Ghana: Seven Years Ago

In 2008 I traveled to Ghana to do an NGO shoot for Freedom From Hunger. A few days ago, while reviewing old photos and organizing my Lightroom catalogs, I re-visited some of my 2008 work.  Several images which previously didn’t catch my eye, attracted my attention this time around.

Children are often easy photographic subjects to work with due to their innate curiosity, playfulness and the way they seem to be comfortable and natural in front of the camera. When arriving at a village or other location with the task of capturing images for an NGO client, I begin by playfully engaging the children. Once the kids are comfortable having their photographs made, adolescents and adults seem more open to having their portraits made too. Often times, one or more children seem to attract my attention, generally because a particular “look” or “emotion” which they exhibit and/or because they have particularly beautiful eyes and facial features. While walking around the area I also look for images like the one of the woman walking down the alleyway. Photos of people walking towards, or away from the camera, can be quite useful (by my NGO clients), especially when the foot position is just off  of the ground which creates a feeling of motion.  Also, by  leaving some blank space, clients can add text overlays if desired.

Here are some of my favorite portraits from that 2008 Ghana shoot for Freedom From Hunger. Of all the photographs shot during that assignment, the ones that I enjoy the most are the black and white lead image at the beginning of the blog post and the two at the end, of the same child. That child in particular, exhibited a range of emotions..  The fact that her face was framed by her hands (in one shot) and the hands and arms of a sibling behind her framed her face in the other shots, seemed to make her portrait a bit more interesting.

Enjoy.