Uuglypher wrote:
I simply must say that I admire, immensely, the obviously spontaneous, pleasant and positive responses you and your camera elicit from your subjects in the great majority of your "reaction" shots. Although I'm sure some selection goes on, Given the great predominance of such positive reactions it does, none-the-less speak volumes about your demeanor and approach as a photographer, whether or not the "reaction" shots are all spontaneous and unavoidable.
The biggest problem I encountered in India was that everyone wants their picture taken and they go into pose mode immediately. In the end I gave up on natural and went for what might be best called the Indian idea of natural. The people were so friendly and open that I soon realised that the best way to capture the character of the Indian people was to interact with them. The interaction was easy, from the wealthy in the cities to the poorest in the villages, they all wanted to talk even when we had no common language. English is widely spoken in the cities and a couple of Bengali and Hindi phrases worked wonders in the countryside. I'm going back as soon as I can :-)