According to statistics, the world captured approximately 1.4 trillion photos in 2021. Moreover, experts believe that by 2023, about 10 trillion photos will be in storage.
All those figures highlight how integral photography has become to our lives. But unfortunately, not all photos deliver the desired results.
However, it’s not always because of a lack of photography skills. Sometimes, it’s due to a poor photo background.
Fortunately, getting the perfect backdrop for your photos isn’t rocket science. Below we’ll share the dos and don’ts to help you achieve this goal, so be sure to read on.
Choose a Non-Distracting Background
Always prioritize a background that’s as clean and clear of distractions as possible. The last thing you want is to position your subject atop a “noisy” backdrop, as that will only drown them.
For instance, if there’s a pole or a tree in the background, you can move yourself and your subject away. Your photo’s primary element can also cover the distraction if it’s small enough.
However, if you want to include the tree, you can take the photo from a lower angle. That can complement your subject and add some height and depth to your image.
Make the Subject Stand Out
Suppose your background is a busy street or highway. In that case, you can take advantage of it by doing a time-lapse snap. That can give you a photo with a still subject on top of whizzing, colorful strands of lights.
If all else fails, you can always blur the background using photo editing tools. Such apps also let you remove background from an image. Moreover, they have options for changing photo backgrounds with your preferred one.
Never Underestimate Alignment
If the horizon is your backdrop, keep it as straight as possible. While you can use image editing tools to align them, you risk losing a lot of the background. The wonkier the background’s alignment, the more of it you’d have to crop out post-process.
Fortunately, most modern digital SLR cameras and smartphones have alignment grid lines. So, you can enable this feature on your device and use it as a guide when taking horizon-backed photos.
Don’t Let Lighter Colors Distract
Every part of the visual process, from seeing to identification, relies on light. For starters, the cornea (the transparent, front-most layer of the eye) needs light to help the eye focus. Then, special cells in the eyes’ retina turn light into signals for the brain to process.
Thus, anything that has light is attractive to the eyes. For the same reason, the lighter the color of an element in a photo, the faster it captures the eyes’ attention.
That’s also why you don’t want your photos’ backgrounds to be lighter than your subject. Moreover, ensure your subject receives adequate lighting if you’re snapping outdoors. Otherwise, they’re going to appear more like the backdrop.
Perfect Your Photo Background Every Time
As you can see, a subject isn’t the only factor that makes for a captivating image; so is a photo background. If those two don’t jive, the outcome could be more distracting than engaging. So, to avoid that, be sure to follow the dos and avoid the don’ts we’ve discussed here.
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