About the Author

Amanda Ritchie

Marketing Manager

Amanda is the Londolozi Marketing Manager & has been in the marketing, advertising & creative industry for 15 years & the health and wellness industry for 9 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Journalism from The University of Cape Town ...

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27 Comments

on 5 Tips for Soulful Photography

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Lovely blog Amanda. I take pictures just for memories. I realized after reading your blog that I just click away most of the time and don’t enjoy the moment. Definitely going to try to be more aware.

Thanks Marinda! I hope that you managed to take some soulful photographs over the last few days at Londolozi.

Some of the photos are lovely. We had such a great time at Londolozi. It was a wonderful experience.

Senior Digital Ranger

I love the words “soulful capture”. Great key to unlock these wonderful tips. It also reminds us what to look for when viewing photos. I especially love Amy in the tree. Having had the opportunity to spend my two Londolozi trips with her I know some of her favorite places are anchored by some beautiful ones.

Thanks so much for your kind words, Ginger. I think that the word “soulful” means something different to each person, so I’m glad that it resonated with you.

Thank you so much for such a beautiful, helpful and meaningful article!! I know that I can learn a lot from this post and hopefully become a better photographer.

Thank you so much, Callum. I’m delighted that you found it so useful. I think the other part of bringing back the soul to photography is to practice as much as possible so that we develop our eye even more, so I hope that you can take some of these tips and put them into practice yourself 🙂

Pleasure Amanda! I’ve definetely gotten a lot of practise over the last few years, honing my skills in Kirstenbosch in preparation for the bush!

Thank you Amanda for sharing your professional tips. Great reminders of all that a photo moment can become. I’ll carry your advice forward with greater awareness!

Thank you so much, Joanne. I’m so glad that you enjoyed the post and I do hope that you can carry some tips forward for yourself.

Senior Digital Ranger

Thank you, Amanda, for these insights and the photographs that beautifully illustrate. It is awesome to feel present with you as you create the story.

I’m so glad that you felt like you were along with me for the ride! Thank you for the comment, Lucie.

Your blog was artfully written and so true on all levels. I’m of the school that making pictures is much more important than taking pictures. I used to shoot everything, trying to record for posterity and then I had the aha moment – look, listen and pay attention to what’s around me. While traveling in Africa it’s difficult to contain enthusiasm when seeing so many animals and birds, but truly less is more.
Your photos are soulful and I appreciate your sharing these images.

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment, Denise. I just love the fact that each photographer (artist) has their own perspective on their craft. I totally agree that less can be more, but also that there are so many incredible things to capture. I suppose walking that fine line is where the soul really does come in. I’m so glad that you enjoyed my images 🙂

Master Tracker

Lovely blog, it is so much about the moment. I love the wading bird photograph, very good to get that angle and I think the cropping is superb. .

Hi Ian and Amanda,
Amanda, thanks for writing this! Wonderful and fully supported by me.
Ian made a nice comment on the ibis picture, the only thing I would like to ask you: is this photo taken at Londolozi or at Zimanga? Ian, if you interested, it is a wonderful place for photography of birds from hides (from small once to big once!). I have been there now 3 times and will go back next year again.
Kind regards to both of you,
Jos

Master Tracker

Thanks Jos, I got some wonderful bird photos at Londolozi , I booked a single use Land Rover for a day, hired a massive lens using the lens hire facility and we decamped to the causeway . Saw three species of kingfishers and (deep joy ) a kingfisher caught a small fish , dispatched it and ate it on a branch within three metres of the Land Rover.
I have been waiting for a moment like that all my life.
About ten minutes after that Andrea Campbell asked if I would like to see a mating pair of leopards, so we pootled off . We saw the mating pair, and a third leopard just walked past .
I have had worse game drives.
My next trip is the complete opposite to Londolozi in that I am going to Samburu in Central Kenya and then going north to the Matthews Mountains. Oh and yes – they have a hide.
I think you are spot on and hides will become more important as a game viewing option.
Best wishes

Hi Jos. Thank you so much for the comment and kind words. You are absolutely right; that shot was taken at Zimanga Private Nature reserve. It was an incredible experience, and definitely something I look forward to doing again soon!

Thank you so much for the comment, Ian. That is also one of my favourite shots. It was, indeed, taken at Zimanga Private Nature Reserve during a two week period of leave from Londolozi. I was lucky enough to experience their lagoon hide, and it was just mindblowing how close the birds came, and the types of angles I could get on various shots… we really were immersed in their world. As a result, I couldn’t help but share it in this post as I felt that it carried a lot of soul and magic from my experience there. I would highly recommend a visit if you are interested in photographing birds, or simply want to play around with another style of photography. Thanks again for the comments!

Wonderful post . . . thanks for this.

Thanks, Jeff, I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. And thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂

Amanda, What an incredible post to inspire all of us who love photography! This is one of your most thoughtful and insightful posts ever and we will do our best to become more “soulful” going forward!

Thank you so much for your comment, Michael and Terri! It’s always so great to hear from you both, and I’m sorry I missed you on your last trip to Londolozi. I’m delighted that you enjoyed my post, and thank you for the kind words. As always, if a writer can stir some form of emotion with a piece, it is infinitely worth it. Much love from a rainy, cool, fresh Londolozi today!

Amanda. after I read your wonderful educational blog, I had to put my beloved border collie down. But before the sad event I took her to her favorite spot at the lake and I followed her around and really took my time taking her pictures. I can actually sense that she knew her time was coming and she just stared out towards a place she always wanted to go, but could not swim that far. She just took it in, her head up and she just breathed. The picture is beautiful. I have several lasting memories. Thank you for your tips. It has affected people across the world from you.

Hi Judy. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I’m so sorry to hear about your hound (in our family, dogs often rank higher than humans 🙂 so I can completely relate. I’m so glad that you felt connected and inspired by this post, and that it helped you to create a memory that will last forever. We so appreciate your contribution to our online Family via the blog, so thanks again for your kind words. Much love from us all here at Londolozi.

Amanda, lovely pictures and some good tips to become a better photographer. Londolozi is an amazing place to take pictures of wildlife. I love your shot of the night sky falling and the Ibis shot. Will have to try Zimanga in the future as well.

I really appreciate seeing photos but I like the most “milky way falling from the sky” photography. Thanks for this informative article. it will very helpful to become the best photographer.

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