In the July edition of Better Photography, we challenged our readers to photograph portraits that convey human emotions in a captivating manner, with the theme ‘Compelling Portraits’. We received a lot of fantastic entries, which you can see here. Without further ado, here are the honourable mentions, and the winner of the contest.
Honourable Mentions
Photograph/Amith Nag, Bengaluru
Pure Joy
“Back in 2011, I was photographing Ganesha idol sheds in Mavalli, Bengaluru. I entered a small bylane, when I found this little girl playing with her cat. I asked her to pose with it, when her mother, who was standing behind me, said something funny. The girl burst out laughing, and I immediately made a photo of her innocent expression.”
Camera: Canon EOS 550D
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutterspeed: 1/800sec
ISO: 800
Photograph/Hitesh Chhabra, Mumbai
Curious Gazers
“I had an opportunity to visit Ladakh last year, where I went for a photography workshop. I spotted these children at the Turtuk village, and I noticed their contrasting expressions. The baby was looking directly at me, and I made a picture. The overall picture gives me a sense of calm.”
Camera: Nikon D610
Lens: Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8G
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutterspeed: 1/320sec
ISO: 800
Photograph/Suvankar Chowdhury, Howrah
Waiting their Turn
“Despite being illegal and unethical, rooster fights are still prevelant in many places in India. I was in a small village in the Hoogly district in West Bengal, where a bout was taking place. I spotted this man, who sat with his rooster, waiting for his turn to fight. His determined expression prompted me to get low on the ground and capture his portrait.”
Camera: Canon EOS 1000D
Lens: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Aperture: f/8
Shutterspeed: 1/125sec
ISO: 100
Photograph/Utpal Roy, Kolkata
Divine Light
“This picture is part of my documentation of the Vedic Ashram Vidyalaya in Howrah. I shot this early in the morning in the kitchen area, where this child was waiting to be assigned some work. The light streaming through the exhaust area and the boy’s expression gives me a sense of peace and divinity. ”
Camera: Nikon D3200
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18–55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutterspeed: 1/30sec
ISO: 100
And the Winner Is…
Photograph/Aritra Ray, Kolkata
The Stare
“During the Gajon festival in Krishnadevpur in West Bengal, villagers dress up as various Hindu deities to celebrate. This gentleman was dressed as Goddess Kali, and there was a certain fire in his eyes. Using a wide aperture helped me emphasise on just his eyes.”
Camera: Nikon D3100
Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutterspeed: 1/125sec
ISO: 200
Congratulations to our winner and the honourable mentions. Want to see your photo published in the magazine? Take part in our next Your Pictures contest – Monsoon Elements - and you could be the chosen one!