Here’s One Of The Easiest Ways To Totally RUIN A Good Photograph
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Ok, we haunt the camera shops, try out and buy all the latest gadgetry, read all the photo magazines and books. Finally, we load some film into our camera, (or insert a new memory stick) find a suitable subject and start firing away!
We anxiously run down to the photo lab to get our film developed, (or spend a few hours trying to remember how to download our photos into the computer- who can see anything on that tiny screen anyway?). Finally, we see the results.
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!
There’s so much to think about when constructing a good portrait. Is she (or he) smiling, is the angle of her head appealing, is everything in focus, did we focus on the eyes – and now we have to worry about trees, garbage cans, cars and kids?
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?
Is there a street in the backdrop? Take a second to check and see if there is any traffic coming – either auto or pedestrian traffic. If so, can you change the scene to eliminate the problem? Or will you have to wait for a break in the traffic?
I know, it seems obvious, but I wouldn’t have written this article if it weren’t an everyday problem. Take just a few seconds to consider the background and then scan your eye around the frame before snapping the shutter. You will save a lot of money on prints that would have been thrown out.
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