“Best Top Photographer” Coffee Table Book

As a photographer, I was looking for ways to get my work out there other than posting on facebook and google groups. I came across an online photography group started by Rinus Bakker called Best Top Photographer. This group was exclusive to both professionals and amateurs and only great quality photographs were accepted. I then decided to join this group back in 2014.

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What makes a good photo?

Most photography associations or societies offer distinctions ranging from being a licentiate to associate to fellowship level. However achieving a fellowship may be everyone’s dream, it requires a lot of hard work and commitment and even frustration. I have a long way to go to even get an associate level, I can for now stop dreaming about fellowship. I have however recently gained a licentiate by submitting a panel of 20 images and this was not an easy task as I was trying for atleast a year. Most people consider the licentiate to a beginner qualification but it is not easy to get. It may not have strict guidelines as when submitting images to associate or fellowship level but to even gain one needs good camera skill and composition etc.

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Photography As A Tool To Inspire And Provide Value

inspire“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible” – Oscar Wilde

Photography is much beyond capturing a moment in time to be revisited once in a blue moon to relive it. True, today with cameras in every hand, photography is no longer the passion and profession of a few but it would be a folly to imagine that the importance of the craft has reduced as a result of it. Rather, it has made possible, the rise of photography as a tool to bring the world closer and inspire people to do more for our planet and its inhabitants, and ultimately, for each other.

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Architecture Photography Tips and Techniques

architectureWhen photographing any kind of architecture, you need to check the opening times of the building/structure you wish to shoot and if any permits are necessary. And then before you go off to shoot your photographs, make sure the weather forecast is right for what you need. It can be very frustrating to drive for hours just to find out it is raining when you get there. Also, plan your trip in the morning or late afternoon because that is when the lighting is best. Here are some more tips to help make your photographs pop.

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Landscape Photography Tips And Techniques

landscape

Landscape photographs have a way of displaying the beauty of our environment and creation in a way that’s quite calming and breathtaking. Well-shot landscape photos are just irresistible to behold by anyone who sets eyes on them. To get eye catching landscape images, it’s important to understand a few tips that one can apply when doing landscape photography. Here are a few tips and techniques you can make use of to come up with great shots.

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Street Photography Tips and Techniques

street_photography

Every moment, there is a story unfolding around us and it requires an ability to be aware of one’s surroundings and good observational skills, and of course a decent camera, to witness and capture that story. From comic to romantic, and from scary to downright bizarre, life presents an immense number of moments that make for great photo opportunities.

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Portrait Photography Tips and Techniques

portraitDoing a portrait of someone is very different than taking a picture of them. You can take a bunch of photographs of your family and friends and they will turn out really great, but to do a portrait where the person is actually posing for the camera is a different story. It has to be perfect in every way possible, and you must take a lot of pictures because it may take 20 photos to get one good one that you can use. There are ten important steps to taking a great portrait.

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Wildlife And Bird Photography Tips And Techniques

Wildlife and bird photography can be quite exciting and intriguing considering their mobility and how challenging it can be to get the photo from various views. DSLR cameras are very perfect when it comes to the speed and flexibility required in photographing wildlife and birds. A camera that guarantees performance, speed and image quality is a must have if you want the best shots for wildlife and bird photography.

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Understanding Macro Lens Magnification

macro_photographyA macro lens is a lens that offers at least a magnification factor of 1.0x or 1:1, which means full life-size magnification (1x magnification). For example, that if you take a photo of a bug that is 1 inch (2.54cm) in length, the bug will appear as the same size on the camera’s sensor. That might not seem very impressive, but when you know that the 18Mp sensor in DSLR cameras enable very large format prints, the potential for creating massive enlargements from shots of tiny objects is really pretty amazing.

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Guide to using Variable Neutral Density Filters

waterfall

To any Landscape photographer, ND filters and polarizers are useful tools for great photography. Here I will be talking about the differences between constant ND filters and variable ND filters and how to use a variable ND filter. A ND filter is neutral so it should not affect colour or saturation but only reduce the amount of light.
A variable ND uses polarizing to vary the density hence you get a similar effect as a using a plain polarizer but using a wider range of polarizing effect.

Variable ND filters do use polarizing glass. These are useful in certain situations. You may own an 85mm f/1.9 legacy lens that does a great job in normal conditions.  But if you happen to use that lens on a very bright sunny afternoon at the widest aperture then this lens is difficult to use in those conditions because of the blown highlights it delivers. Blown highlights are overexposed areas of the image.

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