Mother and Son
Mother and Baby goes to a Bhutanese monastery for a blessing
Mother and Baby goes to a Bhutanese monastery for a blessing
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Aug, 2014Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Bhutan. This mother and child was visiting the Changangka Temple in Thimphu, the oldest temple in the capital of Bhutan. I was with a group of photography enthusiasts exploring the wonderful country of Bhutan and each day, we get to meet and interact with these wonderful locals. This particular shot was taken indoors with very little light except for the light coming in from the natural light of an opening from the left side of the room and a small door on the right.Time
This shot was taken in the mid morning around 11am, despite what my timestamp says as I keep on forgetting to change the timezone when I travel.Lighting
We were hanging out at the temple the entire morning, the sun outside was harsh as it was nearing noon, but the indoor area was not lit at all. The walls were grey and parts of the structure were all made of wood. The mother and child were standing in front of a giant prayer wheel that sat at the dark corner of the indoor area. The only light came from the left side a bit behind me which created a diagonal angle which lit her face, her baby's face and her colorful attire she had on. There is also a small door on the right that brought a bit of light as well.Equipment
I was using my Panasonic GF-5 with a 20mm pancake lens at F1.7 with a negative 0.3 exposure compensation to balance the harsh light coming in from outdoors. This shot was taken handheld.Inspiration
First of all, I was amazed with the local people in Bhutan. Being the happiest country in the world, I was interested in knowing more about them. When we were hanging out at the temple that morning, we saw her come in to do her rounds at the prayer wheel and after that, she paused there with her baby wrapped in their traditional attire. She stood here seemingly as curious with us as we were with her. Our group asked permission to take a photograph of her and her baby. I was pretty close to her with my 20mm lens but because I had a live view screen, I took a few minutes to build that personal connection without having to hide behind my camera. She stood there a bit shy but curious, and I saw a smile in her eyes and a certain sense of peace in her face. I also saw the innocence of the baby's face sitting at her back which gave the perfect mother and child shot.Editing
I shoot in RAW so I just did the usual post-processing. For this shot, I had to lift shadows a bit, and kicked up clarity and vibrance, but other than that, there were no particular enhancements made.In my camera bag
My main camera is actually my Nikon D5300 but for this particular shot, I used my Panasonic as I wanted to try out my 20mm f/1.7 to see how it handles the challenging lighting environment.Feedback
Make use of the natural light to make a shot pop. And with portraits like this, try to build a connection with your subject before you shoot. Don't rush to make the shot. Ask permission, smile, nod, make eye contact, especially if you're visiting a country where you don't know the language. Make your subject as comfortable as possible. Most often than not, the few seconds before and after their intended pose will give you the best shots.
