Expressions of the Akha Tribe

[yehosaphat]

Hello all, just came back from a mission trip to ChiangRai where we spent a number of days living and reaching out to the people of the Akha Tribe, a monority group in Thailand. Experienced some of the most enriching time there with these people and of all ages.

Shot over 600+ pics there but just reproduced a few here first on some moments of expression of them. Your kind criticisms pls on how these can be improved.

1)


2)


3)

[yehosaphat]

The kids there were no different from any of us. Innocent and playful

4)


5)


6)

[yehosaphat]

And when the time comes, it was a time of peace and of prayer

7)


8)

[yehosaphat]

Just to add, I haven got the time to process the pics yet, so these are straight from the SLR. Hope to hear some constructive comments

[eikin]

interesting series, as the pictures are mostly focussed on individuals, it'll help if there're some little captions relating to the character in each picture.

white balance for 7 and 8 seems unnatural.

[yehosaphat]

Thanks for your comments. AWB have been used for these shots.

Any other rooms for improvement in terms of composition, metering, DOF, etc

[eikin]

i think DOF and metering are ok, as for composition, since you mentioned that you haven't started processing them, why not share with the rest what you intend to do with the framing? no point telling you what you already have in mind isn't it?

[sclau19]

#5 n #7 looks good with their expression captured imo. Guess its must been a good trip for u.

[yehosaphat]

Originally Posted by eikin i think DOF and metering are ok, as for composition, since you mentioned that you haven't started processing them, why not share with the rest what you intend to do with the framing? no point telling you what you already have in mind isn't it?

Hmm... I thought in terms of composition, a photographer should already have in mind what he or she intends to take, frame it, and there after to take that shot? At least for me it is this way.

So in terms of processing, it would just be touching up finishes like saturation and curves and not major cropping that affects the overall framing... so you can safely comment based on these compositions...

And thanks for your comments so far

[yehosaphat]

Originally Posted by sclau19 #5 n #7 looks good with their expression captured imo. Guess its must been a good trip for u.

Thanks... yup it was a good trip n refreshing for the soul

[yehosaphat]

Any other comments?

[Liew]

i like no.6 if it's a little wider.

[bladehamster]

Maybe you can try taking people/candids in different angles/perspective. Eg. Your #4, #6 shot.

The rest of your shots are "conventional". Maybe you can also try
to capture the facial expression which are more dramatic/closeup eg. Old lady with alot of wrinkles praying.

Just my humble opinion

[yehosaphat]

Thanks Liew for your comments. I guess having a wider view would lead to less focus in the main subject which is the boy... perhaps I should crop out the left most girl?

Thanks bladehamster too for your comments. Can elaborate like what are the different angles/perspectives?

[bladehamster]

Different angles/perpectives like for example...

- Focusing on rosary beads on a table while a child is praying ( out of focus ) in a distance away.
- Shooting from downwards up, from the side, of a child praying, with some interesting background to fillup.

Just 2 i can think of now, have to be really there on the spot to really find the right angle to shoot

Just my humble 2 cents

[zac08]

With the backlight and the short DOF, the pics do look a lil like super-imposed. Esp #1

As for the rest, they look more like snapshots. Compose them with a view in mind, that way you'd be able to get the mood for the shots.

[yehosaphat]

Originally Posted by zac08 With the backlight and the short DOF, the pics do look a lil like super-imposed. Esp #1 As for the rest, they look more like snapshots. Compose them with a view in mind, that way you'd be able to get the mood for the shots.

thanks for your comments zac08. Will bear that in mind

[Reliance]

Can you give more background on the trip?

Is it a religious missionary trip?

And which part of Chiangrai is this?

[yehosaphat]

Dear all due to sensitivity of this topic, I would like the interested parties to PM instead on the background on my trip... other than that pls feel free to fire away your comments!