Annie Griffiths Belt

No matter how exotic the location you're in, "it's important to go beyond the obvious to create well-taken, interesting pictures that reveal the character of the place or the people," Annie says. Her assignments have taken her from the Bedouin of the Middle East to English villagers to farmers in the American heartland. "The media doesn't hound the farmer, the hairdresser, or the truck driver. By paying attention to them, you make them feel special. By taking their pictures, you pay them a wonderful compliment—if you make it a positive experience."

In the last decade, Annie has photographed survivors of disasters and wars in refuge camps in Louisiana, Africa, Asia, all over the world. And she's shot in places where poverty is a way of life. Despite those conditions, the faces in her photographs always hold a hopefulness and yearning that make their humanity even more poignant.

Developing a photographic vision is an evolution that comes with experience, she says. "You become attuned to a whole different set of elements. It's almost like choreography, because you feel things start to happen—the light, the mood of your subjects. It's a sensitivity that comes from having photography as your focus for so many years."

PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

Annie's Tips

1. Get in close when you're photographing people. What matters to most of us is seeing the subject's face … not his or her shoes.
2. Don't take people shots in bright sunlight. Bright light hurts the eyes, so it will make your subjects squint or hide behind sunglasses and generally become crabby and impatient. Photograph instead in open shade. Shade is much more flattering to skin tones, and your subjects will relax and take off their sunglasses so you will be photographing their most important feature—their eyes.
3. Try to catch a glimmer of light in the eyes of the people you photograph. Simply by asking someone to move their eyes slowly or gently move their head, you can often get reflected light in their eyes. It adds instant intimacy.
4. When photographing more than one person, encourage your subjects to stand close together, preferably touching. Have them lean into each other or throw an arm around the person next to them. Anything to ward off the robotic, arms-hanging-at-the-sides photo. The more you tease and cajole, the more they'll loosen up.
5. Bring Fido into the shot. If you're photographing people who are shy or stiff, sometimes getting a beloved pet in the picture will loosen things up and encourage natural smiles.
6. When photographing children, get on your knees. Pictures of kids are much more affective when you're on their level, seeing things as kids see them. Kid pictures turn out best when you can get the camera angle lower than the child's eyes.