Faces of Children: Travel And Girls Portrait Photography Ideas

This “Faces of Children” photo collection wishes to show portrait photography ideas, some of them perhaps unique and fresh for some travel photographers. At the sight of the approaching foreigner with camera in hand, children’s emotions can go from very curious to bewildered, like aliens just landed and even a daydreaming trance.

It is a mix of people’s skill, a friendly demeanor, a non-threatening looking camera, appropriate and culturally acceptable clothing, friendly body language to name a few factors, that can aid in taking natural pictures that tell a story.

Often times there are only a few seconds to compose the image. Due to the language barrier, any more time spent setting up a shot could easily make the photographer seem nervous, indecisive and conjure up uneasy feelings in the subjects. When in doubt, showing the just shot images to children is a well established, effective ice breaker.

Travel portrait photography of Cambodian girl hiding her face

I love how this Cambodian girl is hiding her face and could not care less about my presence. This “fly on the wall” situation is a rare occurrence, but I accept these dismissive interactions with great appreciation.

The red and green colors are always great together (being color opposites on the color wheel) and the soft light of the open shade makes these colors even more saturated.

Street portrait photography of whimsical Vietnamese girl in Chau Doc

It is possible to walk down the street and arrive at the right doorway at the right time to find whimsical moments and compositions. The expression of the Vietnamese girl is priceless, the background is dark so she stands out well, the subtle color of the dress is not too loud and distracting.

Portrait photography of smiling Vietnamese little girl

Some random street photography subjects can often turn out to have amazing emotional range and confidence, even if the interaction only takes a few seconds. It’s hard for any travel photographer with a heart not to smile and signal non-verbal encouragement which in turn is transferred to the next frame.

Travel portrait photography of Vietnamese girl in pink dress

I was so happy with the above images that I decided to do the unthinkable and try to recreate something that was pure spontaneity. This time in a pink dress but the same friendly, curious Vietnamese little girl. Great soft light again in the open shade, excellent muted colored background, and a confident and engaging eye contact that undoubtedly will effect many viewers.

Portrait photography of Cambodian girl in beautiful lighting of open shade

Cambodian girl photographed in a very poor neighborhood in beautiful lighting of open shade. Some amazing natural lighting can be found if the street photographer knows where to look. That is one half of what is needed; the other is a confident, intelligent subject.

Faces of children in Vietnam – street photography on Phu Quoc Island

Random street photography of a confident Vietnamese girl. I fond the brightly painted bars on the window interesting in the background. They are drawing lines pointing towards the face of the main subject. The color palette is also nice and in harmony with the mood of the little girl.

Travel portrait photography of confident stoic Vietnamese girl

Confident and stoic will always result in eye catching images, no matter the age of the portrait photography subject. Standing on the desk of her mother in a sewing shop, this Vietnamese girl was even taller than me, which allowed for the creation of a unique – for children photography – upward vantage point. The strong illumination coming from the street created a flattering side-lighting, adding a nice 3D effect to the portrait.

Travel portrait photography of Hmong Vietnamese girl in red jacket

The colors red and green being on the opposite sides of the color wheel can create a visually appealing color scheme. Add soft lighting, coming from the overcast sky (nature’s soft box) and a curious and intelligent flower Hmong little girl with huge dark eyes.

Formal portrait photography of Cambodian girl in poverty

While poor neighborhoods can affect the travel photographer emotionally, there is still joy and fun to be found. Some of this fun is the result of the arrival of a strange looking traveler with a camera hanging from the neck. A lot of funny situations can unfold in a matter of seconds, from mayhem to an impromptu formal portrait photography session.
This Cambodian girl grabbed a leaf and stood against the blank wall of a simple house, posing as she might have seen it in magazines or on tv.

Portrait photography of Cambodian child in poverty with innocent face

Kids in poverty are heart-wrenching but if the travel photographer has a positive frame of mind, and can show dignity instead of pity, meaningful portraits can be taken.

Although some people say that people in poverty need jobs and education and not charity, I ignore that type of self-righteous thinking and often buy lunch for my travel photography subjects. With the language barrier, street portrait photography may not take more than a few seconds per subject so being able to sit down and have a meal is not only fulfilling to a hungry child but quite meaningful for the always-on-the-go photographer as well.

Travel portrait photography of impoverished Cambodian girl in Kampong Cham

A certain beauty can be found throughout impoverished neighborhoods. For some time I was undecided how to capture this. Glamorizing poor neighborhoods is false reporting but ignoring the “there is beauty everywhere” phenomenon would be also a disservice. For me the best frame of mind to approach this dilemma in, is to just show up and record what I see without any pre-planning or bias.

Street portrait photography of bandaged Cambodian girl

Hopefully my sudden appearance around the corner put a healing smile onto the face of this bandaged up Cambodian girl, in the coastal town of Kampot (the pepper capital of Cambodia).

Portrait photography of beautiful Vietnamese teenager in conical hat

A quintessential – postcard perfect – Vietnamese face, under the traditional conical hat. This 16 year old girl greeted our intercity bus at a dusty stop, with food to sell to passengers.

Street portrait photography of Vietnamese communist pioneer girl with red necktie

It was time for a flashback to when I was a pioneer in Communist Hungary and was wearing the same red necktie. Although I edit out 99% of photos where people show the peace sign, this had to make it in – for old time’s sake.

Travel portrait photography of Hmong little girl with pigtails

Cute street portrait of a Hmong little girl with pigtails. Great soft lighting in open shade, non-descriptive background, and another “aliens just landed” stare that most travel photographers are familiar with in foreign countries and off the beaten path.

Portrait photography of Vietnamese Cham ethnic little girl with protective haircut

Through very broken English I was told that this little girl often times used to be ill and this haircut is to protect her health.

Cambodian Cham little girl photographed with unique haircut

I liked this porch so much that I wanted to include more colors. This is standard practice though, when a promising situation presents itself, shooting as many variations as possible is a great way to maximize the number of successful images at the end of the day.

Impromptu street portrait photography of Hmong girl in Bac Ha

A very simple color palette presented itself for this impromptu street portrait of a flower Hmong hill tribe girl.

School portrait photography of Hmong girl in red shirt

There was mayhem as soon as I was spotted entering this flower Hmong elementary school. There were no teachers around this late in the afternoon and dozens of kids were screaming and running from me, just to gather around me again and run again screaming. Considering these circumstances, I was lucky to get a few normal portraits where the kids weren’t sprinting full speed.

Street portrait of Vietnamese student in Ninh Binh

A Vietnamese student dressed in a neatly kept outfit. In less touristy towns the people’s demeanor is very different from tourist traps. Both locations can yield successful images but there are better chances for natural portraits when photographing off the beaten track.

Travel portrait photography of Cambodian girl from poor neighborhood

Sometimes I try to employ classic portrait photography compositions like this three quarter shot of this Cambodian girl from poor neighborhood. I never ask anyone to turn their heads in a certain way but if the pose or angle is there, I will definitely capture it.

Faces of poverty: Afghan Girl portrait concept with Cambodian girl

My own – unintentional – “Afghan Girl” concept that just happened and I was not thinking about the famous national Geographic photograph.

Sunny smiling travel portrait of Cambodian girl from impoverished neighborhood

Even if life could be improved a great deal, at least a strange looking travel photographer may put a smile or two on the faces of children. Sunny portrait taken outside Kampong Cham just before sunset.

Travel portrait photography of Cambodian girl with big innocent eyes

Even though there were smiling pictures from this Cambodian girl as well, I chose this one to show here.

Street portrait photography of Cambodian girl in animal print shirt

An unexpected fashion statement makes this street portrait pop!

Street portrait photography of posing Vietnamese girl in Ha Tien

Even though the pose is influenced by – perhaps – fashion magazines, the effort is commendable. Especially knowing how poor this neighborhood is just outside Ha Tien, Vietnam.

Urban street portrait photography of poised Vietnamese girl in coat

The grown-up style tailoring of the coat makes this photo visually interesting for me. This is by no means a typical Vietnamese style but it works when juxtaposed against the poise of this girl. Perhaps a trendsetter fashionista in the making.

Faces of children: moody flower Hmong girl in Bac Ha, Vietnam

These faces become quite comical, after seen a few dozen times and it is hard not to laugh, which would not be the best or most polite response. But the younger these flower Hmong children get the less interaction they have had with foreigners. So it is understandable that this region may not produce memory cards full of keeper images.