African Photo Magazine Issue #8

#5
Self-Portrait
Of course, you may have taken a self-portrait many times
with your smartphone. Instagram has turned self-portraits
into something usual and mundane.
However, self-portraits can be quite helpful in opening
up, and exploring parts of photography in which you don’t
normally find yourself involved. Mix it up and stay creative
with your surroundings and emotions. For example, look at
the work of Kyle Thompson, who has really succeeded in
self-photography.
9
Food
In today’s world of foodie-Instagram, everyone could be a
food photographer. Especially if you’re fond of cooking, then
food photography is right for you. It’s a myth that you need
a super-wow camera to capture food. Food photography is
all about styling and beautiful background. No matter what
kind of photographer you call yourself, it’s advantageous to
have some food photography skills under your belt.
By Özgün ERDEM
By Nuwandalice
6
#7
New Lens Type
You may pick one lens and use it exclusively during this
project. A 50mm is a good starting point, as it forces you to
move around and stay selective. A fisheye lens could also
make an interesting theme.
Moreover, you may experiment with freelensing which is
an inexpensive way to get a similar photo effect as from
an expensive tilt-shift lens. The idea behind a tilt-shift lens
is tilting the lens at an angle to the sensor to change the
orientation of the plane of focus (PoF). The technique of
freelensing, not only gives you the ability to change the
PoF, but it also gives you some pretty cool light leaks from
not having the lens actually attached to the camera.
Monochrome
Try to shoot all your photos in monochrome, or convert
them to black and white in post-processing. The beauty
of black and white photography is that it focuses more
on visual elements such as tone, texture and shapes. By
starting this project for yourself, you’ll see the objects in a
different light, and rather than just color, your eyes will be
better trained to recognize various forms and shapes.
By Liz West
Paradise Pier Sunset by William McIntosh on 500px
10
11
Sunset and Sunrise
As dawn breaks and the sun comes up, you get to see
the creeping rays of sunlight bathe everything in their
shining glow. Such scenes are the perfect environment for
memorable photos that you can’t pass up. Sunrises and
sunsets happen every day. It may sound quite obvious and
ordinary, but these times of the day are a golden opportunity
to capture breathtaking images.
single Theme
Pick an object and try to get a collection of snapshots
representing it. For example, try to shoot only circular
objects everywhere you go. Or pick a color, for instance
blue, and try to go all day long photographing only blue
things. The aim of this assignment is to learn to see the
ordinary object in a different way.
A Fistful of Kits by Peter Greig on 500px
#8
Panoramas
La bicicleta by Adrian Hernandez Binz on 500px
#12
camera Phone
Panoramas are one more way to develop your creative
vision. Panoramas usually give the viewer a much wider
viewing angle than normal. You can create some small
panoramas by merging three photos in one, or go full 360.
It’s all up to you!
The main advantage of your camera phone is that it’s with
you everywhere you go. Moreover, these days’ smartphones’
camera quality is much better than years ago and you may
come up with images that look almost as good as if they
were taken with an expensive DSLR. Using your phone
allows you to put exposure on the back burner, and lets
you focus more on composition instead. You may also use
various photo-editing apps to add various photo effects.
Promised Land by Beno Saradzic on 500px
By Takeshi Garcia
38 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 8 December 2018 39