Beecher's Handouts /
Composition /
20.4 - Planes
Backgrounds
The background can help or hinder your picture.
However, it's very hard to pay attention to what is happening
back there.
Check the background and do the following.
Vantage Point
If it's not good, change your vantage point.
Focal Length
Push the background further away by using a wide-angle focal
length.
Or, bring it close by using a more telephoto focal length.
Depth-of-field
Use a wide lens opening, such as f/1.4 on a 50mm lens, to blur
the background.
Use a smaller lens opening, such as f/16, to have the background
sharper.
Foregrounds
The foreground is often not used well.
If your photograph is not being improved by an empty foreground,
then do the following.
• Change your vantage point.
• Zoom in.
• Place something in the foreground, such as shooting through
the cattails on the edge of a pond.
Mergers
Things in the background may merge with the subject.
The classic example is a telephone pole behind a person's head.
Also, make sure the horizon line does not line up with a person's
eyes.
Framing
Use something in the foreground or background to frame your subject.
For example, place a tree on one side of the picture.
Or, place your subject in front of an out of focus arch of a
rose arbor.
Depth
Close one eye to judge how a scene will look as a photograph.
You can add to the feeling of depth in the following ways.
Lines
Use receding or converging lines in the picture.
The lines could be a road, for example.
Planes
Use many planes (layers) of elements between the camera and the
back of the picture.
For example, have flowers near the camera, then your subject,
with trees in the distance.
Separation
Add depth by having lots of separation between the subject and
background.
There are three ways to do this.
1) Make the background out-of-focus by using less depth-of-field.
2) Make the background lighter or darker, or a different color,
than the subject.
Blue tends to recede, as do lighter colors.
3) Use backlighting or side lighting. The bright edge on the
subject will give a feeling of separation from the background.
Haze
Haze in the background is a cue to our brain that the scene has
depth.
Scale
If you add something of known size to your photograph, the viewer
will be cued as to the size or distance of the subject.
The small person in the distance, with a much larger person near
the camera, is a strong depth cue, for example.
Removing Depth
You may wish to remove depth.
Do the reverse of the above.
