[wulf]

I've moved this thread to the technique section, since you are asking how to get round a photographic challenge rather than how people think you did (or could improve) with a particular picture.

I think it all comes down to light levels. Working in a real world situation you either need your darker skinned subjects to be standing in good light or at least change your position so you photograph them against a darker background. In the image above, you can't let in much more light without drastically over-exposing the background.

That means that sometimes you can't get the shot. However, perhaps the need to search around will open up fresh perspectives. Also, you may need to change your view of the subject of the picture - for example, with the woman in the sari, it's not a bad shot if you look at it as being more about the brightness of the sari than as a portrait of the woman wearing it.

Wulf