New Location for 2026 - Photographer Cork /  by Jan

I’ve been a professional photographer for quite a number of years now. I think it’s been 12 years by now. Wow, how time flies! And as we enter a new year, I’ve decided to mix up some of my shooting locations and add some new spots to the list. I’ve quietly tested some of these locations last year and this is a location that I am now sure of!

The location is Fota House and Gardens! So here are some shoots I’ve shot there.

A Surprise Visit

Was this a photo shoot or really just a big ruse? I’ve gotten quite experience with a good ol’ ruse, if you’ve read my proposals blog post here. Those proposals often include a lot of secrecy and cunning!

In in this secretive case it was a birthday. Gitana’s 50th! She was under the impression that we would be doing a small photo shoot with the local, immediate family members before they headed off to Cobh for a nice lunch.

But there was a big surprise awaiting her! As we were doing the shoot with careful positioning and backs turned to the entrance, who’s that in the background? They aren’t regular visitors. It’s Gitana’s extended family and her siblings coming all the way from America. They haven’t seen each other in years! Cue the tears…

I went into full wedding photographer/paparazzi mode to capture all these beautiful emotions! This was so heart warming to photograph, and just like with the proposals, I was delighted that the surprise worked so well and I didn’t have to be secretive anymore! Once everything had settled, we could start the actual photo shoot in the gardens at a nicer looking location.

 

So many different gardens

And this is where this location really shines! The individual gardens are so handy to have as a photographer, and in such a small proximity. Each garden is beautifully manicured. They each have a different layout and look, some have trees, some have hedges, but they all have different flowers. Then we also have these structural elements to work with, like this pavilion.

Add in the stairs and we have the perfect spot especially for bigger family shoots for groups over 10 people. The stairs make for great group photos, and the different gardens allow for each sub-group of the family shoot to have a different looking shoot, while still looking cohesive.

 

Don’t forget the forest

If these gardens aren’t your vibe, and you’d like something wilder, the forest is also a beautiful spot and is open more hours in the year than the gardens. Here is also my favourite spot; the moss garden!

Choosing one of my bigger photography packages would allow you the option to go to both locations.

 

Maternity Shoots

If you’ve been keeping an eye on my blog, you’ll know that I’m now also doing maternity photo shoots. This family friendly location works so well for maternity shoots, and, it could be a great spot to come back a few months down the line with your newborn!

So what about babies?

Talking about newborns, what else would work really well here? Well, this a great spot for baby shoots as well.

It doesn’t just work because it looks amazing, but also because it’s close to the city, meaning little travel, a large variety of backgrounds in a small footprint and something that’s often overlooked, access to toilets in case of a diaper change.

 

Always Handy to have a Roof

Plus the pavilion offers some protection from light rain, while the green house can be a life saver in case of sudden and unexpected downpours.

The green house is only open at certain times of the year, but it’s a great backup to have.

Bookings

If you would like to book in for a family or baby shoot here, contact me here for my family and baby packages, and most importantly, my availability.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Is That a Baby Bump? - Maternity Photographer Cork /  by Jan

I’ve been doing newborn baby shoots for so many years now. They’ve been really fun, doing some at home, some outdoors and some outdoors at home. And as we head into spring, I’m mixing things up a little. I’m adding new shooting locations, new wedding packages and now I’m officially launching my maternity shoots! 2026 is full of surprises!

Maternity Photo Shoots now launched in 2026

As you all know, I love doing these relaxed and natural outdoor shoots! And when it comes to maternity shoots, it’s no different. I chose this location for the couple, and with some early spring sun, the photos are absolutely glowing!

Margot and Joshua are such a fun couple. Originating from South Africa, like myself, it was fun to catch up and talk about all the pop-culture happenings there, and reminiscing about our favourite foods and snacks.
I’ve got a good head start on them in regards to how long I’ve lived in Ireland for, so these days I consider myself more of a local, but connecting with fun South African culture like this is always nice.

Little Extras

It’s great to include little extras like the ultrasound, clothing and teddy bears.

We started off with some individual shots of Margot, before incorporating husband Joshua. It’s great to include little extras like the ultrasound, clothing that the baby will wear one day and even the teddy bear that they’ll be falling asleep with.

(Just as an FYI, my sister recommends buying two or three of the same teddy bears and alternating them when they need to get washed, or as a backup when they get too worn down or even lost!)

5-star Google Review

Margot was an absolute gem and wrote this amazing Google review:

 
“Wow wow wow!!

Firstly, let me start off by saying, NOT ONLY did Jannik accommodate us, but him and his wife gave us 10/10 treatment! What an incredible experience!! They chose the perfect location for us, and his lovely wife (the real right-hand woman!) set the scene in a way that felt so *us*. You would honestly think she knew our whole story — from our nature-filled engagement shoot to our forest wedding — because everything just came together so perfectly and brought our vision to life.

Between the banter, the laughs, and embracing the typical Irish weather, we genuinely had the best time from start to finish. They struck that perfect balance of being so professional while also feeling like you’ve known them for years — so warm, easygoing, and reassuring throughout.

We are absolutely over the moon with our images and couldn’t be happier with the whole experience. Thank you both so much for making it so special — it’s something we’ll always remember.

We would 100% recommend you to anybody without hesitation — 10/10 all around! And we already can’t wait for you to capture our newborn shoot next 🤍”
— Margot
 

As per usual, I always enjoy taking the couple around to a few different spots within the same location. It makes the photo shoot so much more varied and really rounds out the whole gallery.

With the maternity shoot, you can either book as stand alone shoot or you can book it together with a newborn baby shoot at a discount.

So if you’re looking to do a maternity shoot in Cork, say hi to me here. I’d love to hear from you!

Stephen - Sports Photography Cork /  by Jan

I’ve been taking photos pretty much my whole life, but it really started in 2010. That’s when I started working in the film industry. At first I was documenting my life on set, behind the scenes with a trusty analogue camera and a couple of rolls of film bouncing around in my sling bag.

After 5 years in the film industry, I wanted to move away from moving images and I became fascinated with stills. I explored every facet of the photography industry, trying to find my niche and what suited me.

I just followed what I enjoyed doing at the time. And that turned out to be a lot of sports photography around 2016-2018. I photographed it all, from boxing and MMA, to car racing to hurling matches and more.

That time taught me so much about photography and how to capture the perfect moment. I then slowly settled on what I really wanted to do and you can see that reflected on my website now.

So when Stephen got in touch with me, it took me right back to that 2017 period. It was such a fun throw back! Stephen is a para-athlete from Canada, who was visiting Cork for an extended period for several endurance races on his hand bike and also some duathlons.

He needed/wanted some training photos and portraits in Cork for his online presence, as well as for his sponsors; L’Hippopotame Athlétique, who make his performance wear.

Sponsor

His sponsor L’Hippopotame Athlétiquemake his performance wear.

My aim with this shoot was to give Stephen a large variety of photos that could be used for many different applications. So we did some photos with the flash, some without, some with special effect filters, some really wide shots, some extreme close ups, mostly horizontal but also some vertical photos.

There are photos that really focus in on him, where as some are beautiful landscape shots, showing off the beauty of Cork.

Using the flash was a really cool addition to this shoot that I enjoyed using a lot. I wanted to really convey the speed that Stephen was able to hit. It also really draws the focus more onto him, and his sponsor’s white top.

This mix of photos then became a really well rounded gallery that I hope will serve him for a long time! It was also fun to dip my toes into this action photography again. I always enjoy mixing things up as I feel like it improves my overall ability as a photographer. Just like when I photographed this game of golf at the Old Head of Kinsale.

If you would like to find out more about Stephen and his journey, you can check out his Instagram here and if you’d like to book me for your sport, say hi to me here or go to my contact form here!