Understanding basic
photographic composition will definitely help you take better photos.
Do the elements in
your composition add to it or distract from it? Remember to stop and look
around before you push the shutter release button.
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| I captured a portion of a house in upper right corner and partial red tulips on the left, distractions. |
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| I eliminated the house and tulips to focus on my subject-the frog. |
How often have you taken what you thought
would be a great shot only to find that the image lacks pizzazz because
the subject blends into a distracting background that overwhelms your subject?
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| I love this guy's hat and dreds but there's too much going on in the photo for viewers to focus on him. |
Start by checking the area for unpleasant
objects. If necessary, place your subject in a different location with a
different background or take the shot from a different angle. Turn your
subject, kneel down and shoot up, stand on something sturdy and shoot downward.
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| Kneeling down-shooting upward. |
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| Shooting downward |
Don't place your subject with anything popping out of their head like trees, light posts, or sign posts. If you can't move your subject, shoot from a different angle.
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Above: notice the tree “growing” out of her head – a distraction.
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| By shifting left I captured a nicer image. The curve in the tree trunk now makes a nice frame for her face. |
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Notice the power lines “growing” out of my hubby's ear!
My Hubby and Son
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Centering them under the tree is more appealing visually.
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"Fill flash" would have eliminated the harsh shadows on the above photos-I'll cover fill flash in another post.
At times it's necessary to take the shot as is. Some of my best photos break the rules of background. I leave interesting or unusual elements in if I feel they add to the image....
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The elements in this photo distract from the flowers.
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| This is better but....... |
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Breaking the rules-I like this one best-the added element of the
boots creates a story: Who is that?, What's going on in the photo?
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Objects in the
background can distract from or add to your photos. Being aware of what's going
on in all areas of the image will help you get the results you want and improve
your photographic composition.
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| I love the graffiti background and the boarded up window framing my son's head. |
Below: cropping your photos in post editing software is often the answer to eliminating unwanted objects.
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| Unattractive background |
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| By cropping in my editing software I've created a pleasing image. |
Practice, practice, practice; read, read, read, look at lots of images by other photographers. You'll catch on to composing your backgrounds and the other visual elements in your photos in no time!
