The human touch - how to capture people for better travel images (Part two)

By David Lazar | 9 February 2021

This is part two of our two part feature on capturing better travel images. You can find part one here.

Ladies at Stepwell - This photo is an example of organising people to create interesting patterns in a scene for an aesthetically engaging result. The step wells in Rajasthan, India are used to get water from deep in the ground, and I have recreated the activity of collecting water with locals and given them some direction. The result is a photo that people can enjoy on a visual level while learning about a unique cultural practice done for centuries in the desert regions of India. (1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 320)

Patterns with People

Another method for photographing people in a scene is to find or make patterns with the people. A great way to make patterns is to photograph them from above, as in a bird’s eye view perspective.

In this case, you need to be on a bridge, balcony, table or another structure with height. From a high angle, you can look down to photograph patterns made by people sitting or moving below, and choose how to frame the photo by zooming in or carefully composing so a pattern is evident.

Pilgrims Eating Together. This was photographed from a large bridge at the Kumbh Mela Festival in India, I saw these lines of pilgrims eating below and photographed them from above looking straight down, zooming in to 135mm.
By framing the two lines equally with similar spacing on either side, a pattern of two lines is created which provides visual interest. Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 116mm. 1/250s @ f8, ISO 400. — Pilgrims Eating Together. This was photographed from a large bridge at the Kumbh Mela Festival in India, I saw these lines of pilgrims eating below and photographed them from above looking straight down, zooming in to 135mm. By framing the two lines equally with similar spacing on either side, a pattern of two lines is created which provides visual interest. Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 116mm. 1/250s @ f8, ISO 400.

Lines, symmetrical arrangements and filling of the frame with repetition are all good pattern ideas to look for or to create with locals who are happy to be your photographic subjects.

It’s a great chance to be creative, which to me is an important part of photography, and since the results can be very aesthetically pleasing, it’s always wise to be thinking about featuring patterns in your photography. People are a good subject for this.

Sunrise Over Rice Terraces - Balinese ladies walking through a rice terrace scene with volcano in the background. Without the ladies, there would not be such an obvious or strong focal point, and they provide an extra layer to the scene, conveying a sense of story about early morning work and rural life in Indonesia. (1/200, f/3.5, ISO 800)

Layering People Throughout a Scene

Photographing people in a wide scene can be taken to an even more advanced level, which is to layer multiple people throughout a scene, occupying potentially foreground, middle ground and background.

Just two of these layers is usually challenging enough to figure out, and it requires visualising the overall image in your mind first, which is a very creative approach to photography.

Occasionally, you may be lucky to capture a photo where people are occupying spaces at different depths, clearly to be seen, satisfying the figure to ground concept, doing something interesting and in a good position compositionally. But it’s not very often this will occur, which is why there is usually an element of directing and organising such a photo.

Life in the Dzong. After the viewer focuses on the monks adjusting their robes in the centre of this Dzong fortress courtyard in Bhutan, there are more people to then discover throughout the scene. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 31mm. 1/320s @ f8, ISO 1250.

The results can be very satisfying, creating unique images consisting of much layer and depth. For most people, focusing on one person consumes all attention, so to be considering multiple people on different planes of the photo, requires foresight, patience and dedication.

Japanese Bamboo Forest. The bamboo forest in this photo in Kyoto, Japan, is already powerful and beautiful, but the addition of the lady in a kimono adds an initial focal point in an image where there otherwise wouldn’t be a strong one. The size of the human adds a sense of scale to the image, which makes the bamboo even more spectacular with its vast height. The addition of the lady also helps give a sense of culture and location in the world. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 29mm. 1/125s @ f3.2, ISO 2000.

In such a photo there’s usually one main focal point, and then more people to be discovered around the frame in compositionally pleasing areas, filling the space.

This is another idea to have in your mind when out and about photographing people in their environment, for the creating of impactful and emotive cultural landscape photos which tell a story. ❂

About the author: David Lazar is a travel photographer and musician from Brisbane who loves to capture moments of life, beauty and culture through his photography. See more of his work on Facebook, Instagram and his website.