Mother with Child

I'm not comfortable shooting images like this but I felt people needed to see it. This was

Guangzhou, China. Ironically, she is asleep with her baby in front of a closed government

building. This was not the worst of it. A man with his disabled child was one I could not bring

myself to photograph. We could do so much more in the world to help our fellow human

beings.

Stunning, I very much like the colors, especially the reddish feeling to the photograph from the stone. Was there any reason to not compose the image further to the left? extending the left side. My eye wants to see more on the left side of the frame, especially because the mother and child are almost perfectly centered. Other than some compositional question, I love the raw emotion, and sadness that this picture invokes. Good Work!

Thanks for the kind words, Cody. In answer to your question, I probably panicked because I didn't want to be seen photographing her and didn't focus (no pun intended), I tend to not "center" things unless there is reason to. Though I can't remember, there might have been somthing to the left that took away from the image. I agree in that I wish I could have captured more of the writing on the ground. I think it was more than likely a plea for help. Once again, thank you!

Good picture! The only thing I am wondering about, is if you should crop a part of the top away. Hard to say. I should see this picture on paper. It's hard to know looking from this monitor.

Thank you, Herman. As far as cropping the top: I felt that she is much more vulnerable with the large stone work and metal bars hanging over her. It also shows that she is, at this point in her life, weak, she appears small and very, very vulnerable. I also have this thing about cropping. I rarely do it. I feel if I don't see it in the viewfinder, maybe it wasn't there to begin with. But as they say, it's all subjective. Nonetheless, thank you for the comments. I look forward to taking a look at some of your work.

Good shot. Someone has to take these kinds of photos and display them. I think you did a very sensitve job of capturing their plight.

Very difficult for me. A part of me feels like I'm doing a service and part of me feels like I'm merely invading what little privacy this poor woman and her child have. I don't know how journalistic photographers do it. Even with my First Responder Images, I make it a policy to not photograph victims!

This is a very poignant photo Paul...full of emotion. I also have a difficult time taking these kinds of photos because of the fear that people would perceive that I was exploiting the poverty and pain of the subjects. I really feel though, that this photo needed to be taken. Good work!

Sad image with a dark atmosphere that emphasise this perception. Well done! Thanks for sharing!