20 Stunning Photos About What It Means to Be Human (21 photos)

Portrait photography and photojournalism are two potentially very influential and effective art forms that are often underappreciated.





The faces in these photographs and the context in which they were taken speak volumes about the people captured and the world they inhabit. Some are unimaginably, even terrifyingly, different from what we're used to, while others, once more exotic, become closer and more relatable. And even though these are just photographs, looking into the eyes of the people in them seems to make you feel a connection.



3-year-old Rana kisses her 29-year-old mother, Somaye Meri. They say that after acid was thrown in their faces, other people are reluctant to kiss them.

A boy rescued his sister from the rubble of their home, Syria.



A Yazidi girl carries an assault rifle, which helps her protect her family from ISIS militants.



A happy couple in Thailand.



An Indian girl tightly clutches the body of a dead rat.



A girl who survived 11 days in a Siberian forest.



Two women who, after 72 years together, finally had the opportunity to marry.



A 13-year-old eagle hunter in Mongolia.



A boy from São Paulo.



A dark-skinned baby holds an albino baby while sleeping.



A girl named Omayra, trapped under the rubble of her home after mudslides in Colombia. She stood in the water for three days and died because rescuers were unable to help her.



A starving mother with her child at an emergency feeding center (Tahoua, Niger).



A Siberian family having a meal.



Tea time, Yamal Peninsula



A Cuban woman smokes a cigar and holds a ring flash.



An 18-year-old Israeli soldier takes a break after a long march in full gear.



One of the four last white rhinos in the world (Kenya).



Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha).



A woman from Papua New Guinea during the Sing Sing folk dance festival.



A girl from the Yazidi minority relaxes on the Syrian-Iraqi border.