The last of the portrait

For the past 27 years, Lav Sopha has worked as a portrait photographer in front of the Royal Palace. From the early morning until dusk, wearing a big smile and a wide-brimmed grey hat, Sopha approaches visitors to see if they want to have their photo taken as a memento. Once a solid source of income, he now makes little from the job. “Before, each day I could take from 40 to 100 pictures for visitors, but now I take less than 10 pictures per day,” the 60-year-old recalled, his Canon digital camera hanging from his shoulder. Since the advent of digital photography, demand for the souvenirs, printed out for 2,000 riel, has dramatically declined. On a recent afternoon, the lawn was crowded with visitors taking their own snaps as a gaggle of professional photographers – more than 10 – stood by.