Revisiting the Contact Sheet Series

Years ago, I used to regularly publish what I called “contact sheets”—a way to showcase the process behind capturing an interesting image. By sharing my thought process, I hoped to help others understand how to quickly adapt to changing situations when photographing people.

I’ve decided to revive this series, though in a slightly different format. Over the years, I realized I struggled to find enough material for these contact sheets because, with experience, I now spend less time shooting around my subject and go straight to the composition I think will work best. However, that doesn’t mean I instantly land on the “perfect” shot. Instead, I take a more refined approach, meaning I have a narrower selection of different angles of a scene to showcase in these contact sheets.

From now on, with this new format, I will present a sequence of images from a particular scene (or multiple scenes from the same location), providing deeper insight into my thought process.

Monks on the Beach: An Incredible Encounter in Sri Lanka

For this first contact sheet in a long time, I want to revisit one of my favourite scenes from my recent Sri Lanka photography tour. After spending several days in the central highlands, we arrived in Weligama, a coastal town I always love to explore. As part of the tour, we take a walk along a beautiful beach, starting from a small shipyard, passing through a bustling fish market, and ending at sunset on a picturesque stretch of sand. Every year, I find something unique happening here, and this time was no exception.

The Importance of Approaching Your Subject Properly

As we wandered along the beach, we spotted a group of monks walking towards the ocean. If you’ve travelled in Asia before, you’ll know how unusual it is to see monks at the beach, especially at this time of day when they are typically in their temples.

Excited by the striking contrast of their bright orange robes against the deep blue sea, I resisted the urge to immediately start shooting. Instead, I took a moment to approach them and start a conversation. Some of them spoke good English, and we quickly learned they were university students from Colombo, originally from different parts of Sri Lanka, studying Buddhist philosophy together. On this day, they were visiting a fellow monk and had decided to spend some of their free time at the beach.

They asked us about our cameras, and we explained that we were travellers exploring their beautiful country and capturing its moments. Some of my tour participants had already begun taking photos, but because we had established a friendly rapport, the monks didn’t seem to mind. They naturally transitioned into the water, allowing us to continue photographing them without feeling intrusive.

Before we parted ways, I exchanged contact details with one of the monks so I could share the images. Other participants also sent me their photos, which I forwarded to them. Had we simply started taking pictures without engaging them, I doubt we would have been able to spend so much time photographing them in such a natural and relaxed manner. Building a connection with your subjects is key to meaningful people photography.

The Scene Unfolds

As I chatted with one of the monks, I noticed a few of his friends standing in front of us. At first, the scene felt cluttered with too many people in the frame. But gradually, some of them drifted away, leaving only four monks in front of me. That’s when my instincts kicked in.

I adjusted my aperture ring to f/8.0 and brought my camera up, keeping it at chest level to maintain the flow of conversation. This allowed me to remain aware of my surroundings and avoid disrupting the dynamic of the moment.

Adjusting Your Aperture for a More Dynamic Shot

My initial shots at f/8.0 captured the monks as a group, evenly in focus. But then, I noticed one of the younger novices turning his head slightly, taking an interest in our conversation. I saw the potential for a striking image: if he looked directly at me while the others remained focused on the ocean, he would become the focal point of the composition.

I quickly adjusted my aperture to f/2.0 to create a shallow depth of field, ensuring that the novice would “pop” against the softly blurred background. This technique has become part of my photographic template over the years (check out my tutorial on how to use photography templates).

Using Autofocus to Capture Fleeting Moments

Even though Fujifilm’s autofocus system has its quirks (I am being very polite here!), I decided to switch to face detection. With my subject so close, I hoped it would nail the focus. Anticipating that he might shift slightly, I also switched to wide-area focus and changed my focus mode to continuous (AF-C)—a frustratingly slow process on a Fuji, but necessary for this shot.

First, I missed it. The novice glanced at me, but I was too late to lock focus.

Then, he turned to look at his friend, giving me another opportunity. This time, my focus was set, my aperture was dialled in, and the other monks remained turned toward the ocean.

Bingo!

A few seconds later, he turned again, but the magic was gone. That initial moment—when he looked directly at the camera with a quiet curiosity—was the most compelling. Moments like these happen in an instant. The more you anticipate them, the better your chances of capturing something special.

Keep Working the Scene

We continued photographing the monks as they waded into the water, playing with layering techniques to avoid messy compositions. Some of them started jumping from a boat, which made for a fun series of images, but nothing quite matched the intimacy of that earlier shot. As the monks prepared to head deeper into the ocean, we wrapped up our session and hopped back on the bus to our hotel.

Different Perspectives on the Scene

There were four or five of us shooting at the time, each using different lenses and angles. Seeing how others captured the same moment is always fascinating. Lee Starnes was kind enough to share his take on the scene, which you can check out in his blog post.

Final Thoughts

This encounter with the monks reminded me why I love people photography so much. It’s not just about capturing an image—it’s about connecting with people, being patient, and waiting for the right moment to unfold. As I continue sharing these contact sheets, I hope they help you refine your approach and develop your own instincts for capturing powerful, storytelling images.

Stay tuned for the next one!