Rose

I'm back from Africa. I have 2312 photos from two weeks. I actually could easily have taken more, but I was actually working as a volunteer, so I didn't have a lot of time to use my camera. :-) Anyway, I thought I'd start with some photos of the women I worked with. The organization is called Amani ya Juu, which in Swahili means, "Higher Peace". It is a reconciliation project, teaching marginalized women to sew so that they can have a trade and thus support themselves and their families.

Rose is one of the managers at Amani. She was educated when her family lived in Brussels and her English is exceptional. She's the lady that I worked most closely with.

Photographically, do you think that the hot spots on her skin are too hot? Exposure of her skin? DOF? Does this shot with context work better than the other, closer portraits? Any other thoughts?

I'm anxious to hear from you..... :-)

Any comments or ratings are appreciated! :-)

OK, I will step up to the plate.....

 

1st: thing that caught my eye was the sharp shadow to the left and behind here. On camera flash? Try holding the flash in your left hand (with sync cord).

 

2nd: did you whiten her teeth? I looked at your other portraits. I think you over whitened all of them.

 

remember you asked for it.......(;-} Hope to see more of your work here.

 

Thanks, Scott - I always appreciate honest critiques. Yes, the flash was tricky for all of these portraits. It really wasn't "picture day", so I was trying to do the best with what I could do without intruding too much ... I was walking around their place of employment asking to take photos of them.

 

And the teeth - interestingly, I was just looking at these photos and thinking that I'm amazed that the teeth are so white. And so many of them have straight teeth. I did not touch ANY of the teeth in the images ... they are exactly as the camera captured them.

 

Please feel free to stop by any time and comment in as much detail as you wish. It's always extremely helpful!

Hey there, Lou Ann! First, welcome back! We all missed the pitter-patter of your footprints around PN whilst you were gone. Second, over 2,000+ images in 2 weeks! Yikes! And you say, "I really didn't have time for pictures..." LOL! Third, I know absolutely zilch about portrait photography, ergo I will defer to those that do. However, I wanted you to know that I have looked at each of the portraits you've posted so far, and I have to say that I see 'Love' - lots of love, warmth, and kindness - so to me, they are just wonderful and beautiful! Cheerio! Chris

Thanks, Chris - that is exactly what I see when I look at them, too. It's good to be back ... the upcoming month or two will be wild for me, though ... and PN will be a nice anchor with people who I've known for awhile during a time in my life where I'll be starting most of my other relationships all over again. :-)

Thanks for understanding me. I think your great! Thanks for your input on my work!

(;-}