Here’s One Of The Easiest Ways To Totally RUIN A Good Photograph!
Is this a description of you? You save up every cent to buy the latest photo gadgets and gear, you read all the how-to books, subscribe to the best photo magazines and haunt the camera shop. Finally, you find a suitable subject, insert a clean memory stick into your camera, (or some film) and start firing away.
When we finish our “photo shoot”, we run to the nearest lab to get our film processed. Or, we grab the nearest 10 year old to show us how to download our photos into the computer. finally, our photos are ready!
Our gorgeous model has a tree growing out of her head – on every shot in the ENTIRE session! Or, we never noticed that garbage can off to the side. You know, the one ruining the best shots. Did you notice the cars driving by in the background? How about the bunch of kids walking by?
Yeah, we fell into the trap of focusing all our attention on the model and not looking around at the other elements in the scene. It’s easy to do. And I don’t care who they are, every photographer out there has done the same thing!
We have to think about shutter speed, film speed, f-stop and so on – photography is very technical for an ART! Then we have to be concerned about our models’ pose, eyes, smile and so on…now we’re expected to pay attention to the cars, trees, kids, and trash in the background?
Yup. Add one more challenge to the list. It’s not too hard to get in the habit of checking all the way around the edges of the frame – if you make it a habit!
Do whatever it takes to FORCE yourself to consciously slow down and take a second to let your eye scan all the way around the edges of the viewfinder. But that’s not all. Consider those trees or light poles way off in the background, are they going to be blurred out or will they be sharp enough to be a factor in the final print. Can you move and shoot from a different angle?
Does your background include a street? Watch out for traffic – auto or pedestrian. Can you move to a different location, or change shooting angles and eliminate the traffic? Will you have to wait for a break in the traffic to get your shot?
I know this is a very obvious tip, but if this wasn’t a very costly, everyday problem I wouldn’t have bothered with this article. You can save a lot of time and money by just taking an extra second or two and looking at your backgrounds.
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