Here’s something that photographers probably don’t think about enough. Backgrounds. Now it might seem strange but in many ways, the background of a photo can be just as important as the foreground. I often suggest clean backgrounds are the best way forward for photographers who are starting out. But if you are looking to really up your game then keep reading.
Keep it clean & simple
Clean, simple distraction-free backgrounds. That’s the best starting point for photographers. Which is why so many of us love those super fast, shallow focus, ridiculously expensive lenses. We can simply open up the aperture, blur the background and voila a clean shot. However, with a little bit of thought, we don’t need to remortgage the house the get a clean background. Simply moving the subject to an area that gives a more pleasing background can achieve wonders, as seen in the example below.
Photo on the left with a distracting background. Photo on the right after the boy came outside and stood in front of a fence.
Notice how in the photo on the right your eye is drawn straight to the boy whereas with the image on the left your eye is constantly being pulled to shapes in the background. With the photo on the right, the brain recognises the background as a fence and leaves you to explore the subject. With the first image, the mind needs to spend longer investigating the shapes and colours in the background as it tries to discover what they are.
Plain colours generally work best in these situations as they provide the least amount of distraction.
Create stories
The other way to go with backgrounds is to include elements that add to the story that you want to tell in your photo. For example this photo below. I wanted to portray this old farmer as a wise and knowledgeable man as that was the impression I got when I met him (yes, it was probably the beard!). My suspicions were confirmed when I entered his house and found a wall full of books and black and white photos of other knowledgeable looking men. These elements come together with the beard to add extra useful information about this character. This helps us build a story about his life. This photo would not have been as strong (for me at least) had it been shot on a plain background.
A Romanian farmer sitting in his bedroom surrounded by books
Whichever option you choose. I strongly recommend you take a second before clicking the shutter and ask yourself “Is this a good background?“
