My top Ten by Raj Patel

The beginning: I guess my journey as a photographer started when I purchased by my first camera, which was a humble Nikon D3100. I mean there was no point me buying a spectacular full frame camera when I didn’t even know how to use the functions! The same way you can’t pass your driving test and jump into a Ferrari.

First shot: The first really memorable photo I took was during a proposal at Madisson Bar, which has spectacular views of St Pauls. That was the first professional photo I took and later edited. The best thing about that photo was it still looked natural and showed me the power of capturing a moment in time.

First big event: For me, the first big break in my photography career came when I was asked to cover one of the summer melas. I covered the Slough mela, and starting out in the industry as a newbie it was an experience I will never forget. The buzz leading up to the event, hearing your favourite songs from great singers live, and the excitement with so many people there was amazing.

Star encounter: I have been fortunate enough to photograph a number of celebrities, and a personal favourite was the glamorous Shilpa Shetty at a New Years Eve event.

The big bhangra: Another celebrity moment which is memorable was photographing the beautiful Miss Pooja. Growing up as a bhangra fan, the only music I would blare out of the car would be the Rishi Rich crew, and of course Miss Pooja. There was always a dream that one day I would meet her and recently that became a reality.

Wedding memory: I have been privileged enough to capture the big day of many couples. The first ever wedding I captured will always be my most memorable, simply due to the fact that rather than being a guest, I was one of the suppliers! It was memorable because I got to see and experience all the little bits of detail that go into a successful wedding. The emotions during the whole day were extremely high and sometimes it was hard not to let that get in the way, especially at times like the bride leaving her parents home to join her husband’s family.

Political moment: I had the honour of clicking and meeting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi when he visited the UK at a spectacular series of events. Every little detail of that was looked into and taken care of. I had the honour of capturing some of those moments.

The edits: The best part of photography for me is the post-editing. Some photographers would call me crazy and rightly so. Many think photography is simply clicking a button and voila, there’s your photo, but professionals understand the challenging aspects of post-editing. However editing is in no terms negative, as once you have clicked a photo you can truly bring out the beauty in it by enhancing certain aspects. Just don’t ask a photographer to make you look slimmer or more muscular. I’m sorry, it won’t happen!

Life lessons: Photography has helped me in many ways, including enabling me to live my passion and capture once-in-a-lifetime situations that will never happen again. Photography also acts as a stress reliever, has boosted my own creativity and inspired my imagination. Photography also allows you to see detail you may usually miss in everyday life and has allowed me to document my career.

Phone snap: It is true to an extent when people say: ‘You can’t take a clean shot from your phone camera compared to a DSLR’. However if you’re a photographer who has an eye for detail, it is possible to get pretty close to the quality of a DSLR. I have captured some cool photos on my phone, including a great shot of an open leaves tunnel at Hampton Court Palace.