Where to place horizon when including people?

I like to take a couple of snapshots of my girlfriend and I after taking photos of just the landscape and I was wondering if you guys have any tips on placing the horizon when I'm including people in the photo. Do you place the horizon as you would in a landscape photo or adjust when you include people?

Stay where you are and plop the human in the frame.

cdifoto wrote in post #13690645
Stay where you are and plop the human in the frame.

Hmm... it can look kind of weird sometimes say with the horizon at eye level.

Okay then don't. You're overthinking it. When it's a keepsake snapshot, do whatever the heck you like.

cdifoto wrote in post #13697555
Okay then don't. You're overthinking it. When it's a keepsake snapshot, do whatever the heck you like.

I'm just trying to learn and take better photos.

I think it depends on the goal of the shot. For taking a purely portrait picture, I would likely not include the horizon. If you want to include the view or landscape with a person in it, I would just try to frame it so the horizon isn't distracting - like cutting straight through their heads or if the horizon creates two high contrast parts, make sure it's placed higher or lower in the picture. Do you have any examples?

Place it where it would not be objectionable to crop.

cdifoto wrote in post #13690645
Stay where you are and plop the human in the frame.

It's hard to believe that an experienced photographer would give this advice.

It is clear that you want to make good images, and not just take a thoughtless snapshot. If that was all you wanted, you would not be thinking about positioning the subject. And you certainly wouldn't have started a thread here about this topic unless you truly cared about making a quality image with a powerful composition.

Where you place the subject (your girlfriend) is important. All of the basic rules of composition come into play in an image such as this.

First of all, ask yourself if you even want to include the horizon. Could a more effective image be made if you didn't include the sky at all? If you do decide that it is best to include some of the sky, then you are right to think about where the horizon line falls in relation to your subject.

It is not complimentary to have the horizon line lie behind your subject's head. If your girlfriend's head looks like it is dissected by the horizon, it makes for a very awkward looking composition. So, try to have your girlfriend's head & neck either entirely in front of the sky, or entirely in front of the land. It is also not complimentary to have the horizon fall in line with the horizontal plane of the top of her shoulders.

Keep the horizon up above the top of her head, or down below the top of her shoulders. This is not a hard and fast "rule", but it will result in the most pleasing composition most of the time, in most situations.

Keep in mind the other aspects of composition, as well. You can use your girlfriend to bring balance to an unbalanced landscape. Use her to frame a scene by placing her along the far right or far left edge of the image.

Most of all, experiment and take images with her in various positions, relative to the other elements in the scene (if she has the patience for this). Take lost of images with her in different positions and then review them all carefully and ask yourself what you like about some images and what you don't like about others.

Whatever you do, don't just "plop her in the frame". Put thought, effort, and creativity into it. It is always worth it!

Thanks Tom, pudgy_groundhog, and ejenner. I now have some ideas on how to proceed. I'll have to move my girlfriend around more and try different shots.