The Human Element, an Additional Opportunity

This young redheaded boy looking out the door of this train car makes a big difference in this image.
Including the "human" element can make an image much more interesting. (click to enlarge)

I think everyone reading these words is human?  If not, contact me as I believe we can really make some money! Lol! Seriously, as human beings, we all have certain things in common.  As photographers and travelers, we have things in common.  Exploring those commonalities in your photography can generate interest to the benefit of your images.

Being primarily a landscape, nature and travel photographer, I encounter people everywhere I go. Sometimes I enjoy those encounters and meet some really interesting and nice people.  But sometimes I get aggravated when there are people wandering around in the landscapes when I have set up to make a photograph.

So, I wait and wait and wait until the people are gone so I can make an image of the 'pristine' landscape without anyone's presence ruining it.  I want to record nature as it is, not necessarily man's impact on nature through tourism, power lines, poles, construction, litter, etc.  But there are times when actually having people in your landscape and nature images can make those images more interesting.

People give context to images.  People give scale to images.  People help the viewer relate to the images. People can generate interest in and of themselves just by what they may be doing at the time.  People can make images marketable when the same image without people is what everyone else has made, including the postcard companies.  People can improve an image in the right circumstances.  Its called 'human interest.'

The image above is an example.  This is a nice scene in and of itself.  This scene could appeal to viewers who like trains, nature, mountains and travel.  But adding the young redheaded boy adds an additional element of interest and gives some additional context to the image.  In my view, without the boy it is a very nice image.  But with the boy, I love this image.  That little extra makes a difference for me.

A decent image, but nothing really to grab you.  Is the volcano 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles away or father?
It is hard to tell without context and scale.  In fact, it is 5 miles away from where I was standing
(click to enlarge)

Here is another example.  This photo above is of Mt. St. Helens, the volcano in Washington State, and its surrounding countryside, recovering nicely from the devastating eruption of May 18, 1980.  In and of itself, an interesting image. Scientifically, it is interesting to see how nature rebounds after total destruction.  But I don't think there really is anything about the image that worth a comment other than it is a nice image.  How far away was I when I made the image?  How deep is that valley? There isn't any additional context other than the snow covered volcano, some fog and some greenery.

The second is Mt. St. Helens and some of its many visitors who are 5 miles away from the crater.  The people give the image some perspective, context and scale.  Also, looking at the individuals in the in the image, you have to wonder what some of them are doing, especially the guy with the binoculars who is looking in the opposite direction of the volcano?  What is he looking at?  Is that elderly woman on the right looking at her smartphone?

People give the volcano context, scale and additional interest.  (click to enlarge)

Both images are worth making but are totally different.  One is nature at its best and the other is about nature, tourism and human nature.

Instead of doing as I have done for many, many years and wait for everyone to leave before I make a photograph, I now make images with people included as well as without people.  Try it.  You may find that some of your images have a totally different feel about them and contain additional interest.

Thanks for looking.

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or image.