I love the personalities that shine thorough even though this was more of a styled session. The thing I however loved the most from this session was the way the Lubbes just fit. How their family unit move and flow! The love between them are special. Unconditional. Unrestricted.

They love spending time together and I just know that this was one of their “new favourite days”

Love you guys always

xXx
Sam

Lifestyle Family Photography | Kleynhans Family

February 3, 2017February 3, 2017Sam Leave a comment

“Life is not perfect but it has perfect moments”- Unknown

I had the privilege to spend some time with the Kleynhans family. Working with their beautiful images from our lifestyle family session, made me think of all the moments we plan. The time and effort we put into planning our daily routines and lives.

The hard work it is to plan these days, the hard work it is to keep to these schedules. The utter chaos it sometimes creates should one not keep to these demanding time lines. The little time we have left just to be. Just to have a moment…..

I was lucky enough to capture a few moments with this lifestyle family session, as there always seems to be a fair bit of “unplanned” when you have little kids around. You can plan all you want with a two year old in mind. It never, never turns out exactly as you hoped.

“The hallmark of the perfect moment is that it is unplanned. It is unexpected, and it shows up to remind you to quit planning and start savouring.” Whitney English

I have already burdened my planner with places to be and people to see this year but are rethinking a couple of entries just to make space for moments. Moments that I can hold my plans loosely, moments that I might stumble into the perfect moment….

xXx
Sam

Lifestyle Family Photography | Keys Family

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016Sam 2 Comments

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing” – Jarod Kintz

Looking through this lifestyle family session of souls dancing, you can’t help but smile!

Elizabeth & Terence are particularly special to me. I’ve known Elizabeth for 20 years! Yes 20 and NO we are not old yet! We met when we were 14 years old and have been friends ever since!

Terence has always been the quieter one of the two, which I guess gives balance to his crazy wife and is a perfect fit as a Data Steward Manager. Having a specific role in incorporating processes, policies, guidelines and responsibilities for administering organizations’ entire data in compliance with policy and/or regulatory obligations, is an incredibly demanding job. With an average of 14 hour days 6-7 days each week, seeing and spending quality time with his family is a commodity for this IT Specialist.

Elizabeth holds down the world around them and not only juggles her own full time job but also her very successful Beauty Salon. Up by 4 a.m. everyday, she works and juggles kids activities. Despite their demanding schedules and the ever elusive way time seems to fly, they make the most of every single moment they have together. When family time is a commodity, soaking up the moments is all the more of a priority.

Elizabeth is a goofball. She and Hailey are two peas in a pod. Megan is the athlete of the family and are doing incredibly well in every single thing she competes in.

When we chatted about their lifestyle family portraits we knew we wanted to capture a piece of their real life – those private moments of family silliness when they are just having fun! I wanted to create a photo session environment that was comfortable and casual to allow their personalities to truly shine through. And that’s exactly what we got when we visited the theme park!

Often times my clients call my lifestyle family sessions ‘play sessions’ which I find quite amusing! And quite honestly, this session is by far one of my favourite portrayals of the candid style of photography I enjoy. I want to capture art, gorgeously painted with my clients laughter and giggles.

So we rode the carousel and jumped, we danced and turned upside down to capture the real personalities of The Keys Family. Megan is at that age that little girls love to “POSE” for the camera, getting those real smiles becomes a lot more difficult, but we managed a few 😉 Hailey on the other hand could not care less, she just wanted to have fun on the rides. We made a deal that if she had some fun with me on camera first, she could have a blue Slushy and her ‘OWN’ bag of popcorn! That seem to do the trick and we had plenty of fun on and off camera!

It’s these moments that we want our kids to see decades from now so that they KNOW they were truly loved and adored!

xXx
Sam

Christening | Martehelie

November 17, 2016Sam Leave a comment

gauteng-newborn-photographer_-christening_-baby-photography_lifestyle-photography_pretoria-photographer_-sam-schroder-photography_0001

“Even the sun directs our gaze away from itself and to the life illumined by it” – Eberhard Arnold

I always struggle a little bit when I write a blog post as I’m much better at telling stories with my camera than I am with my pen. Marthelie’s christening was no different.

A christening to me is one of those very personal happenings in a persons life. The little child’s life as well as the parents. It’s intimate, it’s sacred and not really something that I am able to describe in words. What I can however put in words is Matthew 5:16.

^“16In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I found the beautiful words of a song from Lauren Daigle – “Salt & Light” that is based on
Matthew 5:13-16.

Oh the beauty of the King
You make righteous those who seek
You have written and redeemed my story

Let my eyes see Your kingdom shine all around
Let my heart overflow with passion for Your name
Let my life be a song, revealing who You are
For You are salt and light

Oh the love that set me free
You bring hope to those in need
You have written and redeemed my story

Let my eyes see Your kingdom shine all around
Let my heart overflow with passion for Your name
Let my life be a song, revealing who You are

For You are salt and light
You are love’s great height
You are deep and wide
A consuming fire

You are salt and light
You are love’s great height
You are deep and wide
A consuming fire

Let my eyes see Your kingdom shine all around
Let my heart overflow with passion for Your name
Let my life be a song, revealing who You are
For You are salt and light
You are salt and light
For You are salt and light
For You are salt and light

You can listen to it here – Salt & Light

Little Marthelie, may you always walk in Matthew 5:16.

xXx
Sam

Newborn Photography │ Luan Viljoen

November 9, 2016November 9, 2016Sam Leave a comment

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ~Desmond Tutu

Having your newborn photography session is hard work, but this little guy was just amazing and handled it like a pro! He was just one happy content bub that loved being cuddled by his new family.

Little Luan was born a few weeks ago (If you missed the blog post on his birth click HERE) to Dad Rickus, Mom Tharina and Big Brother Rian. He is adored and loved, as you will see in the images below, and completes the circle of family for the Viljoens. I loved spending time with them and his dad was a blast to photograph!

He is not only a gift to his own family, but also to mine.

The Viljoen family might not be blood related but they are a blessing from above and part of my Family

Our family started out on a couple of KTM motorbikes (you’ll see some motorbike accessories in the pictures below ;)) and grew to a family of friends that have been irreplaceable in the past 2 years. The dads of the family will get together early Saturday mornings on their orange machines and meet up afterwards for a braai with the wives and kids. (I’ll do a post on the orange machines in the new year and tell you all about the purpose of these weekly motorbike meetings)

We have all prayed and hoped for little Luan, and now that he is here we can’t thank God enough for this little soul! He has changed his mom and dad’s lives already and have captured the hearts of many.

Little Luan Viljoen, may you always know how loved and treasured you are, how adored and special and may you keep on touching lives around you as you have already done in this short, short time you have been a part of our journey on earth.

Love you lots Viljoen’s, thanks for being the special friends to my family that you are!!!

xXx
Sam

Fresh 48 | David

August 10, 2016August 26, 2016Sam Leave a comment

[quote]”A wise woman once said to me that there are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these she said is roots, the other, wings.” ~William Hodding Carter (1907–1972)[/quote]

“When I think of that word (roots), I picture an entanglement of yucky, brown, dirty stringy things. And above it, I picture a beautiful oak tree giving shade to young children at play. What’s amazing to me is this, in order for the oak tree to protect those children with its shade, it must be held up by the dirty, yucky roots that at first seem so unappealing.

God wants us to have roots. He wants us to go through life’s difficulties with one another and to be connected. Every year brings a new challenge to the strength and connection of every family. The loss of a family member, the challenge of illness, children acting out in school, a job change or loss…these are things that can cause strife within families. While they are happening, you wonder, will we make it through this? Your mind is flooded with negative thoughts. Think about the oak tree. In order for it to protect the children with its shade, it had to have the yucky, dirty roots. In order for a family to stand strong, it must often go through some of life’s yucky, dirty messes. The family that stays right with God, prays, and leans not on its own understanding can use those dirty yucky situations to build protection for itself.

It is important for us to go through struggles in life, and the family unit is affected by the struggles it goes through as a whole, and the struggles that affect just one of its members. Those struggles may at first seem so dirty and unappealing, but in time, their purpose is revealed.” (Extraction from A Walk of Faith http://www.faith4women.com/)

Meet little David Wilhelm Böhmer. David meaning “Beloved” and Wilhelm “Determined Protector” can you see the Oak Tree?

Dear little David, may you always stand tall and detriment, may you fly high and always know unconditional love!

xXx
Sam

Cake Smash | Burger

June 23, 2016August 12, 2016Sam Leave a comment

[quote] “As soon as I saw you I knew a grand adventure was going to happen” – Winne the Pooh[/quote]

This little aviator boy turned one already and what an adventure it has been! Burger was my very first C-Section birth that I was allowed in theatre to take pictures and what a magical day. (If you missed it, here is a link).I love being mixed up in the adventure right from the start! Seeing how these little ones grow and how when I leave hospital I leave a new mom and dad with a tiny human, and when we meet again, they have grown to be a family….

Burger loved the balloons from this shoot, but was less impressed with his cake 🙁 , nevertheless we got some beautiful images of this special adventure of turning 1! Little aviator boy, may you be blessed with many more adventures and may every single one of these bring you love and happiness.

xXx
Love, Sam

Sam Schröder Photography

Kids & Family

Family Photography | Hein Family

‘Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we’d give blood.’ – Charles Dickens

“What I love most about my home is who I share it with”

Family Photography | Dreyer Family

It is a happy talent to know how to play. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lifestyle Maternity Photography | Charl, Lizette and little Darius, waiting for a baby girl

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~Lao Tzu

Lifestyle Family Photography | Lubbe Family

“Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.” Winnie the Pooh

I love the attitude that comes with a family photography session like this!

Lifestyle Family Photography | Kleynhans Family

“Life is not perfect but it has perfect moments”- Unknown

“The hallmark of the perfect moment is that it is unplanned. It is unexpected, and it shows up to remind you to quit planning and start savouring.” Whitney English

Lifestyle Family Photography | Keys Family

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing” – Jarod Kintz

It’s these moments that we want our kids to see decades from now so that they KNOW they were truly loved and adored!

Christening | Martehelie

“Even the sun directs our gaze away from itself and to the life illumined by it” – Eberhard Arnold

^“16In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Newborn Photography │ Luan Viljoen

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ~Desmond Tutu

The Viljoen family might not be blood related but they are a blessing from above and part of my Family

Little Luan Viljoen, may you always know how loved and treasured you are, how adored and special and may you keep on touching lives around you as you have already done in this short, short time you have been a part of our journey on earth.

Fresh 48 | David

Cake Smash | Burger

‘Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we’d give blood.’ – Charles Dickens

“What I love most about my home is who I share it with”

It is a happy talent to know how to play. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~Lao Tzu

“Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.” Winnie the Pooh

I love the attitude that comes with a family photography session like this!

“Life is not perfect but it has perfect moments”- Unknown

“The hallmark of the perfect moment is that it is unplanned. It is unexpected, and it shows up to remind you to quit planning and start savouring.” Whitney English

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing” – Jarod Kintz

It’s these moments that we want our kids to see decades from now so that they KNOW they were truly loved and adored!

“Even the sun directs our gaze away from itself and to the life illumined by it” – Eberhard Arnold

“16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ~Desmond Tutu

The Viljoen family might not be blood related but they are a blessing from above and part of my Family

Little Luan Viljoen, may you always know how loved and treasured you are, how adored and special and may you keep on touching lives around you as you have already done in this short, short time you have been a part of our journey on earth.

^“16In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”