Beautiful Granny In Bali, Indonesia
A beautiful granny near the town of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia.
Look at this beautiful granny who I photographed near the hill town of Ubud in Bali Indonesia.
It was a fantastic experience and I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to make such a lovely, natural portrait.
How to Approach A Stranger
It’s perfectly natural to feel apprehensive about approaching a stranger and asking permission to make their photo.
Assuming you’re not breaking any local cultural taboos the fact that you actually want to ask permission is a positive sign.
It means you want to be respectful of another person’s privacy. It also means that you’re a picture maker and not a picture taker.
My view is that, given you’re respectful of the person in question and of any local cultural traditions, you shouldn’t feel bad about making their photo so long as you meet the following criteria:
Your motivation in making the photo is pure
You treat the person you photograph with respect
You want to make a beautiful, life affirming image
How I Photographed The Beautiful Granny
Actually it was easy for me to make the above photo of the beautiful granny in Bali. I had a local guide with me and I asked him if it would be okay to try and make a photograph.
He didn’t think it would be a problem so I approached the lovely woman’s son and, after stating my name and the reason I wanted to photograph his mother, I asked his permission to approach her.
He said it was fine to do so which gave me the confidence to approach her and ask for the final and most important permission.
But, while her son spoke english, she did not. As english is the only language I speak, I did all I could do. I simply smiled and gestured with my camera as a way of asking permission to make her picture.
By the look on her face she seemed quite intrigued by the idea. What she thought of me is anyone's guess.
But one thing that’s made it easy for me to approach and photograph strangers is the belief that I’m just as interesting to them as they are to me.
That may be a belief that you adopt in your own photography practice. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend a few minutes of their day with you.
A Portrait in Black and White
I photographed this beautiful Asian granny in color and then converted the image to black and white on the desktop.
The range of tones from deep black, through midtowns and right up to near white made this a standout image for conversion into black and white.
I also like the textural qualities within the image.
Crafting the Composition
The light was bright and the sun was high in the sky when I made this image. That’s certainly not the kind of light under which I make most of my portrait photos.
Under most circumstances I would have retreated into the shade for more flattering light. But there was no shade to be found and, on this occasion, it wasn’t possible to move inside.
The hard light has emphasized the textural qualities of her skin and, as a result, produced somewhat of a character driven portrait. But given her personality and the pose she struck I think that’s quite appropriate.
I positioned this dear lady in front of the open doorway to emphasize the shape of her head and the contrast between her mid tone skin and very light colored hair.
While the process of making this photo of a beautiful granny was completed within a few moments, I felt confident I'd started the day well with a memorable interaction and by making a strong image.