Cultural documentary and NGO photographer Russ Taylor, aka NomadRuss, offers his tips for photographing people.
You can’t be shy when you’re photographing people. It helps if you like people, interact with them, and get to know them a bit. Be upfront about what you’re doing.
Russ Taylor, aka NomadRuss, is a cultural documentary and NGO photographer, as well as wilderness guide who’s been leading trips for over twenty years. His adventures span the globe, from Southeast Asia to South America, and throughout the United States, too, which he documents on his photoblog.
From gorgeous landscapes to snapshots of people, his photography is varied and full of life, reflecting the many places he’s trekked and cultures he’s observed. Last fall, he published a blog post with tips on photographing people that is practical, accessible, and inspiring — and the accompanying images are incredible. We’re happy to invite him as a guest contributor to share it with you.Â
I’m often asked about how to photograph people. Here are ten tips I’ve learned through my experience with a camera:
Get close to people. You can’t be shy when you’re photographing people. It helps if you like people, interact with them, and get to know them a bit. Be upfront about what you’re doing. Most people don’t mind at all, and when someone says they don’t want their picture made, I just say, “no worries,” and move along. Find a person that you find interesting, and it’s likely your viewers will find them interesting, too. I met the young woman below on the plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Don’t forget the background. Placing a person in a setting helps tremendously. It gives us extra information about who they are, and it adds overall depth to the image, making it more interesting. Portraits with cluttered backgrounds distract from your subject — the person. When I was making photographs of the nomads on Ladakh’s Changtang plateau, I walked around looking for the proper background first. I first noticed the snow-covered mountains and the clouds, and then found the person to add to that scene:
Or find a simple background. Sometimes you just can’t find the right background, so simplify and make the subject the only thing in the photograph. Now, all attention is on them. Another option is to use a longer lens. By using a zoom lens, you can increase the depth of field and make the person stand out against even a busy background. When I met the young girl below at the camel fair in Pushkar, India, it was dusk and I couldn’t quite find a way to make her stand out — until I noticed a small pond. When I asked her to stand in front of it and some of the last light of day hit her eyes, I knew I’d found the right place to make her portrait.
Isolate people in crowds. When you’re photographing in cities, especially in cities such as Varanasi, in India, there are going to be crowds. Isolate interesting people within the crowds. When I spotted an old lady from a moving boat on the Ganges River, I had only a moment to make the photograph, and seeing that she momentarily stood out from others, I had to attempt the shot. It’s not technically perfect, but it’s become one of the most viewed images on my website, nomadruss.com.
Focus on hands and feet and other details. Similar to how you might isolate a person from a crowd, you can also focus on certain parts of the body. Hands and feet tend to make interesting detail shots, and we also learn about people through things like the jewelry they wear. In the shot below, a woman’s double rings — as worn in a slum area of Delhi — indicate marriage.
Make environmental portraits. We all like to see people in their environment. It adds a dimension of understanding to their lives. It might be work, such as someone doing construction, or the daily work of cooking for the family. Again, you’ll place the person in an environment where we come to understand more about them. I like to look for common scenes that convey what people do as part of their normal existence. This man in Jodhpur, India, sits on his door stoop in the morning reading the Times of India:
Shoot at eye level. The most neutral place to be when photographing people is at eye level. Shooting from below can make someone appear grand, and shooting from above can also change the storyline. Most of the time I like to shoot portraits around eye level. This impromptu portrait was made on a freezing cold morning while trekking the frozen Zanskar River in Ladakh, India:
Be unobtrusive. You don’t always have to ask directly for permission; I often don’t, at least not verbally. If you just spend some time on the scene and allow people to notice you with your camera, and then slowly blend into the background, you’ll find that you can make images of people as they’re being natural. You can show them the photos afterwards and interact a bit and thank them. I made this photo of a young monk watching a masked dance festival, while awaiting his turn to dance, before he noticed me:
Pay attention to light. Yes, this can be said about every single photograph, and it’s just as important in photographing people. Pay attention to the light, and particularly how it adds detail and directs the viewer’s eye. Catch light in a person’s eyes is vital — it makes a photograph feel alive.
Share your photographs! Do you want to make people really happy? Do you want to get invited back to photograph them again? Well, you can do a lot of good by giving people a copy of the photograph you made, especially in areas where it’s difficult for people to get copies themselves. You’ll be remembered. In some areas of the Himalaya, people proudly show off photos that a tourist gave them years before. They still remember those people, and they’ll gladly welcome them back.
Thanks for these tips on photographing people, NomadRuss! For more, visit Russ’ blog and website, or follow him on Facebook.
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Wow… great post, very useful tips indeed. Thanks a lot for sharing..
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I’m thankful WordPress shared the post as well. Appreciate your kind words. -Russ
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Great tips, thank you. And your photography is wonderful!
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Your kind, thank you!
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These are some great tips – Thank you
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Appreciate your kind words!
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great tips! thank you!
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Thanks for dropping by!
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That last pic was awesome!
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I agree — it really tells a story. There’s a lot of warmth and happiness in it, too.
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Thanks, that was a good moment!
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I mean they are all good of course but that one…well I envy you that moment.
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Excellent tips and great photos! Thanks!
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Thank you!
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Interesting post.
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Thanks!
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Thank you for your tips. I have primarily focused on nature pics in the past but am interested in photographing more people, especially candid camera shots.
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I truly enjoy the documentary aspects of photography, let me know how your journey goes…
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really good tips. thanks so much. eve
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Thanks Eve, I appreciate that!
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Such an education. Thank you for sharing. I will try each of these ideas out. đŸ™‚ A great resource.
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I enjoyed sharing them, thanks for taking the time to comment!
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Initially, I thought this would be the typical newbie tips but your suggestion on being unobtrusive, shooting at eye level and being attentive of light, were great! I never really thought of those. Very refreshing.
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Thanks Kristen, I appreciate the kind words and I hope they help you make some more beautiful images!
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These photos are beautiful and they show such a beautiful travel experience.
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Thanks Carol, I have been blessed with some fine travel/photographic experiences…
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Really nice. Simple stuff but incredibly useful.
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Thanks M.R.!
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One of the camera operators I used to work with would always say …
“No, no! – thank YOU!”
đŸ™‚
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Thank you for the information. I so want to do this. I used to paint and draw but can’t seem to fit it in to my quickly passing time. I am very intrigued by the art of photography.
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Oh be careful, once photography gets in your blood… : )
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Thank you for the excellent tips! I am not a photographer but have learned that pictures enhance the written word, particularly when blogging. I prefer to use my own photos rather than “borrow” or use stock photos so these pointers will certainly be used. Post more!!
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Thanks Carrie, I’m glad you’ll put them to good use!
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Amazing tips, thank you!!!
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Thanks for stopping by!
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amazing tips
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thanks!
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knowledge is something you càn never have enough of. great insight.
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True, as Alexander Pope once said, “A little learning is a dangerous thing, drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring.”
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I am greatful for that. I won’t settle for less.
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Excellent tips – now it’s only to overcome my own shyness about this…
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Shoot from whatever fits your personality and you’ll craft your own unique style…
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I just received similar words of wisdom from a friend…good advice and helpful, too.
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Thank you so much for the tips. I had a bad experience a while back, I was trying to shoot the sun setting behind a mountain (i.e. I had the camera obviously angled up towards the sky, definitely no people in the view) when I man came up from behind me completely enraged, saying that I was breaching his privacy and wanting to knock my camera out of my hands. I’ve been ridiculously careful since then if there are people around. But will change my outlook now and try these tips.
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Sorry to hear about that experience Sophia! Those occurrences are very rare, but a bit unnerving when they do happen. I hope you don’t experience that again and that you can find the joy in photographing people!
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I love his work, and this is great advice. I’ve always been too shy to photography people, but one of my new year’s resolutions is to change that.
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Hannah, now that’s a great New Year’s Resolution!
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Stunning shots and superb advice, thank you so much. I want to go out now with my camera. You’ve inspired me.
Bob
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There’s nothing I like better than inspiring people!
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Job done!
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Thank you for the tips and I absolutely loved the photgraphs.
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I appreciate the kind words!
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Great post! Thanks for the tips. As a photography enthusiast much appreciated. And you have a wonderful hand (and mind) at what you do good sir đŸ™‚
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Thank you, kind Sir, for the encouraging words!
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đŸ™‚
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I loved your writing and pictures (: amazing, im glad i read that
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thanks kayla!
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I enjoy taking photo’s and these tips are like gift to me..
Thanks for sharing these wonderful and simple tips.. ^_^
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My pleasure, I’m glad to know that!
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ohh wow
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: )
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Your photography is beautiful =)
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Thanks! Feel free to follow my blog!
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Thank you for these tips – I love to photograph people, but am always concerned about how to approach them. Respect is obviously key, and, as you say, connecting with them on some level. The good thing with digital photography is that one can always demonstrate the deletion of a photo if the subject objects. Love your photos here, particularly the man reading the newspaper.
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That guy was great, he noticed me photographing him and I was about to take one too many, but he was a very patient man. I loved that scene with him in it…
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What beautiful pictures. I could stare hour shouts
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I’m glad to hear that!
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