Landscape photography: people in the frame or not?

Thursday 28 April 2022, 11:22 by Erik van Rosmalen | 4,986 views | 3 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

This week, Photofacts is focusing on landscape photography. As a portrait photographer, I want to make a case for an 'object' that many landscape photographers prefer to avoid. People!

You know the feeling: you're on holiday. You walk to a viewpoint with a beautiful view over a valley.

You want to capture that view to take home. What often comes as a bit of a disappointment to many photographers is that the expansive feeling of a landscape seems to be missing from the photo.

It was so beautiful there. And in the photo? 'It was much more beautiful in real life'…

Creating layers

One possible cause is the lack of layers in the photo. And I don't mean Photoshop layers. I mean things that are actually present in your photo and show depth.

Because sometimes it is precisely things in the foreground that make the expanse and distance come across beautifully!

Bushes, a fence or something else: an element close to the viewer strengthens the sense of depth you want to give your photo. So don't leave those elements out of your photos!

2013 05 11 Weekend Lierneux 04 Edit 1024px

An early morning in the Belgian Ardennes. The cloudy sky is beautiful, as is the morning light. The grazing pony in the grass adds a little extra depth as a foreground subject.

People!

Plants, a stream, bushes or a rock in the foreground can help. But what also helps is something many photographers prefer to avoid: people!

Many a photographer can't wait for the busload of tourists to leave, so they can photograph that waterfall/view/mountain. But don't underestimate what those people can add!

A rock, bush or fence can still vary greatly in size. But when we see a person, our brains automatically fill in the picture.

After all, our minds are pre-programmed and familiar with the size of 'a human'. In that sense, people don't even have to be in the foreground to create depth.

An (analogue) black-and-white image of steps by an office building in the La Défènse district of Paris. An almost abstract image because of all the lines and the contrast. The businessman eating his lunch on the steps in the distance 'breaks' up the abstract quality and gives an indication of the size of the steps.

Tenerife, near the top of Teide, the highest mountain on the island. And in Spain too, for that matter. A walker passes along the edge of the volcanic crater. He (or she?) gives you a sense of how vast the landscape is.

People and nature

I am not a landscape photographer myself. I mainly photograph people. I approach the combination of people and landscape in a different way. I take (nude) portraits in the great outdoors, mostly shot on analogue film.

What strikes me about this is that people and nature strengthen each other in the image. Through the contrast between the large and the small, light skin versus a dark forest, or through the contrast in the lines.

Amber early in the morning by a small fen. The reeds in the foreground add some extra depth here too.

The mist already creates a beautiful atmospheric perspective among the trees. In the foreground, Sien looks out over the clearing in the forest.

The contrast provided by black-and-white film enhances the effect of the light skin against the dark forest.

Fomapan100, pushed to 400.

Kodak Tmax400. Eva among the enormous branches of an old oak.
You can see more images from this series on my Instagram or Pixieset.

Of course, this is a different branch of photography from landscape photography during a trip or holiday. But remember that people and nature can complement each other perfectly in a photo!

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About the author

Erik werkt als content specialist. Daarnaast is hij freelance tekstschrijver en fotograaf. Mensen vormen daarbij het hoofdonderwerp: portret- en reportage-fotografie. Volg Erik ook op Instagram!

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3 comments

Donald Willemsen wrote on Friday 29 April 2022 at 23:15 | reply
Erik, you have shown a few good examples of people in the landscape. Here, the person is a functional part of the landscape. And that's how it should be, in my opinion. It should be functional. But it should be done in such a way that the attention doesn't only go to the person in the landscape, but also to the landscape itself. The danger is that a nude model attracts more attention than the rest of the photo, and that shouldn't happen. The model should enhance the landscape.
Translated from Dutch.

ErikvanRosmalen wrote on Monday 2 May 2022 at 20:53 | reply
Thank you Donald. After all, it is about the balance between humans and nature. I personally find functional a tricky concept, because how functional are humans in the vastness of nature. But indeed, it must be in balance, one whole.
Translated from Dutch.

Robert wrote on Tuesday 3 May 2022 at 15:35 | reply
A beautiful body is the most natural fantastic landscape, look!
Photo-taking regards
Robert
Translated from Dutch.

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