We pay tribute to Mandy Steenkamp, the skilled photographer, who captures the most stunning images for our covers.
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Mandy Steenkamp (50) lives in Weltevredenpark, Gauteng with her husband. They have two children.
It was the year of 2010 that Mandy started to dabble in part-time photography while working in corporate. By 2018, she knew she had found her passion, so she left the corporate world behind her and started photography full-time.
“I have always loved and been passionate about taking photographs. There is something beautiful to be able to capture a moment in time that becomes a memory to last forever. The added bonus is seeing the look on my clients’ faces when they see their images, and that they have these special moments to look back on and cherish forever,” Mandy says.
Mandy’s photography specialities are in family, maternity and new-born baby shoots. Though she enjoys doing all varieties of photography as she says it helps with creativity.
Family affected by cancer
An immediate yes was Mandy’s response when asked if she would be willing to do the cover shoots for Buddies For Life and Oncology Buddies pro bono. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make. This is very close to my heart and who wouldn’t want to give back to a well-deserving community,” Mandy says.
Mandy has personally been affected by cancer by losing family members; her father from throat and tongue cancer, her aunt from ovarian cancer, and her grandfather from colon cancer. “My mom and sister have both had skin cancer spots removed. Thankfully, the doctors have managed to remove it all.”
Laughing, dance moments, and meeting special people
Mandy thoroughly enjoys doing the covers shoots. She explains, “There are so many fun aspects but to name a few, I would say firstly meeting all these wonderful people and hearing their stories. The laughs that we have while doing the shoots, and of course our special dance moments. The challenge of me needing to be creative and think outside the box for each cover, I enjoy that. I just love everything about it.”
More about Mandy
Mandy has been married to her husband, Gerrie for 24 years. “He is wonderful, he is my best friend and my rock. We have two amazing children who I could not be prouder of; Keagen (29), my son, lives in Bangkok and my daughter, Cayce (20), is currently in her second year of varsity studying biokinetics.
Follow @mandysteenkampphotography