Portrait Hunting

I've been engaged lately with work on my MA and haven't had much enthusiasm for shooting portraits.  I have managed, though, to find the nerve to begin approaching people and asking for photos.  A few of these are included here.  As with most things of this kind, I found my fear to be greater than the reality.  No one has yet turned me down.  On the other hand, you may note there is only one image of a woman, and this I took without permission.

P&P: Exercise 1: Scale and Setting

I signed up for P&P in July.  I finally took my first portrait yesterday.  It has taken me that long to find someone I felt comfortable asking.

VJ is a nice guy, easily approachable, and I felt if anyone would agree it would be him.  He didn't exactly jump at the chance, but he agreed, and I got my first images.  While photographing he appeared self-conscious.  Other people were around and may have noticed.  The same was true of SH.  I've seen him about before, but I don’t believe we've ever spoken.  I approached and chatted him up a bit, flattered him on his dress, and then asked if I could take his photo.  Here is a good reason I don’t like this:  I would never have mentioned his appearance except as an inducement to get him to agree to being photographed.  Not that I was dishonest about his appearance,  I genuinely did appreciate it.  But it's not something I typically mention to anyone.  SH laughed nervously and ignored my request.  He relented after I requested a second time, but he was obviously uncomfortable, perhaps especially so as three women were off to the left chatting and paying attention.

However - after showing the images to the subjects, they both asked for copies!  Hopefully they will approve of the processed results.