Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

Subject placement and size:Your placement of the subject in your frame and its size in relation to the negative space plays a major role in revealing the purpose of the image. A subject that appears small and is surrounded by much negative space seems less dominant and important than a subject that appears large and takes up most of the frame's space.

When you're using a solid background and want to be more creative and interactive with it, putting the subject close to or against the background will show texture and may cause the subject to cast an interesting shadow on it. Some photographers crinkle the paper backdrops in their studios and position models right in front of them. An image with this background doesn't try to conceal the photographic process. Rather, it gives you the sense that the photographer was present and that the subject was photographed in the studio. Some photographers even use wide-angle lenses to reveal the stands that are holding up the backdrop and the paint buckets and ladders in the back corner of the studio. This gives a sort of behind-the-scenes, creative twist to studio photography.

In fashion and product photography, you may sometimes want to create an environment that contains no detail whatsoever — a monotone and monochromatic environment that surrounds the subject. In studio or on location, you can create these solid, seamless backgrounds with rolls of paper that are suspended in the air and pulled down and out along the floor or table. You position your subject on the paper with enough distance from the background to ensure that it blurs and reveals no flaws in the paper. This type of shooting is great for drawing attention to your subject with absolutely no

distractions. To view examples of this type of photography, visit any online department store and browse the clothing galleries. Or take a look at some fashion catalogs.

In Figure 9–3,1 show a photograph of my father shortly after he went through a successful treatment for throat cancer. He was happy to be alive and cancer-free, but at the same time he was experiencing steady discomfort and would continue to wear the tracheostomy tube in his throat for months to come. His body language and expression combined with this composition and the muted colors relay the conflict of accomplishment and uncertainty. I placed him in the bottom corner of the frame and made him relatively small in comparison to the negative space, which gives the sense of being cornered and alone. Cancer is an uncomfortable topic, so I felt that an uncomfortable composition was fitting.

50mm, 1/2000 sec, f/2.2, WOO

Figure 9–3:A balance of negative space, color, subject placement, and expression.

In some situations, your background may not cooperate with your subject or your message. It may be too busy, meaning it contains too many elements that don't support your subject or message in any way. Or a subject may blend in too well with the background if it's similar in color or tone or has a similar texture or pattern as the background. These situations create compositional problems in which your viewers are distracted by the background and can't read the image in a clear manner. So, when you're trying to make your subject stand out from the background, you want to avoid situations like these.

However, sometimes you may not consider these situations to be problematic. For instance, you may find situations in which you can use a busy background or one that blends with your subject creatively to reveal a certain message. Your job is to decide when a background works with your message and when it detracts from it.

To help you get a handle on what works and what doesn't, in the following sections, I review some background problems you may experience, along with some ways to avoid or fix them.

The most common issue that new photographers encounter with regard to backgrounds is too much or too little light hitting the background in comparison to how much light is hitting the subject. If you find that your subject is being lit by full, direct sunlight and your background is in complete shadow, you're going to have exposure problems (unless of course, your background has distracting elements and you want it to appear as dark as possible). In this situation, try to move your subject to an area that isn't being lit by the direct sunlight (if you can). Or, find a way to shed some light on the background. I usually carry a small, battery-powered flash in my camera bag in case I need to balance the light in a scene.

Another background problem may be that your subject is indoors but near a window through which sunlight beams into the scene. The window will be overexposed if you expose for the indoor light. To solve this problem, bounce a portable flash off a wall or the ceiling to bring up the ambient exposure inside to more closely match the outside exposure.

To operate a flash that isn't on your camera, you can sync it to your camera with a chord. However, this may not give you the reach that you require. I use a PocketWizard that transmits a signal from the camera to the flash telling it when to fire. With this system, I can place the flash far away from the

camera and still have it sync with my shutter. Finding the right flash (and setup) for your specific camera and needs requires some research. I suggest asking the folks at your local camera shop or browsing forums online to see what other photographers are doing.

To ensure that you accommodate areas being hit by bright light, consider your shot carefully before you work. Determine whether you even want to include the details in the background before getting out your flash. Sometimes, letting the background lose detail helps to bring more attention to your subject.

You've probably seen the ubiquitous party snapshot with some guy standing in the background staring at the camera or — even worse — posing in an absurd way. Nobody knows who the guy is, but for some reason he decided to steal the show in this group photograph. The unannounced visitor is pretty much the worst-case scenario for a distracting background. Other distractions could include the following:

Shapes or lines that are high in contrast or bold in color:These elements can take attention away from your subject in some cases. To lessen the distraction when removal is impossible, use a shallow depth of field to blur them a little.

Harsh spots of light or shadow:A spotlight is meant to direct attention to a specific area. If a spot in your background draws attention away from your subject, try changing your perspective (the relationship between your camera, the subject, and the background elements) in order to use the harsh tonality to draw attention to your subject. Or eliminate it from your frame all together. Check out Chapter 8 for more information on perspective.

Subjects placed directly in front of noticeable lines or straight objects:

For instance when a person is positioned directly in front of a telephone pole, it can appear that the pole is growing out of her head. By moving the subject or the camera so the telephone pole is no longer a distraction, you can fix this problem.

Horizon lines in the center of a frame:The center of your frame can act like a bull's-eye when it contains strong elements. A horizon cutting through the center of a frame is more successful as a distraction than as a complimentary compositional element.

Photos with too many elements that are irrelevant to your subject or message:When taking a picture of the bride and groom at a wedding, for instance, you wouldn't want to include the empty beer bottles on the table and the trash can that's just behind them. Crop in tight or change your camera angle to find the appropriate composition.