Here's another of my street portraits from the 100 Strangers meet up in Shoreditch / Brick Lane. I'm not following any particular chronological order with these pictures and I was very bad in not having anything to make notes with and therefore forgot a lot of names. The couple of glasses of wine in the pub with fellow photographers had noting to do with that, honest!

Anyway I saw Gabriele here sitting at a table with a friend outside a coffee shop in Shoreditch. I loved her hat and thought was keen to see how I could make a background out of a shop window across the street. When I approached to ask I noticed she had a very cool old 35mm SLR with her. A REAL camera. Needless to say she was up for helping out a fellow photographer.

I was still using Arnab's 70-200mm lens. Normally I avoid zooms but I really enjoyed the control I was able to exert over the background with it. I'm glad that I've shot with primes and really got my head around how zooms affect the background though as I think that is essential knowledge.

If you're not sure, and you have access to a couple of different focal length lenses then try this... (don't be put off it you don't get this, it took me ages to get my head around it).

Start on the shortest focal length available, say 18mm. stand someone in the middle of a quiet street, frame them in your view finder about the same as I have Gabriele here, maybe allow a little more space around the top and sides. The take a snap. Then change to the next level up, do the same making absolutely sure to frame your subject in exactly the same position in the view finder, with the same amount of space to the top and sides. Use the grid lines in the view finder if you have them. Then move up to the next level and repeat till you've used the whole range of lenses. Say for example, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, 200mm, 300mm.

You don't have to make world class portraits and it doesn't matter if you use primes or one or two zoom lenses. What's important is to frame the subject exactly the same.

The put the pictures up on a screen and scroll through them. Look at the background in each picture.

So if you want to know what happens, I'm not telling. Try it, you'll learn better that way :-) Or if you really want to cheat look on Youtube where you'll find a number of people who've done the heavy lifting for you.

If you like my work, please take a look at my Facebook page and my website.

This story starts in Burford, the "Gateway to the Cotswalds" and ends in Oxford.

We were on holiday and sadly coming towards the end. I had resolved to get at least one street portrait but so far had come up with nothing. We had arrived in Burford with the intention of staying there and maybe doing some walks. However, as soon as we got there we weren't feeling it. Luckily we had not booked anything so we decided to move on to Oxford.

Once we arrived in Oxford we had a lovely walk around this very picturesque university city. We got to a map and were deciding where to walk net when a guy with a tripod called Tim approached us and just started chatting. It turns out he is the CEO of a photo editiong app called expodo and he kindly gave us some tips on where to find interesting people.

The location he suggested was Cowley road and very quickly I saw Cathy walk out of a bar with a piece of paper in her had on the opposite side of the road. To my luck she crossed over. and I carried on walking until I found a half decent backdrop and approached her.

She was hesitant at first but agreed to a portrait, but not before telling me that she had just secured a job at the bar she had just came out of. She later told me that she was by herself in university digs and she was over the moon to be asked. I was over the moon that she agreed.

It's moments like this that make me so happy to continue on this project.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

This was my second street portrait of the day and it was great to get out and about on a what felt like the first sunny day in a long time.

As was my usual issue, I had already let a number of potential subjects go but I was encouraged by my wife to get at least one more and this encouraged me to ask Briony who was in Brick Lane returning a shirt for her mum.

She is a university student studying Biomedical sciences in London.

In terms of the shot, because this was a case of seeing the subject first, I quickly had to find a good backdrop and thought the colour of the walls on the left would contrast nicely against the greens and yellows of her clothes.

The second decision was to go backlit which is always brings a depth to street portrait which I love. I held my trusty tri-grip reflector to bounce some light back into her face too.

When you do backlit portraits you always have to contend with flare into the lens and given the quick nature of these portraits, I knew that this would be something I would deal with in post production. So playing with the curves and levels and brought back the contrast to a level that I liked to end up with this finished portrait.

Thanks so much Briony for being kind enough share a bit of your time with me.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

I was hoping to complete the second round of the 100 strangers project this last weekend, but alas it wasn’t to be.

However, I was able to find 199 and that was Crystal. I met her in Soho and she very kindly agreed to a portrait. Luckily I had a spot in mind where there was great light accentuated with a reflector.

Crystal was chilling on a warm Saturday afternoon and had been to the Hayward gallery..

Thanks very much Crystal for being my penultimate stranger in this 2nd round of the project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Shooting out in Leicester with @UrbanScott. This was my favourite of the day.

Ok so this was one of those small world moments but I did not know it at the time...

Urban Scot and I had met up last weekend and went out onto Portobello Road, mainly catching up, but also with the hope of taking some portraits of strangers.

Lucy was my second portrait of the day and the reason I asked her was of her style. Her hat game was strong :-)

Lucy with her beaming smile agreed to my request.

and with Peter's help (reflector duty), we took a series of portraits down a side road where it was a little quieter. There were more options for a variety of portraits.

Chatting with her I found out that she worked in TV and was just meeting friends that weekend as well as chilling out in the market.

So where does the small world come in? Well, my wife was looking at her cover image on instagram and noticed a Mate cup and asked me if she was Argentinian (drinking Mate is a very popular cultural pastime in Argentina). I said that judging by her name and accent that she wasn't.

Looking a little deeper into her instagram page, it turned out that she had spent some time in Buenos Aires. What was even more interesting was that she not only knew, but is good friends with a group of ladies who did Street Photography courses in Buenos Aires. My love of street photography and, more importantly, street portraits came directly as a result of these courses.

It's encounters like these that make me love getting out on the streets and engaging with them for this project.

Thanks very much for this portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

So it's been a minute but I am finally back with another 100 stranger portrait.

It was a lovely day in London yesterday and we decided to go on a long work. I decided to make sure I took the camera out of the back for once and am so glad I did as I was able to take this stranger portrait.

This one was interesting because it was literally in the middle of the busy high street in Greenwich and as soon as I took the camera out the sun came out which was not ideal.

At first I positioned her so I was backlit but I was not happy with the outcome as the lighting was not working for me as well as the posing.

Just by turning around facing her into the direct sun (doable as she was wearing shades) and it all fell into place.

We shared instagram handles but I didn't get to ask her name as the person she was meeting arrived and I did not want to take too much of their time.

Thanks very much for this portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

Follow me on Instagram at @arnabkghosal

STRANGER 200!!!!

I made it. I am always looking for the perfect balance of stranger, location and light and I was even more keen to do so given this would be my 200th Stranger.

After searching for 3 days (including a few rejections) I finally found Elle having a chat with her friend Heather. She was in this psychedelic jumpsuit and so the scene was set for me to ask. Of course, things wouldn't be right without me bottling it once and walking straight past. However, I strengthened my resolve walked around the block and thankfully when I returned they were still there. I was rusty with my request but they were excited to be a part of my project.

I asked them to pop round to a street round the corner. And took a few shots in classic 100 strangers style which you see here. I also have a few full length shots which I will share later.

Elle is local to the Shoreditch area in which we took this shot and is a musician herself. One of the very reasons that she loves the area is things like this happen.

Looking back I started round 2 of this project in May 2015, so its taken me a while to get to this stage with the pandemic putting a temporary break on my "sprint" to the finish.

It has always and will continue to be an amazing experience. The reason for why it's taken so long is threefold. Firstly my usual fear of approaching strangers is still there. However, that has been combined with the need to maintain a standard of my previous portraits and has meant that if I didn't find the perfect combination of stranger, location and light then I found it easier to let it go. In addition life has also got in the way.

I will probably do a post to reflect more deeply on the project however I know that in this round 2 I have successfully incorporated using more of the environment in a number of my portraits, incorporated of camera flash to give a high level of production but when it comes down to it, I am still in love with the close in portrait.

I will give more of my thoughts in a discussion thread but for now that's round 2 over and done. Adios

Thanks so much Elle for being apart of my project and especially being my 200th stranger . Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

I really enjoyed shooting Lisa Bent's inaugural event under her "Self Central" Banner which is all about strengthening, empowering and transforming individuals from the inside out.

I managed to grab Lisa away from her duties for a little while and was able to get some great portraits of her. This one I particularly liked because I think it embodies the inner strength that Self Central is all about.

Thanks Lisa for an inspirational talk.

Strobist info - Nissin Di866 Flash in a 28 inch apollo softbox camera right. This matched the window light coming in from the window also camera right but gave better lighting on her face

For more portraits check out my website: www.arnabkghosal.com

Hello 100 Stranger photographers, it's been a while. You will probably not see me posting so regularly for this round of 100 strangers (not that I was prolific in the first place) but I still love doing street portraits so when I can I hope to keep capturing them.

On a sunny day in Soho, I gave myself a 15 minute deadline to approach a stranger. In 2 minutes I saw Courtniy with a friend and I approached her straight away because I loved her energy as well as her look.

She agreed straight away, and it turned out that it wasn't her friend, it was her mum.

If I am anything, I am going to try and be more spontaneous this round and not rely on all thins to be perfect before I approach a stranger - as part of the challenge has to be to get good portraits in any conditions. In this case, I decided to keep it simple and went for a clean white background (which was enhanced in post). With a little reflect action which didn't really do much other than add a sparkle to the eye, I had my portrait.

Thanks very much Courtniy (and yes that is the right spelling, like she said her name is unique like her) for being a part of this project.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

I recently had the pleasure of attending one of Caly Cook's workshops when her came to London. We covered a lot of material over two days and also got to some shooting too.

One of the takeway points was that you can get great shots using just one single hard light source. Mike Edwards who runs (www.aireyys.com/) was one of our models for the day was awesome. And with not only the help of Clay's team but also the hard work of Emma Lightbown (www.flickr.com/photos/arnabkghosal/29092569005/in/datepos...), Jesse Wright and Kristiana Zaula we all came out with some cracking shots.

I have also recently started using Capture one Pro and this one of first few edits on the program.

This was my favourite the day and if you want to find out how Mike maintains his cracking moustache check out his website.

After what has been a horribly wet and miserable winter in London, we finally got a glimpse of the sun and I didn't mess around and headed out into Portabello Road, to see if I could find some wonderful strangers.

I didn't have long to wait when I saw Marguerite walking around popping in and out of the local shops and taking an interest in the numerous street stalls around there too.

I approached her and she was very kind to allow me a few moments of her time. Of French origin, she used to be an antiques seller in the local area so was very much in here element. She also has an interest in photography and does some fine art photography herself.

In terms of the shot, this was a case of getting the vibrancy of her colourful fashion to pop and this light bluey / grey was perfect wall as complimentary colour.

Thanks Marguerite for you time. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

So this portrait was one that I actually did on a street portrait workshop with Gabrielle Motola who is an awesome street portrait photographer.

More recently I have tended to rely on the reflector a lot to ensure that I get good light on to a subject face, but Gabrielle challenged me by suggesting that I don't use it.

The second thing she challenged me to do is to take more time with the strangers which I tend not to do as I am trying to be respectful of their time. However, your subjects will either tell you or signal in some way when its time and it's your job to make the most of the encounter. This is what I tried to do with Lorena, an influencer, so I ended up taking both more fuller body shots (see the other image on my page), close ups as well this one here which I chose to showcase her style.

Thank you Lorena. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

You know your luck is in when you see a great stranger just chilling on a sunny Saturday afternoon. That is exactly what Greg was doing when I approached him for a portrait. He kindly agreed and I was able to hey this portrait of him.

It turns out that he is an actor and photographer which explains his comfort in front of the camera.

Thanks so much for being apart of my project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

During a photowalk i saw two guys recording a movie. One of them was wearing a space suit, looking very intersting. I approached them and asked what they are doing. They explained me that they made a song and now they need a video clip for it. After that it was my turn. I told them about the 100 strangers project and asked if they would participiate.

Lukas immediatly agreed, but told me that they have to hurry up, so he didn't tell me anything else about him.

Thanks for all the feedback, hints and tipps i got on my strangers #1 photograph. Will follow them when shooting #3 as this one was already taken before the first one was posted.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

Here some additional links i found interesting:

www.arnabkghosal.com/blog/2015/8/28/100-strangers-getting...

barbasboth.com/blog/street-portraiture-the-100-strangers-...

It was such a please to meet Mo on an awesome Sunday afternoon just of Brick Lane.

He was chilling on one of the side streets and was about to get a tattoo of a smiley face.

He was here for the weekend for London Pride but he was visiting from Switzerland. He had a really enjoyable time in London.

Mo kindly agreed to the portrait when I approached him and we came away with 3 different shots and this head on was easily my favourite.

Thank you Mo for sharing a bit of your time with me yesterday. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

Place check out my feed for alternative portraits of Monica

After a long day of being out and about in Soho we decided it was time for some food but not before doing a 15 minute search for a stranger to take a portrait of.

As is always the case, I saw Monica (with her friends) but no suitable backdrop. They took a turn of one of the side roads, and knowing the area so well, I knew where they would end up. I said to my wife that if we see them around the corner then I have to ask, back drop or no back drop.

We saw them again and so I kept to my work and asked her for a portrait and her eyes lit up.

Turns out Monica is a casting director and had also modelled for a brand called Cubitts which was the brand of glasses that she was wearing.

After a few shots I thanked them for their time and let them get on there way for there evening plans which was for dinner and a play.

I can't remember if she said that we lit up her day but she definitely lit up ours.

Thanks very much for this portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

After I had taken Sharzad's portrait it was time for Sophie's. She was wearing her shades as she said she wasn't photogenic. I asked her to remove the shades which then revealed her stunning eyes. I laughed to myself (and I am sure Colin did the same) as I went about taking her portrait. The set up was the same as Sharzad's portrait which you can find here and is also detailed below.

www.flickr.com/photos/arnabkghosal/18418428930/in/datepos...

Thanks very much for being a part of my project Sophie. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on my facebook page: Shooting the Streets

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Camera and Strobist info:

Nikon D610, 85mm at 1.8, SS 1/2500 and ISO 100

Nissin D1866 flash with a shoot through umbrella camera left

Triggered using the Yongnuo 622N tigger and flash controller

Hope everyone is enjoying a good end to the weekend. Recently i had the pleasure of taking portraits for the talented singer Albert Man and am pleased to be able to share them now.

Check it out on www.pledgemusic.com/albertman

Strobist Info: One Di866 Nissin Flash camera left and behind him in a apollo 28 inch soft box

Hi I am back once again with another stranger portrait the 195th. It was my second post lockdown where the aim was to get back to doing some street portraiture. I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.

As usual, I was getting up to my normal craziness and looking for perfection in term of light, stranger and backdrop. But when Dennis popped round the corner all my hesitations were out the window and I went up and approached him for a portrait. He seemed flattered to be asked and gave me a little of his time but I could sense he was in a hurry to get somewhere. As a result, I didn't get to talk to him much but I did learn that he is of Croatian descent but lives in London.

Thanks Dennis for being so kind and allowing me a moment for your time. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

I do have portraits of Goya without other people in background but I kind of liked the other elements here which I believe make's even more a of a street portrait. What do you think?

Anyway, Goya was walking down a side road near Brick Lane and this was one of those times where I did not have a background or shot in mind before I approached him.

Goya kindly agreed to a portrait and of course the street which was so quiet only moments before suddenly become a buzz of activity. I saw the guy running behind him and in a split second my instincts told me to take a shot.

This probably would not surprise you but Goya is a Musician. He wasn't chilling on this Sunday though it was more of a mixture of meetings, friends, meetings.

Thanks so much Goya for being my 214th Stranger Portrait

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

Credit for this portrait actually goes to my friends who firstly discovered him in the bar we were at in Soho and secondly for persuading me to put down my drink and approach him.

I was out for drinks for a friends birthday and decided to take my camera with me and head out a little earlier in the hope of finding a stranger. To be honest my heart wasn't completely in it as I have a concept in mind that I want to try out but was struggling to find someone suitable.

So I gave up and joined my friends for a catch up. When they first pointed Rocky out to me I knew he would be a cracking stranger, but I wanted to take a great portrait of Rocky and not just a snapshot. After debating it in my head I decided to try outside even though we were beginning to lose light. I took my friend Elena out with me to see if we could find a suitable location which wasn't full of people drinking (it was a lovely evening in London). I was specifically looking for either a plane background or just some colour that would match with him, and i found it.

Rocky was out with clients but when I approached him he readily agreed. I took him to my chosen location, got him positioned with a reflector and took out a few shots which I came out nicely.

Rocky is part of the family fashion brand Year Zero London (www.yearzerolondon.com) and it looks like it has had some very famous visitors in the past. He is Italian although i honestly thought he could be Indian at first. I told him that I had forgotten all my Italian... in Italian. I didn't want to keep him from his clients too long so we both went back to the bar and rejoined our tables.

As we were finishing up in the bar, I thanked Rocky once again and he cheekily said about using the magic of photoshop to make him look good. Well Rocky apart from a few flyaway hairs there wasn't much to do, you looked awesome already.

Thanks for being a part of my project Rocky. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on my facebook page: Shooting the Streets

or visit my website

As always any critique welcome

Street Portrait style headshot of the wonderfully talented actress and voice talent.

Shot with a Godox AD200 in a 43 inch octabox feathered down the street

Nelli was one of my stranger portraits a few months back (www.flickr.com/photos/arnabkghosal/29164636310/in/datepos...) and when she contacted me about doing a shoot. We got a great couple of shots and this was one of my favourites from the day.

Strobist:

Shot with a Nissin Flash using Yongnuo triggers. I used my double fold umbrella which I held with my spare hand and bounced it of the white wall you can see on the right to create some double diffusion.

After what seems like an eternity in lockdown I took advantage this weekend of the loosening of the restrictions of what you can do and took a walk around London.

It was eery to say the least with so many places closed and the vast majority of the people out and about being key workers interspersed with the odd tourist here and there.

In any case as I wondered around soho, I saw one the restuarants offering takeaway drinks along with Nicholas having conversations. I initially went to take a picture of the scene but as he started talking to me I asked for a portrait and he obliged.

Nicholas works for travel industry so I asked him how he was coping with it to which he said he was lucky that he had other interests to keep him busy.

Thanks Nicholas for being so kind and allowing me a moment for your time. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Emily was my second stranger from my outing into London last weekend. She was someone who I had seen strolling past at some point earlier but it was a little busy and I didn't have a great background.

The second time I saw here was different and she was delighted to be approached even though it was her second of the day.

With my girlfriend, Luciana on reflector duty we got a number of great shots although as always my preference was for the close in one.

Emily is Brazilian and studying music here in London. She is enjoying her time in the UK but is missing the food and the weather from her home. Musicwise, she described her music as slow jazz - old style.

Thanks Emily for your portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

So I had a photoshoot planned later for today but was keen to get out on a hot English summer bank holiday weekend to see what I could get.

Going early on a Sunday can reap its benefits because you may find some of the people waiting around before they go to work. Ingrid was one of them as she enjoyed the buskers performance before she went to work.

Having seen her wonderful style I knew I had to approach her but I needed a background that would match her style. Luckily there was a SNOG store nearby with its bold pink colour, the perfect foil for her blue dress.

Ingrid was more than happy to have her portrait taken and her style suddenly made sense as she is studying fashion. Originally from Rome she is now based in London as also works in a nearby jewellers.

Thank you Ingrid for being so kind to let me take a portrait of you.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

On a lovely and hot sunny day in London, @lu.ve.pan and I took a walk around #portobelloroad. I of course had my #fujixt3 camera on me just in case I saw a potential stranger to add to my 3rd round of the 100 strangers project.

I saw @plastic_hero_ hanging around with some others who I presume were family and decided to approach her anyway to see if she would agree to a portrait.

She agreed straight away and so I took the opportunity to use one of the side alleys of the main road. She gave me a wonderful set of shots but I decided to go with more serious one on this occasion. I will share some of the others later on.

While we were setting up we had a wonderful chat. Originally from Poland she's been in London for a number of years but moved outside of the city during the pandemic. Having moved out she has now got 4 cats. She has also an aspiring tattoo artist which is a lot harder than it seems.

Thank you so much @plastic_hero_ for being the 209th Stranger in my project. Best of luck with your Tattooing Training :-)

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

#streetportrait #Streetportraits #100strangers #tattoartist #lastolite #portobello #hat #streetfashion #instaawesome #arnabkghosal #londonphotographer #portrait

Hey all, this was a shoot I had been wanted to do for some time and after doing some portrait style photos for Freya (www.invisiblecinema.co.uk/) we had some fun creating this image.

It was shot with a 28 inch softbox camera left and feathered away from the window to avoid light spill onto the window.

Connect with me on my facebook page: Shooting the Streets

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

I had the pleasure this weekend of shooting a good friend and fellow photogeapher Rupert. His street and music photography is awesome. In fact one of his images came second in the Iconic Images Competition for Canon with his photograph from the G8 riots (you can see a hint of it in the background on the left).

Yolanda's question for Rupert was "What advice would you give to someone dating your ex?" His answer is in the comments.

I find it useful to have a background in your mind before you approach a stranger. Luckily, through this project I have come to know Soho, London pretty well and as soon as I saw Kosa in Carnaby Street I knew exactly where I wanted to take her portrait.

Kosa, of Zambian origin, was out there taking pictures with her friends too but was kind enough to allow me to take a few portrait shots.

As it was a very hot morning, she dabbed the shine down and we got to take some pictures. I got her friend to hold the reflector which just gave some oomph to her not that she needed it.

One tip to get good expressions is to use the strangers friends (where possible). I got Kosa to look at hers which made her laugh and then got her to look back at the camera which still captured that energy.

Thanks so much Kosa for allowing me to take your portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Another one from my shoot with Ani of www.stylebohemia.com. Shot with a diffuser on camera right to soften the light on her face.

Had great fun shooting with Ani of Style Bohemia on the streets of London recently. Just beginning the editing process but couldn't wait to share this one.

Second shot of actress and voice over artist Nina Deiana this time a headshot.

Really enjoyed shooting with friend and actress Natalie and we got to play with some hard natural light too. This shot was lit using an AD200 in an apollo orb on camera right bouncing of a white backdrop camera left.

Alternative shot of my street portrait of Ingrid. This time without her glasses.

So many cool nooks and crannies in the City of London. This was one of those which had some really cool light. This was edited in Capture One and finessed in Photoshop. I was playing with the colour grading on this one as I have been doing in more of my shots recently and I went for a slightly cooler tone to reflect the metallic environment.

I shot this on a cold windy and wet night in early January. I had finished a band shoot with the awesome Storm The Palace and really wanted to try something with a Blade Runner cinematic style feel. I had only a few shots and this was my favourite.

The lady on the left is lit with a Nissin Di866 Mark II Flash shot through a Lastolite trigrip diffuser. I used this rather than an umbrella as it was a windy night which would have played havoc with umbrellas and softboxes. In addition, I was wary of security guards around the area who might try and stop us from shooting and so I wanted to be discreet. they were triggered by Yongnuo YN-622 triggers

In post I toned this will mainly greens and blues to give it that cinematic feel and also added some buildings into the background to give it more atmosphere.

As always, please feel free to give me cc as to how to make this better.

Check out more of my work on:

www.facebook.com/shootingthestreets

and

www.arnabkghosal.com

When Simone contacted me about doing a shoot I was keen to work with her but needed a venue that would be up there. I told her I would contact her when I had something in my mind.

luckily my sister decided to paint one of her rooms and it looked like it could be a set. I quickly got in contact and we had a great session.

This was shot using one godox AD200 in an apollo orb camera left and feathered.

What an earth am i talking about? Read on....

I was just finishing up a photoshoot for the girl who runs a fashion blog called "Style Bohemia" and as I had always dreamed of using Leadenhall Market as a backdrop we ventured over there.

It's normally quiet there on a Saturday and for the most part it was, but there was a pub in the market where I spotted Sefton and thought he would make a fantastic stranger.

I needed to concentrate on my shoot and therefore decided to leave it. I thought that it would be rude to not focus on Ani (my subject for the shoot) so I reluctantly put Sefton to the ever growing list of Strangers I missed of which there have been many.

However, luck was on my side and Sefton's buddies decided to hijack our shoot. We were coming towards the end so I didn't mind too much and more importantly neither did Ani.

After doing some fun shoots I managed to get rid of them long enough to finish up. But since we had made the connection and completed the shoot, I approached him for a portrait and he agreed.

Sefton was such a fun and charming guy and full of quotable lines of which here are just a few:

"We are not strangers because we are all connected in some way"

"We are dots spinning in heaven"

"We are all part of the same panaroma"

Having heard the above it may not surprise you to know that he is an artist and his website is called "Badgers of Bohemia" (www.badgersofbohemia.co.uk/).

I asked him for a question to ask my next stranger which was:

"Are you Happy? And if so, what makes you happy?"

Since I didn't have a question I turned the question back on him. This was when some of his quotes came out but also you could see his love for his close friends who were there with him. His friend, John grew up with him and they are still close friends and you could see that they were very close. The drinks were obviously a factor but you could see the genuine and mutual friendship they had for each other.

I could write so many things about this encounter but I think this should do now. I chose this picture over the other one for this project because this best represented the fun we had on this encounter. You can see the other one here:

www.flickr.com/photos/arnabkghosal/28064333724/

Thank you Sefton for one of my most memerable and fun stranger encounters. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on my facebook page: Shooting the Streets

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Strobist Info:

Nissin Di866 flash in a shoot through umbrella camera right triggered by Yongnuo trigger and flash controller

Edward is someone who I had seen many times as he works in a shop called G H Bass. Every time I walked past I would see Edward and every time he was impeccably dressed. Today was no exception and today I was prepared.

I had wanted to take a portrait of him in the shop because his style always matched well with the environment. This was not surprising as he is an artist. I needed a wider angle and flash to make this work and today I was ready.

It was Sunday and the shop had just opened. He was the only one there so I went in and explained the project to him. Edward was so cool and agreed immediately. I told him to chill out for a bit while I set up and as (bad) luck would have some customers came in. I didn't want to mess with any sale so while he attended to them, I walked out and took some time to think about how I would set the shot up.

Once they finished, I went back in but I still couldn't take the shot. In needed someone to hold the flash / umbrella set up and we were the only two in the shop.

While we waited for a customer /assistant to walk in, I had a great chat with Edward. I asked him Daniel's question about whether or not he smiled enough to which I could tell the answer was yes.

He said it wasn't the case in photos though and he likened it to your online dating profile where everyone puts up smiley happy faces and does not show the real you. I said that it reminded me of facebook, something which he avoids as much as he can by not having internet at home. I am not sure if I could cope with that.

I asked him what question he would like me to ask for the next stranger and he said: "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

An interesting thing that I started doing with both Daniel (stranger 165) and Edward was to get them to answer their own question too. Edward does not like to look too far into the future and prefers to surf the waves of the present.

I could write a whole essay of our conversation as he was very giving of his time to which I am very grateful.

In terms of light set up, I had a Nikon SB5000 flash in a shoot through umbrella triggered using Yongnuo YN-622N triggers.

I had problems with the set up and the power wasn't changing from the controller. I later found out what the issue was but in the heat of the moment I just manually changed the power on the flash itself.

Thank you so much Edward for this portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

As I was finishing up my day of shooting in Portabello Road, I was heading back home. I saw Francesco relaxing on a side road looking effortlessly cool. I asked him for a portrait and he was happy to oblige.

Francesco is Italian and originally from Sicily but now lives in Shepherds Bush. He owns his Logistics and shipment company but in his spare time loves taking pictures on his phone.

From a portrait point of view, the main thing I wanted to do was use the rails as leading lines and get enough the street to give a bit more depth.

Thank you Francesco for this portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

When you see someone like Rihab you have to just do what you can to do a portrait. I saw here looking for restaurants with her friend and quickly decided to scout a location. My only hope was they didn't find a restaurant they liked before I found a location.

Luckily, since I am pretty familiar with Soho I knew exactly where I could do the portrait. So I ran ahead of her and walked back so that they could see me approach (always better to approach from the front).

Rihab kindly agreed to a portrait helped by the fact she saw my instagram feed. In addition she is an aspiring model - how lucky could I get?

My girlfriend was on hand for some reflector action to bring some light into her face. Back at home this was edited in capture one and photoshop - I took my time but only made very minor edits.

She is from Morocco originally and has been in the UK for 9 months.

Thank you so much Rihab for allowing me to take your portrait. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

It's awesome working with a team and this shot was possible because my assistant Brenda pointed out this shaft of light to me.

I am so grateful to her as this enabled us make some great portraits of Ani of Style Bohema (stylebohemia.com/). The lesson is to embrace the ideas of your team. People photography for me is always at its best when its a collaboration and together with Brenda and Ani we came away with some great shots. Thanks guys.

Check out more of my work at:

www.facebook.com/shootingthestreets

www.arnabkghosal.com

Hey all,

Here is another shot of musician Albert Man (www.albertman.com). I really enjoyed working with him and am looking forward to seeing him perform live.

Check out more of my work on www.arnabkghosal.com or www.facebook.com/shootingthestreets

Strobist: Nissin Di866 flash camera left in a Apollo 28 inch softbox triggered using Yongnuo 622n

Having not done a street portrait for a while, I wanted to take advantage of the sudden relatively good weather and headed out into Soho to see what I could get.

Almost immediately I saw Nerea come out of the Photographers Gallery and i knew I had to ask her for a portrait. She was immediately receptive and luckily I had this wooden background which complemented her clothes.

This was shot with natural light with a reflector underneath to fill in the shadows.

Nerea is of Spanish origin and works in Finance. We had a great chat as she is about to go to India and I was able to give some advice.

Amine, my last strangers question, was to describe her perfect partner. She described her perfect partner as someone who she could be herself with and someone with whom she could comfortably be in her bubble. I asked her whether she was an introvert based on her answer but she considered herself to be an extrovert. I told her that introverts get their energy from having me time - she then agreed maybe that she's an introvert.

Her question for the next stranger was "If you could be invisible, what is the first thing that you would do?"

Thank you Nerea for being a wonderful stranger. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website

As always constructive criticism is appreciated.

Not too much to say about this Street Portrait as I saw the guy through the window and thought it could work. I got myself in position and through sign language asked if it was ok and he gave me the thumbs up.

The learning point on this is really about reducing the reflections enough so that he would be visible (it was a sunny day). So I moved around so that a) he was against a darker background and b) just went to the side a bit as that angle stopped any some annoying reflections on his face.

As a bonus you see a bit of me on the left, but main thanks goes to the unknown man who for a second gave me some of his time.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the

100 Strangers Flickr Group Page

Connect with me on instagram where my handle is @arnabkghosal

or visit my website