Portrait - Buddhist Monk

[subrataofkris]

The young apprentice in Rumtek Monastry (Sikkim, India), was engrossed in a religious debate in the sunny couryard. The light was harsh and I could not use the flash, as that would disturb them. I am novice to portraits, but, this looked OK in my eyes, except the sharp shadows near the eyes .

EXIF
ISO 200, F/16, 1/100 sec, -2/3 EV, 155 mm

Please let me know how I can improve it?

Thanks

[FocalFrenzy]

I myself, am not very experienced at potraits, but I really like this shot. The "Candid" quality really puts you in the scene. You can almost hear the dialog. Nice shot.

[clockdoc]

I think you did well considering the shooting constraints (no flash, no intrusive positioning). Although it is fine as it is, I think some cropping to eliminate some of the black will make it a stronger image. Nice shadow detail even without any flash fill. May also want to try rotating the figure slightly more upright to see if that improves the view.

[TerryL]

I like it, it looks great, just a little croping

[gvcborders]

I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty to try some of the suggestions already given. This is my interpretation of your very interesting photo.
All I did was straighten, crop, added a little fill light, and sharpen just a little bit.

[subrataofkris]

Originally Posted by gvcborders

I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty to try some of the suggestions already given. This is my interpretation of your very interesting photo.
All I did was straighten, crop, added a little fill light, and sharpen just a little bit.

First of all, I don't mind at all, its such a pleasure to have photographers voicing their opinions and altering the shots with the sole intention of making things better.
I liked the fill light, but I think the exeggerated expression is gone after rotation. I would also like to keep more space in the left and top as he is looking towards the top-left corner of the frame.
Thanks for sparing your time