laos Child portraitEvery face in a photograph tells a story.  Deep lines from a hard life’s work in the rice fields, smooth bright cheeks from a joyful youth, lost distant eyes from a sad past, and a sincere smile from the love of a happy heart.  

It wasn’t until I started photography in Asia that I realized how beautiful people are because every one of us is so different.

As you look at these photos of people from all around Asia, I urge you to imagine their story and see their lives.  

What did they have for breakfast that morning?  What is their favorite past time? Who do they live with and what makes them special?  If you can tell the story behind the face, then hopefully you can see their beauty too.

The story behind a photograph

Myanmar train woman portrait
Indonesia child portraitIndonesia porter portraitIndonesia man portraitMyanmar fisherman portraitCambodia Child monk portraitMyanmar farm man and child on ox portraitMyanmar farm woman portraitMyanmar woman and child portraitIndonesia man portraitlaos Child portraitMyanmar fisherman portraitMyanmar woman portraitlaos Child portraitMyanmar boat paddler portraitMyanmar Amarapura breakfast monks

Part 2 and 3 of this series can now be found here!

Faces of Asia Part 2: Building a Relationship With the Subject

Faces of Asia Part 3: Similarities

What beauty do you see behind the faces of people in your everyday world?