WE ARE DNA

Desmond Louw and Antonia Heil. Based between Cape Town and EUROPE, we specialise in brand films, automotive campaigns, and commercial photography — traveling wherever the work demands, with people always at the centre.

DNA portrait August 2023

NEVER NOT WOR{KING}

An engineer and a journalist picked up a camera — and never put it down. DNA launched in 2009. Home base is South Africa and Europe, but our work has taken us across Africa, Asia, and the USA — and we’re not done yet.

Let's connect

PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO & PRODUCTION

Advertising campaigns
•TV commercials & behind the scenes
•Editorials & advertorials — automotive, motorcycle and travel
•Car launches, press launches and driving experiences
•Press kits & media content
•Events — including live retouching & same-day publishing
•Portraits — motorsport, executives, and travel documentary

DNA handles full production for both stills and video — simultaneously or separately, depending on what the project needs. We manage everything from locations, models, stylists and hair & makeup to permits, logistics and catering. Good planning is at the core of what we do, and our team is built around making complex shoots feel effortless.

Ready when you are.

Cape Town commercial and advertising photographer DNA photographers South Africa 0133

Great work starts with a conversation.

get in touch.

We’ve signed more NDAs than a Hollywood lawyer at awards season — so not everything makes it to these pages. A good chunk of our work lives under lock and key.

Clients include

AASA / Absolut Vodka SA / Acronis / ADAC / AD Architectural Digest Germany / Adidas / Adidas Eyewear / AMCI / AMG / Appelberg Publishing / Artsy / ASICS / Audi Germany / Audi South Africa / Banauten / BBC / BETC Paris / Bicycling Magazine / Big Concerts / BikeRoutes / Blue Bulls / BMW / Boathouse Agency / Bold Cycles / Boston College / British Airways / Business Day Wanted / Cape ETC / Cathay Dragon / Cathay Pacific / Cape Union Mart / Cedar Communications / Cedar Hong Kong / Channel 4 / Chevrolet / Christophorus / City of Cape Town / Condé Nast / Crossley & Webb / Discovery / DriveOut / ELLE Decoration South Africa / Energade / Ferrari / First Ascent / Fornessi / Freunde von Freunden / Future Publishing / Giant Films / GTBank Nigeria /  GQ / HABAU / Harley-Davidson / Hero Film / Honda / High Life Magazine / Huisgenoot / INTERSPORT / Iron & Air / ISUZU / ISUZU Motors South Africa / Jaguar / Juicebox / KPMG / K-Way / KLS Martin / Land Rover / Levergy / Love Circus / M2G Jansen / Mace / Magai Production / Manthey-Racing / Mark 1 / Mazda Southern Africa / Media 24 / Mercedes-AMG / Mercedes-Benz / Mercedes-Benz Vans / MINI / MobileMediaMob / Movero / MUA / Nakedwines.com / NCAP / Nemiroff / Nissan / Ogilvy / Opel / OSK / OZY / Panorama Knife / Pedersen and Lennard / Performance Brands / Peugeot / Porsche / Porsche Klassik / Porsche Switzerland / Puma / Rapport / Red Bull / Robot TV / Rolling Thunder / Rolls-Royce / Rush Sports / Saint Gobain / Sako7 / Scania Legend Magazine / Schindler & Parent / Showtime Australia / Soulbath / South African Fashion Week / Sporttotal EVENT gmbh / Standard Bank / Standard Film / Storyboard / Strahlwerk Deluxe / Subaru / Superunion / Swisspacer / Tatler Magazine / Techpro Safari / Tempomedia Filmproduktion GmbH / The Aleit Group / The Sunday Times Magazine / Tinie Tempah / TopCar / TopGear / TopGear South Africa / uniWines / Veranstaltungsmacher / Virgin Active / Volkswagen / Walden University / WeChat / Weekend Australian Magazine / WegRy / WMW / Woolworths / X-Racing / YOU

Our work has been featured in Gestalten publications, BBC TopGear, Cathay Pacific’s inflight magazine Discovery, Zeit Magazin, Red Bull Bulletin, AD Architectural Digest Germany, ADAC Reisemagazin, Bicycling Magazine, British Airways’ inflight magazine High Life Magazine, Tatler Magazine, TopGear South Africa, TopCar, Iron and Air, ELLE Decoration, Visi, Glamour, Fairlady, Miss Moss, CapeTownMagazine, Seasons, Get it, 10and5, mblife, Freunde von Freunden, friendsoffriends, Rapport, Fahrkult, Digital Photography, Brigitte, Herb Lester, RetutPro, Wedding Album Magazine, The Pretty Blog, Style Me Pretty, Eye Scream, Vitra, Huisgenoot, BusinessDay Wanted, NdaniTV, Ozy, Sawubona Magazine, and several other print and online publications.

research, storytelling and playfulness are essential to our work.
Great work is always a team sport.

There are no rules.

Get in touch.

Got an idea or a project? Send us a message or reach out on WhatsApp: +27823636968.

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