The soul of humanitarian photography

There are countless kinds of photography and they are all compelling and can give strong emotions and feeling to the photographer and those who watch the photos. Humanitarian photography has a special place because the photographer can establish a special relationship with the people he portrays, so the lens becomes his eye, his heart and even his hand to reach out those in need.

So, what is the soul of humanitarian photography? To say it with one word: Humanity. Persons always play an important role in photography, in street photography they can be So, passers-by, in portrait photography they are the main subject and they transmit emotions through their body, facial expression, eye-catch … In humanitarian photography they tell a story. They speak for themselves, for their families and for all those who live in the same situation, that’s why they need a stronger voice.Humanitarian photography has to have a narrative. To convey a clear message the photo must answer several W questions: Who is this person? What is the problem? What is the need? What can we do for them? A brief caption can be added to give some extra information, but the key ideas should be clear at the first glimpse.

In addition to all of this, if you are documenting the job ofand NGO or association you should show in the photo that what they do is really worth: remember you are not working to become rich or to let someone else become rich, you are working to pass a message, to give back hope to those who lost it. That is why a humanitarian photograph doesn’t have to be beautiful, it has to be good. Good means that the message is sent directly, reach the heart of possible donors and bring back results to those in need.