Don't be afraid to ask

When you travel, or even when you are shooting close to home, don't be afraid to ask people to pose for your camera.  They may say yes and they may say no, but if you don't ask, you won't have a chance to take a potentially unique or compelling shot.  For example, when I was leading a photo tour in Bali, Indonesia, I saw this man making money with tourists and his snake.  People would pose for their friends or family members with the snake around their neck and pay him $3.  But the snake handler was the real picture in my opinion particularly because he was tatooed all over his torso. He was wearing a t-shirt, so I asked him if he would remove it and pose for my group.  He agreed.  The sun was out, so I asked him to move into the shade out of the harsh and contrasty sunlight.  In addition, I looked for a non-distracting background also in the shade, and the only place that made sense was the side of a nearby building. We all got amazing portraits.