This is my hostmom. She is the mother of the family that I stay with while I'm in the United States for my exchange program. She's the person that knows me the best here and I love her. She's a super warm and lovely person. She taught me a lot of things and helped me adapting with my new home. I took this picture at the Japanese Garden that we visited while we were in California for spring break. It was bright and colorful so I thought this environment would fit her personality. There are a lot of cherry blossom trees and she was also wearing pink that day. So, I thought that I'll take a lot of good photographs of her under the trees. I tried to use the Rule of Thirds when I took the photos so it'll create a balanced photo and put the interest, which is her face, in the middle of the picture. I also blurred the background when I edited the pictures so the trees behind won't distract the subject. It was a bit hard to take these photos because of the sun was right above us and it created shadows on her face.
This is Laura, my neighbor and also my best friend here. She lives really close to our house and has known my hostfamily for years. She's the nicest person I could ever ask. We walked to school together almost every day, and we spent a lot of time at Cross Country practices. I took her photos at her house a few days after her birthday. The walls inside of her house is white and there are a lot of windows that makes it easier for me to take her portraits. She was just standing next to the window so the lighting was really nice. I used the Rule of Thirds when I took these pictures to create a balanced photo. There were some obstacles such as the windows and something hanging on the wall next to the subject that I don't want to be in the picture so I have to avoid that. The plain background is also helpful in creating a focus on the subject.