When two umbrellas meet

Funny how a day of shooting pictures can turn out: I shot this picture on a plantation tour in Java. While the other members of the group were being instructed on the life of the cacao bean and the origin of vanilla sticks, I had wandered off (again) and found myself making this picture of a young Muslim girl.

Because the girl’s own umbrella put her face in a shadow, I chose to fight her umbrella with mine

While her mother held my white flash umbrella, through which I shot an SB-900, I just had to press the shutter and focus on composing. I like to ask bystanders to figure as Voice Activated Lightstands. It involves them in the process and it always attracts a crowd, which can be an interesting supply of new faces to photograph.

I ducked down deep to make sure the umbrella filled the entire background and to make sure that the lens (and hence the viewer) would not look down on the girl, as is often the case with pictures of kids made by people who are taller than them. I have a couple of pictures of the girl looking straight in the lens, but I prefer this one. You can see the catchlight of the flash umbrella in her eyes.