When I take the odd portrait, I find the hardest thing is getting the foundation of a portrait right. That thing is the expression. Expression is
the focus, it tells the story. Are the eyes focused, are they concentrating, is the mouth set in a manner appropriate to the moment? That is why I seldom try to take a posed picture. It utterly destroys the spontaneity of natural expression. It is also why pictures of someone doing something usually work so well. Their expressions reflect their concentration. Some people I try to photograph are a complete disaster if they know the camera is on them. They don't know what to do with their face, their eyes, their hands. Here I got lucky when she was reading. Simple view finder camera in natural light.