We’re lucky to live in an age where we can find beautiful photos of anything we want online. Adorable puppies, stunning culinary creations, remote places in nature and even close-ups of tiny insects are at our fingertips. But we’re all capable of taking striking photos, because some of the most captivating subjects are human beings!
Below, you’ll find some of the most beautiful and eye-catching photos of people that have been shared in this subreddit that’s dedicated to capturing the human experience. So enjoy scrolling through these pictures, and be sure to upvote the ones that you find particularly powerful!
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#1 My 86 Year Old Math Teacher. He’s Been Teaching For 6 Decades
Image credits: MichaelScott315
#2 Two Girls Kissing In Front Of An Anti-Gay Protest
Image credits: DENllZ
#3 Woman In Blue
Image credits: moab-girl
There are infinite fascinating things on this planet, and one of those things just happens to be: us! There are over 8 billion people on Earth who speak thousands of different languages and have millions of unique habits, physical features and experiences. So as mundane as it may seem to capture people on film, it can actually teach us a lot about ourselves and others around us to take photos of one another.
That’s something that the subreddit we’re featuring on this list understands. Noting on their homepage that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” this group is dedicated to sharing “high quality images of humans.”
“We are focused on looking at what humans are, more than what they do,” the community’s about section states. “To show you how humans exist. How people show their emotions and inner self.”
#4 A Nepali Girl During Holi, The Festival Of Colors. Photo By Mihaela Noroc In ‘The Atlas Of Beauty’
Image credits: aakash54
#5 Culturally Different Brothers In Burma
Image credits: ThatEnglishKid
#6 Little Girl Is Thrilled By Her Dad’s Amazing Balancing Act In Melbourne, Australia – C.1940
Image credits: Reporter_at_large
As far as the rules of this subreddit, there are only a few simple ones: share portraits only (faces must be visible), include as much context about the image as possible, and only submit static images. Aside from that, members are free to share as many stunning, fascinating and eye-catching photos of celebrities, their grandparents, their friends and people they meet while on vacation as they like.
While taking photos of people might seem simple, there’s no question that we love looking at one another (and ourselves), even on social media. According to a study from Georgia Tech University, photos with human faces are 38% more successful on Instagram than pictures without people. These photos are also one third more likely to attract comments.
#7 “The Beauty Of Ireland”
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Image credits: RiceyHD
#8 Maldivian Model Raudha Athif
Image credits: RyanSmith
#9 Lithuanian Woman In Traditional Garb
Image credits: Z3F
As far as why we enjoy looking at photos of humans so much, Saeideh Bakhshi, the Georgia Tech College of Computing Ph.D. student who led the study, says that it’s something we start doing at birth. “Even as babies, people love to look at faces,” she explained. “Faces are powerful channels of non-verbal communication. We constantly monitor them for a variety of contexts, including attractiveness, emotions and identity.”
#10 Little Girl And Her Horned Lizard At The Venice Beach Pet Show, California, 1936
Image credits: notbob1959
#11 Construction Worker Jason Oglesbee Rescues A Woman From The Des Moines River
Image credits: HeStoleMyBalloons
#12 Indian Dancer At The Spring Festival
Image credits: reddit.com
We enjoy taking photos of our own faces as well, as anyone with an Instagram can attest to. There are over 300 million pictures on the app that have been hashtagged “selfie,” and countless more being shared every single day. Faces are incredibly important to us, as we’re likely to notice them first and pay closer attention to them than any other part of the body, Dr. Owen Churches, from the school of psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide, says.
#13 A Woman At The Janadriyah Cultural Festival In Saudi Arabia
Image credits: santorumsandwich
#14 Ethiopian Beggar Boy With Blue Eyes On The Streets Of Jinka, By Mike Eloff
Image credits: Kresley
#15 Emotions Of A Woman After Giving Birth, By Kristen Lewis
Image credits: liveinsociety
Some people even share selfies online because they can help them feel more confident and boost their self-esteem. 41% of adult women and 65% of teens report that posting selfies and other flattering pics of themselves has a positive impact on their self-confidence. 40% of teens even note that social media helps them “present their best face” to the world.
#16 Mayan Street Vendor In Playa Del Carmen
Image credits: Cu3rvo10
#17 Dancer In Dublin
Image credits: sussoutthemoon
#18 Child Sleeping With Reindeer In Mongolia
Image credits: spicedpumpkins
Enjoying looking at people through photos is nothing new, though. The Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous piece of artwork in the world, features a portrait of a woman whose eyes have captivated millions of people for generations. And according to Alison Smith, chief curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London, portraits are a unique genre of artwork. “Portraiture stands apart from other genres of art as it marks the intersection between portrait, biography and history,” Smith told the BBC. “They are more than artworks; when people look at portraits, they think they are encountering that person.”
#19 An Old Man With His Cat
Image credits: abruski
#20 Nihang Sikh, Photo By Mark Hartman
Image credits: drednaught
#21 West African Exiled ‘Desert Rock’ Group Tinariwen. Shot By Thomas Dorn
Image credits: MightyGrey
While portraits were a status symbol in the past when only the wealthy had access to them and the opportunity to have themselves depicted, nowadays, we all get to share little pieces of ourselves through photographs. “It’s that fellowship of human beings,” Smith told the BBC. “Whereas in the past it was really a mark of rank or status or celebrity, I think now portraiture is more about existentialism. It’s about psychology, who they are and how they fit into society. It’s about identity.”
#22 A Tribesman From Rural Papua New Guinea With His Face Painted Like An Undead Spirit
Image credits: arijitdas
#23 Ridiculously Photogenic German Police And Protester
Image credits: HighlyCharming
#24 Kate Menson From Ghana
Image credits: reddit.com
We hope you’re enjoying looking at these photos that celebrate how beautiful humans are, pandas. Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly captivating, and let us know in the comments what some of your favorite photos of people are. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring pictures of humans “doing human things,” we recommend reading this piece next!
#25 College Girl Being Catcalled During A Photoshoot. This Is The Exact Moment She Heard It
Image credits: bulabulabambam
#26 Mother Fixing Her Sons Hair On A Train
Image credits: Lilyan_Lilia
#27 An Elder From Balochistan, Pakistan
Image credits: mwJalal
#28 Four Tibetan Monks Came Into This Guy’s Drag Show In Beijing Because They Were Drawn In By The Music And Laughter
Image credits: whats8
#29 A Little Girl Holds A Flipper As She Walks With A Penguin Family Around The London Zoo In 1937
Image credits: Reporter_at_large
#30 My Band Mate Applying Make-Up
Image credits: jaybovino
#31 An Aztec Dancer
Image credits: HighsenBurrg
#32 A Monk And A Muslim Tourist Are Trying To Figure Out Seating Etiquette On A Ferry At Wat Arun – In The End Both Stood And None Was Sitting
Image credits: Aberfrog
#33 Japanese Samurai During The Last Days Of The Tokugawa Shogunate, Circa 1865
Image credits: huaxiaman
#34 I Met A Woman With A Possum And A Beautifully Sincere Smile
Image credits: ladypugsworth
#35 A Woman During The Great Smog Of London, 1952
Image credits: N0thingtosee
#36 A Girl In Palangan, Kurdistan, Iran, During Annual Newroz Celebration
Image credits: HeStoleMyBalloons
#37 A Couple In A Photo Booth, 1960s
Image credits: Paul-Belgium
#38 Mother And Daughter In Traditional Attire From Chiapas, Mexico, By Evangeline C. Rodriguez
Image credits: MarsNirgal
#39 Himba Woman, Namibia
Image credits: depreseedinparis
#40 Rabari Shepherd In Rajasthan, India, Photo By Steve Mccurry, 2009
Image credits: Slow-moving-sloth
#41 Traditional Gowns And Braids Of The Pomak Village Of Startsevo, Bulgaria
Image credits: AxelAbraxas
#42 Mother And Child By François Pache, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Image credits: notbob1959
#43 Geisha On Her Way Home From Work. Kyoto, Japan {1591×1975}
Image credits: byeseeyoulater
#44 Amazonian Girl And Her Pet Sloth
Image credits: Paul-Belgium
#45 A Child Admiring A Small Owl In Tokyo, Japan [3089×4098] (Oc)
Image credits: byeseeyoulater
#46 Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Made The Decision Not To Fire At The United States After A Faulty Report From The Russian Missile Detection That A Nuke Had Been Fired, What Probably Prevented WWIII
Image credits: hardypart
#47 Two Children On A Bank In Alabama, 1956
Image credits: snowsnothing
#48 A Little Girl In Northern Iraq Helping To Block A Flare From Hitting My Lens
Image credits: paperisdelicious
#49 This Is Sandra. She’s 25 And Just Started Her Own Falconry
Image credits: hardypart
#50 Four Women At Chicken Bone Beach, A Segregated Beach In Atlantic City By John W. Mosley, 1960s
Image credits: notbob1959
#51 A Bath With Clean Water In Mozambique
Image credits: dimitris_25
#52 A Woman From Luzon Photographed In 1875
Image credits: RyanSmith
#53 Iranian Chess Player Dorsa Derakhshani Plays For The Us Team After Being Banned From Playing Without Her Hijab In Her Own Team
Image credits: zeromig
#54 Usually, I Don’t Smile In Pics So This Is Very Rare. My Friend Took This While I Wasn’t Paying Attention At A BBQ Recently
Image credits: Dupreechristoph
#55 Aboriginal Man, Tom Noytuna And His Son, Use A Newly Installed Telephone For Their First Time At A Remote Outstation At Korlobidahdah, Central Arnhem Land, Australia … (C.1980)
Image credits: Reporter_at_large
#56 A Woman’s Last Moments With Her Friend
Image credits: kylegetsspam
#57 Vincenc Jetelina At 30 Years Old And At 105 Years Old. One Of Jan Langer’s Portraits Of Czech Centenarians Compared To When They Were Young Adults
Image credits: notbob1959
#58 When A Vacation By The Sea Collides With The Arrival Of Refugees
Image credits: hardypart
#59 Fresh French Fries
Image credits: MurphShoots
#60 International Students At Moscow State University, 1961
Image credits: YourResidentRussian
#61 This Is The Woman Whose Handwritten Calculations Were Responsible For Taking Us To The Moon, Katherine Johnson, Was An American Mathematician & Nasa Employee. Born: August 26, 1918, White Sulphur Springs, Wv Died: February 24, 2020, Newport News, Va. She Was 101
Image credits: stalwart_rabbit
#62 Old Warrior, Ethiopia, Photo By Izidor Gašperlin
Image credits: notbob1959
#63 Japanese Nurse Dressed In Black During The Russo-Japanese War… 1905
Image credits: Reporter_at_large
#64 Coffee Farmer’s Son, Photo By Steve Mccurry, Lambari, Brazil, 2010 [1500×1000]
Image credits: notbob1959
#65 22 Year Old Penha Goes From Aldeia Yanomami, Amazonas – Brazil, 1997
Image credits: BricksHaveBeenShat
Source: boredpanda.com