As a portrait/fashion photographer I worl a lot with fashion models & extensive light setups. There are so many things to keep in mind from adjusting the lights, colors, poses, emotion, …

Not only the photography is extensive but you also post process the pictures to get that high quality standard customers expect like removing wrinckles from fabric like satin.

Once in a while you get the opportunity to make different kind of pictures of people just lit by ambient light. You check the compostion, the light & you take the shot. A lot of professional photographers photographing this kind of style use 50mm lenses as they get very close with the subject (persons). The reason is to get that expression you do not get when you shoot from a further distance but these candid shots are most of the time very good because you photograph these persons as they are, looking relaxed and very natural. Once they know you take a picture the photo looks much different.

This photo was taken in Addis Abeba at the cementery. An old Ethiopian woman walking towards the exit. I made sure she saw me and asked her if it was OK to take a quick shot.

Back home I post processed this photo in Capture One Pro 22. It only took a few minutes. I mainly added contrast & strcuture and used Lumi masks to Dodge & Burn.

Sony A1

Sony G 24-105 f/4 (at f/4)

1/200

ISO 100

Natural light.

Photo below, after en before.