DAY 241

PHOTOGRAPHY 101

Backgrounds

WHAT’S THAT GROWING OUT OF YOUR HEAD?

An important facet of composing is paying attention to what is behind your subject. A cluttered background will confuse your viewer as to what he should be looking at.

When photographing an outdoor scene, observe the area behind the subject while looking through the viewfinder. If there is a tree limb or telephone pole behind the subject, looking like it’s growing out of your subject’s head, take a step to the left or right. If that doesn’t eliminate the problem, move your subject to a different area.

Another method of lessening the distraction of a background is to change the aperture setting to a larger opening (lower f/stop) to reduce the depth of field. This will throw the background out of focus, helping to keeping attention on your subject.

Generally speaking, the less cluttered the background, the better. Recompose your photograph until distracting elements are no longer visible. Take a few moments to move a fallen limb out of the way of your outdoor family portrait.

As you continue to practice your photography, start implementing these hints one at a time. Go ahead and take your photograph as you are first inclined to do. Then pause and take a look at the surrounding area with a critical eye. Make a conscious effort to reduce background clutter before taking a second exposure. —CWN

In order to show the subject in focus and the background out of focus, change the aperture setting to reduce the depth of field as in this example.