Stranger 113 - Milan - a photo on Flickriver

It's been a while since I last posted a stranger portrait but I had an hour to kill before meeting a friend and I was near a great backdrop in an alleyway just of Oxford Street where there was plenty of footfall. It turned out that all I needed to look around and there Milan was standing there knitting a scarf (I will share that picture later). I approached her and gave my spiel and she was game.

Milan is originally from Zimbabwe but has lived in London for quite a while. She would describe herself as an introvert which I would never have guessed. She maybe an introvert but she appears to me to be very comfortable in her own skin.

After the portrait, I explained to Milan my question chain and asked Rory's question (Stranger 112 - flic.kr/p/w9ApBe) which as "What make's you you?"

I am paraphrasing but she essentially said that her uniqueness makes her what she is. Hence the colours and the knitting in public. She was called strange and weird but she has learnt to embrace and love who she is. My favourite quote from her was:

"I rock me like no one else can"

I actually spent quite a bit of time with her and learnt that she has been playing Violin for a year and that has helped with her confidence and in training her ear. I also found out what she was doing for her scarf was crochet and that it would take 50 hours in total for her to complete the scarf (she was 12 hours in).

If I was to cc myself I wish I dug a little deeper as I always worry about prying to much.

In terms of the portrait I tried a few things with just natural light, then adding a reflector underneath and then slightly to the side. This worked best for me as it added the direction of light I wanted.

I have recently purchased a book called "Picture, Perfect Posing" by Roberto Venezuela which is simple awesome and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn posing. I learnt in the first chapter about posing the spine (yes its that detailed!). I got her to pull her shoulders back, and breathe in for some of the portraits which helped to elongate her. I can't remember if I did it on this particular shot but when you rock a smile like Milan does you only have one choice. And expression for me takes precedence over anything else.

Milan's question for the next stranger: "What was your dream 10 years ago/when you were younger. Are you living it now or do you think it might rewaken at some point.

Another great question which I look forward to asking my next stranger.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on my facebook page: Shooting the Streets

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

And now for a blatant plug: for tips on finding and approaching stranger portraits check out my latest blog:

www.arnabkghosal.com/blog

Taken on: September 4, 2015

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100 Strangers

Arnab Ghosal

Faces

People

Portrait

Shootingthestreets

Strangers

Street Portraits

arnabkghosal

www.arnabghosal.com

www.arnabkghosal.com

D610

85mm

1.8

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Sets appears in: • Street Portraits - For WS • 100 Strangers Round 2

Groups appears in: • Nikon Digital • !Catchy Colors more » • One Face @ a Time ~ Street Portraiture • Can I take your picture? • Bokeh: Smooth & Silky • 100 Strangers • Nikon Digital Learning Center • Can I take your photo? • City Street Portraits • Nikon Europe Group • Prime Lens Portraits • Fstoppers • FroKnowsPhoto.com • Portraits and Faces • Colour Street Portraits of People • Digital SLR Photography Magazine • City Street Fashion • Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G • Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G • Digital Camera World • Nikon D600/D610 CLUB • Photography Week • * ❤ SOLO RITRATTI / PORTRAITS ❤ Admin Invite only P1/C2 « less

Camera: Nikon D610, f/1.8, 1/200 sec, 85mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D610
Lens:	85.0 mm f/1.8
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	85mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Portrait
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.1.1 (Windows)
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