“Center-framed composition is a great way to isolate your subject. Use this knowledge to create a portrait that exhibits loneliness.”

This is a shot of my mom sitting in front of me on the Portland light rail, looking out the window. I think a vertical shot worked very well here to portray a sense of loneliness, as a horizontal shot would’ve captured much more of the tram’s interior. With a vertical shot like this one, my mom is the only one in frame, and her face is perfectly centered in the middle of the portrait.

The way I interpret this photo exhibiting loneliness is that, if you remove the fact that my subject is my mother, she looks like a lonesome traveler staring longingly at the scenery beyond the window. Perhaps she’s going somewhere in particular, or maybe she’s just enjoying the peace and quiet that comes from being alone.