#ProjectScouted photographer profile Roy Esterhuysen

Roy Esterhuysen is an upcoming photographer in Durban, specializing in bringing out the best in women with his boudoir photography. As the owner of Firsthouse Photography and Blush Boudoir, Roy has a keen eye for photographing people and capturing key moments. #ProjectScouted is extremely fortunate to have Roy on the team and his experience and skill isn’t going to leave much to be desired as bringing out the beauty of his subjects is his forte.

Lee Folkard Photography: Who is Roy Esterhuysen?

Roy: I am passionate about all things photography and I am dedicated to art; always innovating and improving. You are most likely to find me up and about on a shoot at the crack of dawn (yes, even in winter), but I am also available for work during the more sociable hours.

LFP: Are you a full-time photographer?

Roy: At the moment, I balance my time between photography and graphic design but over the next few months photography will be taking up a larger portion of my time as I have recently joined the team of Beach Weddings by James Carlsen as a primary wedding photographer.

LFP: What inspired you to take up photography and how did you begin in the business?

Roy: I’ve always had a camera in my hands since my younger days. My dad’s film camera was where it all began with being rationed with how many shots I could take. I started off on the business side with interiors, architecture and award functions mainly, then I progressed onto weddings. 

LFP: How did you hear about Lee Folkard Photography and what motivated you to be a part of #ProjectScouted?

Roy: I would like to plead the 5th Amendment on where I met Lee. It’s nothing at all dodgy, but it’s a bit of a secret...

I’ve seen all the hype and the fun of the past Projects and I thought it would be great to be a part of it, but had never really spoken to Lee about it. But while chatting about photography and what we’ve been doing at our usual coffee spot in Umhlanga, I WantMy Coffee, Lee popped the question, although it wasn’t on one knee... But it didn’t take me long to decide I was going to be a part of the Project this year. I couldn’t pass up the chance to meet so many cool people!

LFP: What is your favourite type of photography to shoot?

Roy: Boudoir is my passion and I’ve been trained by New York-based Christa Meola. Since then, I have started a photography business called Blush Boudoir which is a bespoke photography company that offers women the opportunity to capture the essence of who they are.

LFP: Have you been influenced by any other photographers' works?

Roy: I have many photographers that I draw inspiration from. They are all amazing portrait photographers and not only do I draw inspiration from their photographs, lighting and shooting techniques, but also from how they convey themselves when speaking, their approach to people and how humble they are. Christa Meola and Joey L. are the two photographers that really influence me the most. My other influences and inspirations have been Sue Bryce, Matthew Jordan Smith, Drew Gardner and Zack Arias.

LFP: What is your career goal as a photographer?

Roy: My goal is to be an international portrait and boudoir photographer working in amazing cities around the world.

LFP: What's your approach when editing photos? What is your process?

Roy: Less is more. I use Lightroom to do my light adjustments, cropping, and any presets that are needed to give the desired effect for the overall image and then I open the image in Photoshop if I need to do any editing that requires more precise work on finer details

LFP: What makes a good black and white photo? How do you decide to change a colour photo to a black and white one?

Roy: A good black and white will convey emotion and feelings; it removes the distraction that colour may sometimes be and brings you in closer with your emotions to the image. I really appreciate a good black and white image as they take a lot of skill and technique when editing, as you can use the range of colours in the starting image to decide how dark or how light a detail is in the end result 

LFP: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

Roy: Tony Stark aka Ironman – He may not have super powers but he shows that you can be who you want to be and not what others want you to be. His captors tried to force him to make a weapon of mass destruction and yet he created a suit instead and protected the world.

Be sure to check out Roy’s behind-the-scenes pics from #ProjectScouted on his Firsthouse Photography Facebook page taken throughout the Project as well as his shots of the girls who will be chosen to proceed to the latter phases. He may not be Tony Stark, but Roy Esterhuysen is definitely a force to be reckoned with behind the camera.