With great cameras, or smartphones, comes great responsibility. The way you take a portrait photo can tell a thousand stories and that’s why it’s important to tell the right story, says our featured contributor Lola Akinmade Åkerström.

Mr. Oladiti is a security guard in Lagos, Nigeria. I’ve known him for years and every time I go back home, I see him. I notice new age lines snaking and deepening across his face, and I observe his body hunching lower with each visit.

But he is always there, without fail. Doing his job proudly as a security guard. I don’t know how old he is, but he is clearly old enough to be my grandfather.

Now, imagine if I had only zoomed into his face, converted his photo into black and white, sharpened it into oblivion, and made his age lines pop out more prominently to emphasize his age?