Background matters in your photos

The background is a very important aspect of our photography. Yet, it sometimes just gets forgotten when we are in the midst of creating images.

One of the most important things you can do when you are framing a scene is to pay close attention to what is behind your subject. It’s also good to pay attention to the foreground as well. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the background as an example.

Having a busy or colorful background when framing your main subject can make what might be a stellar shot just not work at all. 

Using a shallow depth of field will help to a certain extent by blurring out the background. But, when there is a lot going on or bright, distracting colors, no amount of blurring will help.

Examples of why background matters

.mgl-tiles { display: none; } #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } @media screen and (max-width: 768px) { #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } } @media screen and (max-width: 460px) { #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-634ee00484a37 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } }

In this example, you can see lines created by a fence with varying shades of light and dark. My image is also not in focus but for this example, it doesn’t matter. The line cut right through the main character of my image, the leaf. The light and dark areas pull my eyes away from the leaf because I want to see what’s going on back there.

In the second image, I moved. By moving up, down or stepping to the side I framed the leaf with a background that is clear of distracting elements. It makes a big difference. 

It does not take much to create images that are just a bit better. By being acutely aware of what else is going on in your frame. Slow down and pay just a little more attention and you’ll start seeing the difference in your images. The background is a big part of what we see and if it’s pulling our attention away from the subject, move around and find a better way to compose your subject.