Communicating the severity of the climate crisis has been a challenge for even the most vocal of climate scientists. This is partly because while climate change and its effects on the planet are very real, it can seem like a distant, even abstract concept.
Capturing the climate crisis on camera is as challenging as it is important. As photographers, we have a responsibility to convey the realities of the world around us, but it can be difficult to effectively capture an event that is, in many ways, invisible. Here are a few ways photographers are fulfilling this responsibility and inspiring action.
Making People the Focus
Although the topic of climate change often invokes heartbreaking images of polar bears traversing thinning sheets of ice, the reality is that the effects are all around us. To better convey the urgency and impact of the crisis, the British newspaper The Guardian recently published an article detailing changes to the way it illustrates its coverage of climate change. Finding that human images are more likely to resonate with people, the publication decided to opt for images “showing the direct impact of environmental issues on people’s daily lives,” while “trying to indicate the scale of the impact.”
A villager shouts for help as a wildfire approaches a house at Casas da Ribeira village in Mação, central Portugal on July 2019. PhAotograph: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
Portraying the ‘Everyday’ Impact
Showing the effects of climate change is one challenge; putting them into context is quite another. Photographers Peter DiCampo and James Whitlow Delano, founders of the @EverydayClimateChange account on Instagram, accepted the challenge, inviting photographers from around the world to help illustrate the effects of climate change. In a National Geographic article, Delano explained, “Combining photos with the science can help,” and described how writing detailed captions can put meaning to the abstract. While those images of polar bears may by now speak for themselves, others, such as those depicting changing weather patterns, likely require some supporting text.
Inspiring Action
In addition to storytelling, using action-oriented language or even including a call to action to encourage your audience to learn more, share and spread the word, or donate to a noteworthy cause, can make your images that much more impactful. You may also consider donating a portion of your royalties to a climate change charity or cause of your choice.
Follow Best Practices
Based on a survey in which participants responded to climate images and discussed in detail what they saw, the climate change charity Climate Outreach created a list of seven principles to facilitate better visual storytelling around the climate crisis. These include opting for real people over staged photos, telling new stories about climate change, communicating the crisis at scale, showing the impact and understanding your audience. Read the full list and research findings here.
Be Socially & Environmentally Responsible
As both visual storytellers and people living on this planet, we as photographers should ensure we’re being socially responsible and adhering to eco-friendly photography practices when documenting the climate crisis. Combatting climate change is a collective responsibility—let’s use our medium to be part of the solution.
