My Story as a photographer in Cape Town
It’s funny how you sometimes start in one direction, take a few detours, and end up where you were always meant to be. Here’s a quick rundown of my professional story.
About Riekert (the 30-second version)
Riekert Cloete is a Cape Town photographer based in Durbanville. Raised in the Bushveld and Port Elizabeth, photographing professionally since 2004 — full-time since 2014. As a wedding photographer in Cape Town he has 500+ weddings shot, 130+ five-star Google reviews, and a full commercial portfolio across nine industries.
- Based: Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa
- Photographing: since 2004 (full-time since 2014)
- Sectors: weddings, commercial, lifestyle, headshots, events
- Family: wife Iza (bridal makeup artist), sons Wilhelm (2014) and Jan Frederick (2018)
- Languages: English & Afrikaans
- Education: Higher Diploma in International Trade (IMM, 2000)
University & Marketing Studies (1997)
After finishing school at Framesby (Port Elizabeth) in 1995, I did a gap year with Service Year for Christ doing youth development across South Africa. In 1997 I enrolled at the Institute of Marketing Management and finished a Higher Diploma in International Trade three years later.
Working Holiday Overseas (2001)
Like most South Africans my age, I couldn’t resist heading overseas for a working holiday — to “travel the world”.
Back Home, Corporate Career (2004)
Back in South Africa, I slotted into the corporate world for the next 10 years and learnt valuable skills under some amazing mentors. In the meantime, my photography side-business really started taking off. Evenings and weekends didn’t leave much room for socialising — but growing the business was the only fuel I needed.
The Wedding That Changed Everything (2007)
On 3 March 2007 I shot a wedding in the Riebeek Valley. As I entered the bride’s dressing room, I saw a girl in the corner. She was breathtaking — I took a picture immediately. The hair and make-up artists were applying her make-up; I soon figured out she was the bride’s sister, Iza. Nothing came of it that day, but we became friends over time. Eventually we started dating, and I soon realised she was THE ONE.
APRIL 2009
We got engaged on a plot of land that I owned at the time. I built a house made from fairy lights. I’ve been known to be a romantic sometimes… I had help from a friend, and granted, it wasn’t architecturally the MANSION OF LIGHTS I had envisioned — but it wowed Iza enough for her to say yes. Our journey together truly began.
December 2009
We got married in December 2009 on a Wednesday. It was, and still is, one of the highlights of my life — a day I’ll never forget. We did it our way, on our own terms. My good friend Greg Lumley shot our photos, and to this day I treasure them immensely.
2009-2014
Iza’s make-up and hair business flourished, and we were fortunate enough to travel a bit. We drove old cars, lived in a small flat, and had flimsy furniture — but happily spent every spare cent on the next trip. It was like a drug.
Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, Edinburgh.
Wilhelm Arrives — Our Family Begins (2014)
On 13 February 2014, our lives changed irrevocably. Wilhelm Hendrik Cloete was born. Words can’t describe what a baby brings to your home — extreme emotions, ranging from absolute frustration to a joy that’s incomprehensible, and a love that’s endless.
It was also the year my career changed. I realised quickly that I couldn’t run a full-time corporate career, an expanding business on the side, and a quality family life — something had to give. I made the leap to go full-time on photography. The next four years went into growing the business, focused on commercial work — educating myself, testing, failing, succeeding, but mostly learning.
Jan Frederick Completes the Picture (2018)
Jan Frederick Cloete was born on 21 June 2018 — a breath of fresh air. Our sunshine child, as Iza calls him. Our family was complete.
2020 — Today
COVID closed the photography industry for a long time. I had to pivot — and became a real estate agent in the Northern Suburbs. The move turned out to be more fruitful than I expected, and these days I stand with two feet in two worlds. They overlap more than you’d think.
Twenty-plus years behind the lens. 500+ weddings shot, 130+ five-star Google reviews, and a full commercial portfolio across nine industries. Still loving it — maybe more than ever.
If you're getting married
What I want for your day is simple: you should get married, not get photographed. Yes, the photos will be amazing. But the experience matters more — and that’s what I’ll hold together.
I’ll be the calm one in the room. I’ll guide you through the day so you don’t miss it. You’ll actually see your guests. You’ll feel present, not performed-at. You’ll get great photos and a great wedding day — the two aren’t trade-offs.
A few things 22 years and 500+ weddings have taught me:
- It’s your wedding, nobody else’s. Be exactly who you are on the day. The best weddings I’ve shot are the ones where the couple did it their way — on their own terms.
- The story isn’t just the bridal couple. It’s your guests, the moments between, the hands held, the people laughing in corners. After my own wedding in 2009 I realised again how much of the story lives in those frames.
- Lighting matters more than gear. I love good light, and I shoot for it.
When weddings restarted after COVID, the first full-day wedding I shot reminded me what a privilege this work is. Being part of someone’s day is a responsibility I take seriously every time.
Iza, my wife, is a bridal makeup artist — and we actually met on a wedding day in March 2007 (the full story is in the 2007 entry above). She often works with me on wedding days, and she’s unbelievable with brides. For her, it’s not just about the bride looking naturally herself — it’s about creating the environment so you walk into your wedding day calm, confident, happy, and in a good space. Two professionals running the same playbook from different angles. Less to coordinate, more to enjoy.
If you're booking a family or lifestyle session
Here’s a confession: I cannot photograph my own kids properly. There’s an Afrikaans saying about it — and it’s true. The shoemaker’s children walk barefoot.
So when you tell me “my kids won’t sit still,” I genuinely get it.
Good news: your kids don’t need to sit still. We’ll run around, we’ll have fun, the photos will come — they always do. My job is to take the tension off the day. You don’t need to be the parent who manages everyone, controls outfits, and remembers the snacks. You can sit back, follow my lead, and just be with your kids.
The best family shoots I’ve done are the ones where parents leave saying “that was so much more fun than we thought.” That’s the goal.
Watching my own boys grow up has shaped how I work with other people’s kids. Wilhelm is 12 now and absolutely sports-mad. Jan Frederick is 8, constantly trying to one-up his older brother and (delightfully) battling with it. They’re amazing, balanced kids — and going full-time in 2014 was specifically so I could be there for the moments that matter. I know what fear and uncertainty looks like in a kid (or a parent), and I know how to hold the room so it disappears.
Iza is the most unbelievable mom for the two of them, and the glue that holds our family together. Her energy in a room with kids is something I’ve learned a lot from on shoot day.
If you're hiring me for commercial work
Before I went full-time as a photographer in 2014, I spent ten years in the corporate world. That’s not a footnote — it changed how I work commercially.
The thing about offices is that everyone in them is just a person. The tea lady, the CEO, the marketing manager, the new graduate — same anxieties, same humour, same people. Once you’ve sat at the desk yourself, you stop photographing “subjects” and start photographing humans.
What clients tell me brings them back:
- I communicate. Briefs, timelines, deliverables, scope changes — clear, on time.
- I deliver fast. Commercial turnaround is 3 days standard.
- I’m calm to work with. “More comfortable than they thought” is the sentence I hear most often after a shoot.
One brief: be honest with what you want and trust me with the craft. If you don’t know, ask. But always tell me what the final outcome looks like for you — that’s what shapes how I shoot.
One project I’ll always remember: in 2020 I had the opportunity to shoot Roger Federer when he visited South Africa. Beyond the photos, it was a privilege to meet him. He’s exactly who he is on television — one of the most genuine humans I’ve worked with.
What I shoot with
Two Nikon D850 bodies — every shoot has a backup. My lighting style is large, soft, directional — enhancing natural light rather than replacing it. Profoto B1 strobes for studio-grade output on location, A1 portable flashes when I need to move fast, and a modifier kit that gets bigger every year.
A few choices that say something about how I work: a fast 24-70 f/2.8 for most of the wedding day, a 14mm prime instead of the more common 14-24 zoom (if I’m shooting wide, I want the sharpness), an 80-200 f/2.8 for distance compression, a 50mm f/1.4 for available-light intimacy, and a 105mm macro for product detail and the rings.
Each sector gets its own kit logic, though — and the full breakdown lives on the behind-the-scenes pages. Currently the commercial behind-the-scenes is live, with wedding, lifestyle, headshots and events BTS pages on the way.
Beyond the camera
A few things that aren’t on a CV but probably should be:
- Family. Iza is my true north. We laugh together more than anything, she lights up every room, backs me always, and pushes me to be better when I need it. The boys, sports, and food are most of my non-shoot life.
- The braai is sacred. A lot of our family time happens outside, around food, with sports equipment somewhere in the picture.
- December is for Stilbaai. Two weeks every December, after Christmas, to unwind from the season.
- One hot coffee in the morning. Everything else over ice — milkshakes, soft drinks, iced tea, even Chenin Blanc. My standing line to any waiter: “extra ice.”
- Music on shoot day depends on the crowd — I’ll have a Spotify playlist ready to match. In the car, it’s always a podcast. (Yes, both Nirvana and Taylor Swift live on those playlists. Don’t ask me to choose.)
- Rugby is a religion in this house. I play, I watch, I’d love to shoot the Springboks one day — Rassie especially.
- I play guitar — better than I let on. There was a band, an album, even a tour, back in pre-kids days. Iza will never confirm it, but I think it might have been part of the allure.
- I love food. Cooking it, eating it, taking other people to restaurants for it.
- 26 countries visited. Last trip was Bali. Now that the kids are older, more on the way.
- I read on my Kindle. Deon Meyer especially.
- Favourite fruit: lychees. Don’t ask why.
- Give me any sports equipment and I’ll find a way to keep myself busy with it for hours.
A few personal bits
Bali, 2025
Mauritius, 2018
The Cloetes — early years
Common questions
How long have you been a photographer?
Since 2004. Full-time since 2014. 500+ weddings shot, 130+ five-star Google reviews, and a full commercial portfolio across nine industries.
Where are you based?
Durbanville, Cape Town. I work across the Western Cape and travel for shoots throughout South Africa and internationally when needed.
What sectors do you cover?
Weddings, commercial photography (across nine industries), lifestyle and family sessions, corporate headshots, and events.
What’s your turnaround time?
Depends on the project. Commercial: 3 days. Lifestyle and family: 7 days. Weddings: 3 weeks (because of the volume).
What languages do you work in?
English and Afrikaans.
Do you work with international clients?
Yes. International clients are mostly weddings and families, with about 30% commercial. On weddings specifically, around 60% of my couples are international or expat couples marrying in South Africa.