Do a background check! That is good advice for an employer, it is good advice for a photographer. A distracting background hurts more photographs than any other mistake.
When I photograph, I pay equal attention to the background as I do to my subject matter and lighting. Think about a photographer's studio. The studio environment consists of what? Controlled lighting, and a controlled background!
Here are three photographs I took of Daniela Hantuchova, at the Acura Classic tennis tournament in La Costa, California. The first two suffer from various problems, chiefly distracting elements in the background (the ballboy, the bright sky, etc.). Luckily tennis players change sides every two games, so when she served, I positioned myself so that the blue backdrop formed a clean background. The folds even look like a studio backdrop! The soft, overcast, afternoon lighting was pleasing as well.
I will return to the subject of background with multiple examples in future posts.
Comments