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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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Similarities between photography and cooking food

 

There are many similarities between cooking food and photography.

I trained as a chef in a cookery school in France for five years and graduated aged 19 and cook more today than ever before, in fact my food is a lot tastier than my photography. Food is as important in my life as photography is. It’s all about the joy it brings me and others I cook for.

We use photographs as memory aids, they have the power to take us back to any given time in our lives.

Food’s the same. One bite of something I’ve not had for 30 years and transported back to my childhood.

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Why negative space is important in photography

Negative space in photography, design, sculpture or any other creative pursuit is equally as important as is positive space in overall composition.

It’s all about finding the right balance.

Simply put, positive space is the actual subject while negative space (also called white space) is the area surrounding the subject.

The latter acts as breathing room for your eyes. Too little negative space results in cluttered and busy photographs with every element in the photo screaming for the viewer’s attention.

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How to use symmetry to create strong impact in your photography

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

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

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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13 questions to ask clients ahead of a photography job

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Since my first photography job, I’ve been commissioned by top brands including Adidas, Jose Cuervo, Amazon, Sony, AEG, Land Securities, Heineken and many more. I hope to be able to help others take their first steps into professional photography.

Beginning with your first photography job, when you first start getting photography commissions as a photographer it can be very tempting to just take them all on.

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Photographers finds a couple he shot on the street after eight years to deliver their portrait

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This year my wife Chrystall and I have decided we’re leaving London for the country.

As much as we love London we feel this is a good time for us to leave and move onto other bigger things. One of them being the launch of our new website, Great Things To Do, in January 2018.

I’ve written before about the ethics of street photography and as a London based street photographer, there was something I needed to put right before I left.

Back in 2009 I was wandering in Ladbroke Grove, not far from the tragic Grenfell Tower, on one of my typical days out shooting urban photography.

As I walked passed a garden, something, or rather someone grabbed my eye but I kept walking for a bit.

But it was just too good a shot to miss so I went back, smiled at them, paused for a second and took the shot to then walk away again.

The shot turned out great but there was a lingering feeling of having stolen it, and it never sat very well with me.

A few years went by and this slowly but surely became one of my most popular photographs, winning recognition at the International Street Photography Awards.

Here we were now in 2017 and I still regret not going back to at least give them the print.

So in July I decided to do something about it, I would find them again.

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