As we begin the summer fun season, there is no doubt that many photographs will be captured at the countless celebrations, parties, and scenic vistas we will encounter. As a photographer myself, I view many wonderful images, and also many nice images that would be wonderful if the photographer had taken a moment to check the viewfinder for good composition, and clean backgrounds.
A clean background is not a blank wall. It is a setting for your subject that is free of distractions. The whole point of making a photograph is to remember your subject at a particular moment in time, and distractions in the background pulls the viewers attention away from the subject. There are several methods of reducing distracting elements in the background. One way is to zoom in to the subject so they fill the frame. The other is to use a large aperture (f/stop) to blur the background. This isn’t always possible with a pocket digicam.
These methods above should definitely be part of your compositional arsenal, but regardless of your ability to zoom and your ability to blur the background, one thing every photographer should do before snapping any photo is to check the edges and the corners of the frame for elements that don’t belong. Is there a post behind the subject that looks like it is growing out of their head? Is someone’s foot stepping into the frame? Are there dirty dishes on the table? Clean this stuff up! Not literally, of course, but change your position and that of the camera so these distractions are not in the picture.
You can see my point in the photos of a Least Tern below. Which one better shows the bird? Which one has fewer distracting elements?
I think you will agree that the closeup with the fewer stones visible and less of the beach included calls your attention to the subject-the bird itself.
I know it takes some practice to train yourself to check the edges of a photo before taking the picture. But, once you get into the habit of cleaning up your edges, you will find many more keepers in each session with your camera.
Happy Shooting!
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