Should one or Should one not?

[John Walton]

Yesterday, I posted some photographs on Facebook, which I took at Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire. All had been processed through a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop and I had removed people from the images. A friend commented on Facebook, 'Were there no people there?'

If I am taking pictures of this type, I routinely remove people, dogs and the like using Photoshop or Lightroom tools. My question today, is whether or not I go too far with this and make the photographs too sterile?

[Brigette]

Totally depends on what image and look you’re after….no right or wrong here

[Diana]

I normally remove everything I don't like to see in my shots! Do what you feel most comfortable with and what appeals to you :-)

[Kathy A]

I tend to remove people/animals that are to close to me but leave in the ones further away for scale

[Suzanne]

I like the scale people give to an image like this and the pops of colour like the red top but that’s a meter of what suits the image.

[JackieR]

I admit I often remove people who are rude enough to get in my photo. But here I might have kept them in to show the scale of the place. I'd desaturate the link hair though!!!!

[Susan Wakely]

Sometimes I find people in the shot distracting and other times I feel that they add to the shot. It is a personal and I guess it depends if you were solely concentrating on the building are capturing the whole surroundings.

[Andrew-Bede Allsop]

As others have said it is a personal thing and what you are trying to achieve. Personally I have begun to consciously slow down and take time composing the shot, this may mean waiting for everything to fall into place but time doing this saves a lot of post-processing time on the computer as well as tending to make a better photo.

[Tim Erskine]

There are no rules in photography nor in displaying art. Totally your call.

[JackieR]

@allsop I find the longer you wait the more people get into your shot!!!!

[Larry L]

Lots of good thoughts here: "no right or wrong", "Do what you feel most comfortable with", "a mater of what suits the image", "It is personal and I guess it depends "....

That said, if you're entering into a contest, you should disclose. If you're publishing as journalism, you should consider, and at least disclose. Meanwhile, if somebody asked me, I wouldn't lie.

[Annie-Sue]

here they add colour - but they are a bit untidily placed

they are often useful for scale

[J A Byrdlip]

Having something or someone for scale is wonderful, provided they/it doesn't distract. My Opinion: For instance, the "blob" on the left does nothing for the image, neither the people in the doorway center, too far away. The person is white is a distraction. The other person near the doorway is okay as is the mauve coat. Your mileage may vary.

[Danette Thompson]

A different thought…many people do not know how to remove people/objects, so your friend must have thought no one was there. I like this one without the people, but I agree that people can add another dimension.