Exposed! Photo Newsletter :: Better Photos through Better Backgrounds ::
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Contents
"Remember the background!"
On many workshops I give this simple advice.
I see lots of photos with beautiful subjects murdered by bad backgrounds. The foreground is exposed well, composed well, vibrant and caught at just the right moment but the background kills the photo and any chance of fame, fortune and bragging rights.
In this edition of Exposed! we give top tips to make your foreground pop by playing off the background.
Framing the subject with window frames, shooting from below and using high contrast make fore and background work together!
How to create better backgrounds
- Contrast your colours — Help your foreground stand out from the background by referring to the colour wheel. If the main subject is red, place it against its opposing colour - green. If the main subject is yellow, try placing it against something blue
- Blur the background with motion — Keep the background subtle, but blur it using a panning technique. Done properly you will retain some sharpness in the main subject while blowing the background with motion.
- Blur the background with focus — Deemphasize that overpowering background by pushing it out of focus using aperture, lenses and your position relative to the subject. Heavily blurred backgrounds can bring all the attention to the foreground.
- Frame the foreground — Often the distractions behind your main subject can help bring attention to them. Placed poorly in the photo window frames, trees and architectural elements appear to erupt out of a person's head - killing the photo. With a little awareness and movement by the photographer the same confounded distraction can be used to highlight or frame the foreground's most important element. Pay attention to how background geometric shapes or lines can be used to frame or bring attention to the main subject.
- Get some perspective — Sometimes the background is just messy and there's little you can do - there's no option for blur or contrast and the background has no framing potential. In instances like these I do my best to eliminate the messy background altogether. How?! Physically remove it to capture the same subject with a new background. How?! By shooting from a ladder you can often create a cleaner background of grass. Lying on the ground could give you a beautiful blue sky background.
Blurring the background and shooting from a ladder make the background support (and not kill) the foreground!
Homework
Spend an hour picking a very specific main subject - not a tree but a leaf on the tree - and try the tips above to make your foreground separate themselves from the background.
Pro Perspective
I spend a lot of time observing the world around me and taking second (and third) looks at things. I look for good light, locations, angles and I look to see how I can get clean backgrounds that will help save the foreground.
Observation is a good starting point for any photo and the best first step to success.
Final Frame
Take photos.
Make the background work for the foreground.
Make the foreground appreciate the background.
Have fun.
