Meet June Van Der Walt

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful June Van Der Walt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with June below.

June, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Building confidence and self-esteem as a photographer, especially when starting out, can be challenging but incredibly rewarding. Mastering the camera was the first step. I spent hours getting familiar with its functions, settings, and capabilities, confidence grows when you’re no longer worried about handling your equipment but can instead focus on capturing the shot. Practice, practice, practice. Each shoot, whether successful or full of mistakes, added to my experience, so naturally over time, I realised that every challenge helped me grow. I started seeing patterns and improvements in my work, which made me feel more capable.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

First off, it will never get old to me that people trust me with a window into their life’s most delicate and cherished moments. My main focus is on weddings and elopements, though I also love capturing portraits. There’s just something magical about documenting love and connection in its rawest form.

I’m here to be your wedding wing person, capturing all the emotions, the joy, the tears, and the little moments you might miss during the whirlwind of your big day. I don’t just show up with a camera – I’m there to create a relaxed and fun experience, so you can be fully present while I handle the rest.

What excites me most is that my work is entirely inspired by you – your story, your connection.

On a personal note, I’m always working on new ways to share knowledge with beginner photographers too, offering courses to help them build their confidence and develop their own style. There’s something about being part of someone’s creative journey that’s just as rewarding as capturing life’s special moments.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I’d say the three most impactful things in my journey have been to never give p on what you love: My passion for photography has been with me for as long as I can remember. Even when I doubted myself or things got tough, I kept going because I knew this was what I was meant to do. 2. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others: This one is huge. It’s so easy to look at other photographers and feel like you’re not measuring up, but everyone’s journey is different. Focus on your own growth and own style. 3. Photography is always evolving, and so should you. Whether it’s learning new techniques, experimenting with different styles, or changing up your editing skills, staying curious is essential. I’ve been doing photography for over 10 years now and I still push myself to do courses and learn new things.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I’m facing right now is juggling everything all at once – running my business while also being a wife, mom, and friend. It can be hard to give 100% to all those areas at the same time. Keeping clients happy, meeting deadlines, and delivering galleries on time are all super important to me, but so is making sure I’m present for my family. They’re truly the most important thing in my life.

What’s helped me is planning and time management. I make sure to set aside dedicated time for my family and friends, and I try not to let work bleed into that. It’s a balancing act for sure, but when you plan things out and stay organised, it gets easier to manage. At the end of the day, it’s the moments with family that fill you up and keep you grounded.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Urban Lens Photography – June van der Walt

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