Rix Mascarenhas
We usually take pictures and don’t worry too much about what’s going on in the background, so today these 8 tips to improve your photos will help you think better about this.
This is a very common mistake that many photographers make, forgetting that there is always something behind what you are photographing. In addition to what you are photographing, you also need to carefully observe what is behind your subject when composing your photos, and a better background will be part of better overall images.
8 tips to improve your photos.
1 – Choose simpler backgrounds
The first of these 8 tips to improve your photos is to choose simpler backgrounds, so you will bring full attention to what you are photographing.
When you are taking portraits and backgrounds in your photos are very messy and taking your attention away from the main subject try to change the position and incorporate the sky as the background of the photo.
To bend over and photograph your subject in a lower position you can incorporate the sky as the background of your photos. In addition to having a more relaxed background to work with, you will still have an angle that treats your subject to a more imposing position.
Buildings in a city also work very well for this purpose, just choose something that doesn’t take too much attention away from the main subject.
Other things that can work well are incorporating lawns or patterns into the floor as the background of your portraits. For this you will have to shoot at a higher position than your subject. Watch out for distortions generated by the lens on your camera, as at certain angles you can deform the main subject too much.
2 – Increase the distance
The second of the 8 tips to improve your photos is to put more distance between the subject that will be photographed and the background. Moving the subject away from the background causes the background to become more blurred and so you can get the attention of very troubled backgrounds.
The greater the distance between the subject and the background, the more prominence you have for the subject, too bad this is only possible when you have space to position your subject in relation to the background.
It is not always necessary to completely blur the background of the photos, it is often good to know what is happening in the background in order to give a certain context to the photos.
3 – Frame closer
One more of the 8 tips to improve your photos is to take photos with a more closed frame, privileging only the central subject of the photo.
Filling the screen with just what you want to show is a technique that is often used when we want to take attention away from the background of photos. You can use a longer lens for this, but you can also get closer to the subject of your portrait and make it giant on your camera screen!
Cropping off part of the subject can also be a nice option here, it’s worth remembering that by doing this you risk losing the context of the photo.
Try to compose your photo so that what appears on the screen tells the best story possible.
4 – Create balance
Creating balance goes beyond a composition technique and as part of the 8 tips to improve your photos will help you tell a better story. Using balance helps to bring attention to the prominent object of the photos and at the same time creates a beautiful context in your photos.
Observe shapes, objects, people and this at the bottom of your photos in order to create a scale, always try to place the largest weight of this scale where you want people to pay more attention.
5 – Change your point of view
The simplest of these 8 tips to improve your photos is to simply change your point of view.
If you have a very bright background that is taking the attention away from the main subject, try to move and don’t include the background in the photo.
If the colors of your background “fight” with the colors of the subject, look for a more neutral background, or use an angle that doesn’t pay as much attention to the background. Moving the position of your camera or what is being photographed is normal, think of the whole scene as items of your composition.
And it is often very worthwhile to look for another place to take the same photo.
6 – Use a longer lens
Using a longer lens allows many things, two of which are very important when you want to improve your photos.
The first is to be able to fill the frame with the subject you are photographing.
And second concerns the understanding of the fund. Using a longer lens brings the background closer to the subject to be photographed. You can use this effect to put more attention on your main subject and thus take attention away from the background of the photo!
Mixing this with the distance from the object to the background of the photo is a killer combo so that the background doesn’t bother you so much.
7 – Frame the frame!
This tip may seem strange, but using something in the background that creates a frame for the subject in your photos is a valuable tip when composing your photos.
This tip is called framing and it helps to work with very complicated background very easily. It is certainly one of the 8 tips to improve your photos more difficult to apply because you will depend on the background of the photos.
Be very careful because if you overdo it you can make things uglier than they seem, for example, using a horn-like background in your main subject.
8 – Use the contrast
Contrast is also a great ally when it comes to improving your photos. And not just in black and white photos, but also in color photos.
Using contrast to highlight the main subject is a great option in places with very strong lighting and low shade points. Always use the darkest colors for the background of your photos, as the eye is attracted by bright spots, so if you leave the main subject in a brighter area you will bring attention to it.
Conclusion
The next time you’re out and about with your camera, remember to pay attention to what’s going on behind your photos as well.
These 8 tips for improving your photos are going to take effect if you pay attention to the whole, not just what you are photographing. It will take some time for you to understand the full depth of this subject, but it is very worthwhile to be aware of this whenever you shoot.
Some situations will require more work than others but following these 8 tips to improve your photos has no mistake!
8 tips to improve your photos
- Choose simpler backgrounds
- Increase the distance
- Closer frame
- Create balance
- Change your point of view
- Use a longer lens
- Create frames
- Use the contrast
So what are your tips for creating better photos? And which of the 8 tips to improve your photos you liked the most, leave them here in the comments!
