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The importance of background in photography composition

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Today I will discuss the importance of background in photography composition illustrated with some examples of mine.

Part of a larger series covering elements of composition in photography for which you’ll find links at the end of this article.

I taught myself photography in quite a specific order, I navigated / progressed through various urban photography genres:

Graffiti Photography > Urban Landscape Photography > Street Photography

It’s the reason I realised early how important an image’s background really is, allow me to explain:

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Check out these unique camera angle ideas to step up your composition

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Composition is a wonderful thing. There are so many ways to compose your shot effectively, and there are all kinds of “rules” out there as to what makes for a good or bad composition. Often you get people spouting off these rules as “the only way to compose a shot!” but they are of course, speaking complete nonsense. There are many ways to frame a shot depending on the story you want to tell, whether it’s with stills or video.

Zach Ramelan leans more towards the video side of composition in this one, offering up a number of unique camera angles, compositions and techniques that aren’t very common. At least, not effectively. But they can be very effective and a great way to tell a story and provide extra narrative and subtext to the shot.

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How to use symmetry to create strong impact in your photography

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I’m currently writing a series of blog articles on photography composition. The two previous articles on composition covered are The Rule of Thirds in photography and Leading Lines in photography. I thought this time I’d cover symmetry and include some of my own symmetry photography examples to illustrate this.

Now… I cannot speak for others but in my opinion, symmetry is key in photography. Of course, it needn’t be present in all photography but it’s hard to deny the strong and positive impact it has on any photograph. Symmetry seems to satisfy a need within us. It fills me with calm and feels relaxing to my brain. It feels good. But why is that? Why do we take pleasure from symmetry?

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Back to basics: Mastering the Rule of Thirds in photography

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The rule of thirds in photography.

I know… I’m going back to basics but since I just published an article on the importance of Leading Lines in Photography, I thought it to be a good idea to go back to the beginning and explain crucial bits of photography which I hadn’t covered until now.

A note on rules: I have always held the belief that rules, however useful at times, are meant to be broken.

Don’t go slap your boss, it wasn’t meant that way.

I’ll put it in bold for you:

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The importance of leading lines in photography

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Leading lines in photography are existing lines within the frame of a photograph which the photographer has deliberately aligned/arranged (prior to taking the photo) by adjusting their composition either shifting their body or camera. It should result in lines which “lead” to the subject, increasing the focus of the viewer, allowing for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

It is often paired with the rule of thirds although not necessarily.

Since I started photographing London (back around 2008), I have made a conscious effort to practice and master this as it greatly improves photographs, their impact, and the ease with which a viewer will appreciate your work, a certain user experience I guess.

I include some examples of my London photography so you can see for yourself the importance of leading lines in photography.

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Seven composition techniques you can learn from “The Queen’s Gambit”

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Watching movies and TV series is not only a great pastime activity on cold winter days but also a great way to find inspiration for your photography. Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit has become insanely popular, and it’s one of the shows photographers definitely should check out. In this video, Martin Kaninsky analyzes the series from a photographer’s point of view, giving you seven composition rules you can learn from it.

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Are you guilty of making these 7 landscape photography mistakes? I know I am

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Photography “mistakes” videos seem to be quite popular these days, but that’s for good reason. Many of us keep making them, and for most of us, we really should learn not to.

In this video, landscape photographer Nigel Danson talks through his top seven landscape photography mistakes that he sees people making all the time. He also discusses how easily these mistakes can be fixed so that you don’t keep making them.

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Nothing touches, but everything is connected: Studying figure to ground in my composition

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Figure to ground means that a subject or idea (figure) is clearly defined against a background. This can be achieved through technical means, ie depth of field, or compositional means. My preferred method is to make sure that everything in my photographs fit neatly in place. Unless elements are specifically interacting then they do not need to touch. No lampposts coming out of heads in portraits, no walls going through bodies.

Everything where it needs to be, like pieces of a puzzle.

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These 8 tips for improving your composition probably aren’t what you think

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Composition is one of those things that some people just get innately. For others, it’s a constant struggle. We try to obey “rules” and many of us miss taking shots because even though we might like them, other people will think it sucks because it doesn’t fit the “rule of thirds”, the “golden ratio” or some other thing we’ve been told that images are supposed to conform to.

In this video from Jamie Windsor, all those “rules” go completely (mostly) out the window, as he discusses the issues around composition and offers eight somewhat unconventional tips that most of this type of content usually doesn’t go into.

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