Photography and Backgrounds (Test Post)
Whatever camera you use, whether a top of the range DSLR, or a simple point and shoot, you will always be faced with dealing with backgrounds. Although not the focal point of a photo, they do play an important part in helping to highlight the subject in the best way. In other words, the background should be enhancing the subject, not dominating it. There are also several other factors which should be considered regarding choosing the right background, and various issues to overcome. Here's just a few, with solutions.
1. Look at Your Background Before Taking Your Shot
Check it to your subject. Is there anything that is dominating, or taking anything away from your subject? For example, if you're taking a photo of a person, is there a tree in the background that appears like it is sticking out from their head? Things like this can spoil a photo, and it's not until after it's been taken that you realise the issue, and sometimes it's too late to change it.
2. Move Your Subject
If the background is too distracting, then move the subject. If the subject cannot be moved, then see if you can change your vantage point, in order to eliminate the background issue. Also, you can try changing the angle, for example, take the shot from high up, or low down if you can.
You can also try moving your subject away and have a background that is far away. So placing your subject in wide open spaces is another excellent way to downplay the background and enhance your main subject.
3. Use Your Aperture
Use your aperture wisely, and blur the background, leaving your subject clear and sharp in focus. Use a low f stop setting to open your aperture wide, allowing just your subject to be in the depth of field. The blurred background will step back, allowing a good contrast between it and your subject.
4. Fill the Frame
One excellent way of eliminating background issues is to fill the frame with the subject. This means having a complete head shot filling the entire picture. Sure, you may cut a bit of the head off, but these types of photos can be quite full of character and life, and totally do away with any background issues.
5. Create Your Own Background
There's a couple of ways you can do this. The most obvious is to have a set up, have your subject stand in front of a screen, and then take the shot. Alternatively, if your computer editing skills are up to it, then use Photoshop or similar, to extract your subject and place it on a background of your choice, taking care to blend the two images together so they look right and make sense.
As you can see, background issues can easily be remedied and with the right application, your images will be the better for it. But whenever going out on a shoot, always remember to take a spare battery with you, even if you only have a point and shoot camera.
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