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How to Improve your Photography Using Background

Background of the photos is always one of the challenges that face photographers and designers. However, photography backgrounds are one of the main tools to provide you with better opportunities. Photography backgrounds offer you the ability to create contexts that would make your photo stand out and differentiated. It will be adding highlights to it. Nevertheless, if adding subjects at the background, it might get a little distraction from the main purpose. 

assorted photos on beige wooden table


Challenges That photographers Face in the photography background

First issue is Distraction. Distraction to the focal point of the photo happens. For example, taking a photography and you find a distraction happens in the background when people are passing by or someone is making a silly face at the background. The distraction happens once you press on the shutter. Moreover, the focal point of the photography is distracted and it is something that happens quite often. 

Protrusion of elements in the background is another issue and challenge to many pictures. When shooting photography, and afterwards you find a tree in the background that is sticking up on the head or a cat passing or whatever element that is protruding in the background would lead to creating comical photography. You can never guarantee what happens in the background. Elements like these would make the shot off. 

Competing lines would also be another issue as it would show if the subject is having lines and when the background is having strong lines, then these lines would be affecting the image and making it busy to look at. The lines would be clashing along with one another. 

Moreover, there are many lines that affect the photography and thus, there are some strategies for the photography background that you can adopt in order to give you the best shots.

Here are 10 key strategies for the photography background:

1- Background check Strategy

First key strategy is to check the background before you start shooting and pressing on the shutter button. The checking of the background is always one of the basic strategies that would help in the clearing the way for the photography before you start shooting. But, believe it or not, as easy as it seems as a strategy, many of the photographers would forget to check the background. They would be only focusing on the focal point and thus, forgetting about the background. Before hitting the shutter release, many of the mistakes is not checking the background. Many of the mistakes can be avoided easily by doing this basic strategy. 

Scanning of the surrounding environment and the background,  is the first step towards a successful background .sometimes, you can even ask the focal point to be standing in a certain way that would be hiding the distraction. 

2- Focal Point Move

The second strategy is the moving of the focal point and it is a very simple strategy that is not a rocket science. However, moving the subject to the left or right or backward or in front would be avoiding many of the mistakes that could happen in the photography. It can lead to less or even no distraction and it can hide the noise on the back scene. 

3- Shooting Angle Strategy 

Is the focal point subject cannot be moving easily, then, changing of the shooting angle is the right strategy to adopt. When the distracting elements are at the background, then the shooting angle strategy would be magical. It can be meaning that you rotate the whole scene. It might include moving low or higher. However, some of the important tips is not to make the sky as the background and do not shoot down to the subject as it shall make the ground in the background of the photo. However, you    make the ground as the background when there are many distractions that occur in the horizon.

3- Shooting Angle Strategy 

Is the focal point subject cannot be moving easily, then, changing of the shooting angle is the right strategy to adopt. When the distracting elements are at the background, then the shooting angle strategy would be magical. It can be meaning that you rotate the whole scene. It might include moving low or higher. However, some of the important tips is not to make the sky as the background and do not shoot down to the subject as it shall make the ground in the background of the photo. However, you can make the ground as the background when there are many distractions that occur in the horizon.  

person holding camera lens

 

4- Aperture Strategy 

This strategy is important and you adopt it once you cannot move the focal point subject, the shooting angle and thus, blurring of the background is the right choice. In the combating of the distractions, aperture would allow you to blur the background and thus, the main focus will be on the subject and thus, the power of your lens I to remove the distractions from the focus and it can happen by the using of the depth of the field. The blurred background would help you to don’t realize what is happening on the background. If you use a large aperture, then it will blur the background. The wider the aperture then the more removing of the background elements and the more blurring happens. The most important way is to effectively use this strategy. You can take number of shots with the aperture mode. Start with f/20 of the aperture and then, change. You can use it step by step. When the aperture is at f/4, the background starts to appear blurry. 

black digital camera capturing yellow flower

5. Focal Length 

if you want another way to skip the elements in the background, you can use the lens that has the long focal length. It will also lead to a blurry background. When the longer the tele-photo, the narrower the depth of field becomes. The longer the focal length will lead that the subject would be taking most of the frame and thus, there would be little place set for the background.  The focal length has always been argumentative topic on its effect. However, it is worth to try this strategy as it really creates a difference. 

6- Open Spaces strategy

Open spaces are the backgrounds that will have fewer distractions to pop up and these open spaces will help you in case you adopted any of the blurry strategies. When the subject is placed in a long way from the other objects, then the ability to make these elements and objects blurry would be easy and it shall not affect the quality of the picture. 

7- Subject in the frame strategy 

One of the effective strategies is to fill the frame with the focal point which is the subject. It removes all the distractions from the photo and it is achieved through closing your zoom lens to the frame of the shot and thus, it shall remove all distractions. 

8- Create your background

If you don’t have the right background, then change it! Create your own and it can be ranging from buying items to set your background as clothes, decorations, or plants. Some photographers would be having large sheets with them to set their own backgrounds. It might be a simple strategy. But, the effect is incredible. 

three green linear leafed plants beside softbox

9- Great Backgrounds

One of the basic strategies is to always search and ask for places that have great backgrounds. Keep an eye on the great spots. These spots can be plain and some can be captivating. 

10- The Subject 

The subject strategy is one of the key strategies as when the subject can do an action that is standing out, then, it will keep the attention of the viewers on the subject and not on any distractions. 

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