There’s something special about photographing a musician for the cover of their forthcoming album. It has to do with the delight of creative collaboration. This was the case recently when we headed out on location to shoot some stills for talented country artist Bernie Williams, who was the MC and entertainer at the recent 2015 Safari Guide of The Year finals. He had us dancing our hearts out at that event, so we were happy to reunite again.

What made Bernie’s photo shoot extra pleasurable was the gorgeous country surrounds where it took place. Sincere thanks to the owners of Something Country, Bleached Decor and the Ground venue, for welcoming us at their fabulous property in Muldersdrift. This is where Dave recently collaborated on another creative venture, contributing to a video for the Ground launch, which was a great success. Follow those links to find out more, and keep a look out for their future functions that are guaranteed to wow in the loveliest way.

Getting back to Bernie, we scouted around for a variety of settings that would enhance the country energy of his music. The above and below photos were shot during golden hour in a grove of trees, using a reflector to bounce the beautiful natural light onto his face. The second image also capitalizes on the backlit effect caused by shooting towards the sun. It took some manoeuvring to get the angles of reflection right, so thanks also to Juanita – who joined our team recently as our accomplished OV&P Operations Manager – for her help with this.

Here are two more sample images from Bernie’s portfolio, which we chose to shoot against the textured backdrop of a crumbling old wall and the late afternoon sky, again with a reflector for fill in effect.

To view more photos from this shoot, take a look at our Facebook album: Bernie Williams – Cover Shoot. And for a taste of Bernie’s music, visit his ReverbNation page, where you can click to view recordings of his songs. Enjoy!