P#16: A Unique Portrait of a Saudi Man

The Mystery of Saudi Arabia

Bobbi Lane: I shot this photograph of the Saudi man earlier this year. I was in Saudi Arabia on an assignment. It was only a year ago that they started letting tourists come into Saudi Arabia and now you still can only do it on a Visa. I was there on an assignment so I was able to get in.

We went to some of the towns. This shot of the Saudi Man was actually photographed in a coffee shop, which is very big there. It was a little odd because I don't speak the language and they don't speak English. I'm a woman -- this is a Muslim country.

I have to tell you the truth that people are people everywhere and that everybody will respond to a smiley face. We came in, they were totally willing to let us photograph them. There was an old man in his nineties, I asked some people to translate and ask him if I could photograph him. (click the image for a larger version)

He came towards me and I positioned him so he's being lit right now just by the door. Again, there's no direct sunlight coming in here, but outside there was bright sunlight hitting the pavement and the building across the street. You can actually see the outside reflected in his glasses -- you can see the shape of the door that is allowing in the light from the outside.

I asked him if he would please turn and look out the window so that I could get more of an angle on his face. It's kind of mysterious because you don't have any eyes here. It's a little bit more of the mystery of Saudi Arabia. We don't know a lot -- it's all kind of mysterious to us.

I also positioned him so that the background gets darker. Or perhaps I shouldn't say I positioned him -- instead I put my angle so that the back of the coffee shop where it had very little light would be dark behind him. He looks like he's emerging out of the light.

This was a joy. I have a whole series of pictures of this Saudi man that are just absolutely wonderful. He was just a funny old guy.

Audri Lanford: I love it. I was so curious about the reflection of the door in the glasses. I wasn't sure exactly what the light source was there without the eyes. In a sense, that's another example of breaking the rules in a very effective way.

Bobbi Lane: Yes, it is. This time it was staying away from that light in the eyes.

In Closing

While you usually want to capture the light in the eyes of your portrait subjects, it's not always the case. This picture of a Saudi man is a great example of how not capturing the eyes can add drama, effect and mystery to a photo.