100 Strangers : Round 4 : No. 381 : Laura  by phil_howcroft

100 Strangers : Round 4 : No. 381 : Laura

I took the bus to the south of the river today, to check out the charity shops for vintage lenses. On the way back I had a quick walk around Hockley and then diverted along George Street. I walked past a shop with an open door and saw Laura sat inside the shop. As I turned the corner I thought she would make a great stranger. So I walked past the open door again and glimpsed inside.

“Yes” I thought "a fabulous stranger. What do I do though? I’ve walked past twice and not caught the eye of any of the people inside the shop".

“I’m going to have to stick my head inside the door and ask for a photo”…

Is it rude?” I thought. “No it’s not, I’m always polite and courteous” So I did an about turn again and walked to the front door.

“Hi, I wonder if you could help me? I’m an amateur photographer. I do street photography and photograph people I meet. I was walking past the shop and saw your tattoos and thought you’d be fabulous to photograph. Is it Ok to take some photos of you?”

With that the ice was broken and Laura said “Yes of course”

“Can you stand in the doorway please, the light will be better?”

I introduce myself to Laura.

“They will be nice photos”

I ask Laura to change poses a couple of times and she follows my guidance.

“Do you work here or are you a Customer?”

“Yes I work here”

I then ask what type of shop it is ( I was concentrating on asking Laura for a shot I didn’t look to see what the shop was !!!)

“It is a tattoo studio”

“Are you a tattooist?”

“No I do piercings”

“Ahh right”

I than Laura for the shots and ask if I can post the images online.

“Is the shop on Instagram?”

“Yes we are”

“OK I will tag your photos to the shop”

I’m really pleased with the photos, using the doorway to create a frame within a frame and shooting wide open has created some amazing portraits of Laura.

https://www.lunacollective.co.uk
Wonderful story and portrait! I think you could probably write some pretty good dialog for movies or TV shows, my friend. =)
July 11th, 2023  
@marlboromaam awww thank you Mags . That is so kind of you to say !
July 11th, 2023  
A very striking capture of Laura….showing off her amazing tattoos. Wonder if it hurts on her head like that?
July 11th, 2023  
@happypat I don't know Pat , maybe it hurt at first , It was impossible not to take Laura's photo :)
July 11th, 2023  
She’s quite a striking looking lady. Great story.
July 11th, 2023  
Great light and a wonderful portrait. Laura should be thrilled with this.
July 11th, 2023  
@carole_sandford she is Carole and a fabulous smile too
July 11th, 2023  
@dide I hope she is Diane :)
July 11th, 2023  
Beautiful lady and great narrative
July 11th, 2023  
This is terrific Phil, great portrait, story and smile. You are so daring to just walk in like that!
July 11th, 2023  
Great light and striking looking woman with her tattoos , but what struck me is that beautiful , direct and contagious smile !
July 11th, 2023  
Great read and great portrait. Very striking.
July 11th, 2023  
@annied thanks Annie , so kind of you

@busylady lol Judith , as for daring , I sort of told myself Laura would say yes , so went for it !!!

@beryl beryl you are right the smile is amazing , Laura was having some banter with her work colleagues

@tiaj1402 tia, thank you for your visit and fabulous words , much appreciated
July 11th, 2023  
You meet some interesting people in Nottingham, England - we don't quite have them like this in Toronto, Canada. (a bit freakish I would say)
July 11th, 2023  
Great portrait with piercings and tattoos and story
July 11th, 2023  
Great portrait, lovely smile.
July 11th, 2023  
It's a fabulous photo. Laura is a striking young woman. I admire your approach and your skills in putting people at ease.
July 12th, 2023  
She has a great smile, and it’s so nicely composed!
July 12th, 2023  
Wonderful portrait.
July 12th, 2023  
She has a great smile and it’s a lovely, relaxed portrait
July 12th, 2023  
Fabulous narrative and a great shot of this lovely lady.
July 12th, 2023  
@happypat @phil_howcroft In answer to Pat's query about having the tattoo done on her head - yes, it may well have been rather painful.
I have three small tattoos, one on my upper arm, two just above my ankle bones. The one on my arm - a fleshy part of the body - wasn't markedly painful; the two above my ankles - where there's not much 'padding' - hurt quite a lot.
The sensation of pain is a very subjective thing, so I can't tell you Laura's experience but I think it's fair to say that, generally speaking, tattoos on parts of the body where there's little or no padding are comparatively more painful in the execution than those on fleshy parts of the anatomy.
In my experience, once the needling's done the area's not really painful and any discomfort is short-lived.
The tattoo artist who did mine told me that the process of colouring the tattoo is more painful for the client than the initial outlining (mine are little more than outlines).
Bit waffly there, sorry! :-D
July 12th, 2023  
It's very obvious that Laura was happy to pose for you; that open, friendly, relaxed smile says it all. Another fab portrait for your project, Phil.
July 12th, 2023  
Very relaxed and beautiful portrait, Phil!
July 12th, 2023  
Wonderful shot
July 12th, 2023  
Great portrait, Phil. Laura has such a happy face and a melting smile and you captured both excellently.
July 12th, 2023  
Brilliant portrait!
July 12th, 2023  
Very nice
July 12th, 2023  
Fab portrait
July 12th, 2023  
Great look.
July 12th, 2023  
She is very striking and has a lovely smile
July 12th, 2023  
Wonderful experience, capture and love that smile!
July 13th, 2023  
Nice shot as ever Phil.Any luck with the vintage lenses.I have just bought my first a Pentacon 50mm and am looking forward to delivery soon
July 13th, 2023  
@delboy207 DEl , the pentacon delivers fabulous photos , there were lots produced , it focusses quite close up , so can be used for macro work . I have a few of them in my collection :)
July 13th, 2023  
a very striking portrait.
July 16th, 2023  
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