Is this a description of you? You save up every cent to buy the latest photo gadgets and gear, you read all the how-to books, subscribe to the best photo magazines and haunt the camera shop. Finally, you find a suitable subject, insert a clean memory stick into your camera, (or some film) and start firing away.
You anxiously run down to the photo lab to get your film developed, (or spend a few hours trying to remember how to download your photos into the computer- who can see anything on that tiny screen anyway?). Finally, we get the results.
Oh no! Our stunning model has a huge tree growing out of her head. On every one of the shots we took! The entire shoot is ruined! Did you manage to avoid the tree? Congrats. How about the garbage can prominently sitting off to the side of the photo – you know, the one with trash spilling over the top and all over the ground. Did you notice the kids playing in the background or the cars going by?
Yeah, we fell into the trap of focusing all our attention on the model and not looking around at the other elements in the scene. It’s easy to do. And I don’t care who they are, every photographer out there has done the same thing!
Photography is a very technical art! We have to worry about the light, the f-stop, the shutter speed, film speed and so on. Next we throw in the models’ pose, smile, eyes – and now we’re expected to notice the trash cans, kids and cars in the background?
Yup. Add one more challenge to the list. It’s not too hard to get in the habit of checking all the way around the edges of the frame – if you make it a habit!
Do whatever it takes to FORCE yourself to consciously slow down and take a second to let your eye scan all the way around the edges of the viewfinder. But that’s not all. Consider those trees or light poles way off in the background, are they going to be blurred out or will they be sharp enough to be a factor in the final print. Can you move and shoot from a different angle?
Is there a street in the backdrop? Take a second to check and see if there is any traffic coming – either auto or pedestrian traffic. If so, can you change the scene to eliminate the problem? Or will you have to wait for a break in the traffic?
I know, it seems obvious, but I wouldn’t have written this article if it weren’t an everyday problem. Take just a few seconds to consider the background and then scan your eye around the frame before snapping the shutter. You will save a lot of money on prints that would have been thrown out.
