It is very easy when shooting to lose track of the importance of the background and how it relates to the overall look of an image. Though some hints and tips on making sure your backgrounds compliment your subjects, we are going to show you how to start remembering the background to enhance your photos.

At risk of stating the obvious, every photograph has a background! In some photos it might be a tiny percentage of the frame, in others, it may well be the majority of the shot. While by its very nature, the subject of an image is the most important aspect, the background can completely change your audiences' perception of your image.

Backgrounds Can Enhance Your Story

Backgrounds set the scene for the story we are telling. It could be a tiny detail that relates to the subject or it might be a grand sweeping vista that adds scale to our subject. Sometimes we can use a background solely to isolate our subject.

Details in a background are a great way of highlighting your subject. For example, you might be photographing an avid reader. By placing them in front of a selection of their favorite books you immediately give the viewer a clue as to where not only their literary tastes lie, but also more deeper personal preferences.

You can suggest a subject's interests with the background. By State Farm

Use Backgrounds to Contrast Your Subject

We can use backgrounds to contrast our subject, for example, an old car in front of an ultra-modern building or the spire of a church in a cityscape of skyscrapers. Contrast does not have to be physical, we can use color to contrast the foreground with the background.

A bright yellow sunflower contrasts beautifully against deep blue sky.

We can use color to contrast foreground and background. By Youxing Tu

A background can also give mood to an image. Photograph a person on a bright sunny day with a pretty landscape behind and the mood is uplifting. Take the same shot on a stormy day, maybe with a little direct flash to darken the background and the image takes on a whole different mood.

Keep Your Backgrounds Simple

Getting a background to compliment or contrast your subject is not always easy. Simplicity is the key here. A complex, cluttered background will distract your viewer and perhaps confuse the message. A simple background will maintain focus on the subject but also hint a greater story.

If you have a complex background, one way to simplify it is to use a shallow depth of field. Open your aperture and throw the background out of focus. By experimenting with different apertures you can choose to reveal just enough information to give the story.

Hinting at an iconic location in the background. By Jason Row Photography

Change Your Perspective To Tell Your Story

Your viewpoint is also an important factor in backgrounds. If you choose a low viewpoint relative to the subject, then the background is likely to contain much more sky. It will also make your subject look large and imposing. Carefully balancing the exposure between the subject and the sky can make the subject really punch out.

Taking a higher viewpoint than your subject will tend to give you backgrounds that are predominantly ground based. The ground can be an excellent compositional tool, leading lines can take your eye to a subject or markings on the ground can frame that subject. Again a careful selection of aperture can change how prominent the compositional aids are.

Watch Out For Distracting Elements In Your Background!

It is important to look very carefully at your background when composing. It is very easy to miss distracting elements when looking through a small viewfinder. It might be something as simple as a rogue light reflection that completely takes the eye away from the subject and is difficult to remove in post. It could be litter. How many times have you looked at your shots on a computer screen and seen an ugly red discarded coke can or similar. These are the things that once seen cannot be unseen no matter how insignificant they are in the frame. Your viewers will have the same experience.

Changing your viewpoint can lead the eye through to the background. By Jason Row Photography

Remember To Keep The Horizon Straight

Another element of the background that you need to watch carefully is the horizon. A skewed horizon can turn a stunning image into a mere snapshot. Most modern cameras have horizon tools to aid you in keeping them straight. Whilst it is true you can straighten a horizon in post, you will be cropping into that image. From every degree of rotation, you will lose about 3% of the image in cropping.

Backgrounds are such an important element of our compositions that we should try to make them a part of our compositional workflow. As well as checking light and subject, make a mental note to always check the background. Doing so will lead to some big improvements in your overall shots and a better knowledge of the important relationship between subject and background.

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How often do you hear photographers say that there is nothing to shoot because the light is really bad? When you hear yourself using this as an excuse, change your perspective. Instead of putting away your camera, get creative!

Some Late Morning Shots

I took the following shot late in the morning during our stay on the Big Island of Hawaii. The brilliant sunbeams appeared as mist from ocean spray blew through the trees. To capture sunbeams like these, you need bright sunlight along with some mist or dust in the air. The particles in the air scatter the light and create sunbeams.

I took this second shot below to show you the conditions I was working with that morning. As you can see, the light was pretty harsh because the sun was up and there were no clouds. Most photographers would classify this as “bad light” – but I see this as a great time to stretch your creativity.

Some Midday Shots

Ok – so maybe this shot required certain conditions – the angle of the sun, the sea spray, the high trees near the beach. But this isn’t the only shot I took in bright sun while we were on the islands. I took each of the shots below when lighting conditions were less than optimal.

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  Reflected Light in Hilo, Hawaii

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  House on Fire, Utah (UT), USA

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  Moriki Island, Fiji

Each of the shots above were taken during the middle of the day when the sun was located high in the sky. Image #1 was created when the harsh sunlight on the trees created some interesting patterns and colors. Image #2 was captured in Mule Canyon in Utah. The harsh reflected light was bouncing off the surrounding area and made the canyon walls glow. The third image required harsh sunlight to bring out the deep rich blue colors and textures in the tropical waters in Fiji.

So, the next time you find  yourself thinking about bad light, think of how you can use your creativity to come away with some stunning photos instead. Feel free to share your own images in the comments below.

About Author Jay Patel

I could startoff like this – “Seeds of Jay Patel’s appreciation for beautiful places were planted early in his childhood….” but it would get boring really fast. I will just sum it up and say that I am a Landscape and Wilderness Photographer who loves to capture dramatic light. My photographs have been published in various magazines, calendars and advertising materials throughout the world.
Patience is a virtue...unless you are chasing your dreams

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Despite the ceaseless technological advancements that have become a hallmark of the digital photography industry, there remains a segment of photographers of all skill levels who enthusiastically keep at least one foot in the analog world. One example of this phenomenon can be seen in the steady resurgence of all things film related. Another example is the use of vintage lenses with modern digital cameras. This apparent clash of technologies may not make much sense to the uninitiated, but rest assured that there are those who swear by this intermingling of old and new. If you’ve ever thought about putting a legacy lens to use on your DSLR or mirrorless camera, the following tips will help you find success in getting the most out of such a setup.

Vintage Lenses Are Manual Focus Only

Vintage lenses are…old. They come from a time before autofocus was a thing. Knowing how to focus manually and accurately was once a fundamental skill, a skill that has understandably been lost on the generation of photographers that has only known digital gear. But if you intend to use an older lens on your digital camera you should definitely spend some time working on your manual focusing prowess. Or you can just take advantage of your camera’s focus assist options such as focus zoom and focus peaking. There’s still a learning curve but these aides will definitely help you get the job done.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Minolta MC Rokkor-X PG 50mm f/1.4 + Fujifilm X-T1

Vintage Lenses Must Be Adapted To Your Camera

Old lenses typically do not fit directly on modern cameras. There are a small handful of exceptions such as Nikon’s F Mount and Pentax’s K Mount that can fit directly on current Nikon and Pentax cameras. Otherwise, you will need to purchase an adapter. Just look for an adapter that matches the lens mount of your camera body and the brand of lens you want to mount. Want to attach an Olympus OM lens to your Sony a7II? There’s an adapter for that. Got a Canon FD lens you want to pair with your Fujifilm X-T2? There’s an adapter for that. You will discover that adapter for mirrorless cameras are in greater supply and cover a greater range of lens and mount options as compared to what’s available for DSLRs. In short, this comes down to the fact that compact system cameras have a short flange back distance (since they don’t have a mirror), which gives these cameras a significant advantage over DSLRs in this area.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Minolta MD 28mm f/2.8 + Fujifilm X-T1

Communication Is Limited

Digital cameras and their native lenses pass all sorts of information back and forth as you use them — metering, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus mode, focal length. Nothing is left out. Once you put a legacy lens on your camera, however, there is no communication between lens and camera. The camera will still register parameters like shutter speed and ISO, but don’t expect to get a full array of exif data.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Minolta MC Rokkor-X PG 50mm f/1.4 + Fujifilm X-T1

Shooting Mode Options Are Reduced

If you’re accustomed to having a full range of shooting modes to choose from — aperture priority, shutter priority, program, fully automatic and fully manual — understand that the automatic and semi-automatic modes are out of play (though you can essentially use aperture priority). Being forced out of a high degree of automation could actually help you master exposure, so I don’t consider this a dire consequence of using vintage lenses but it’s something everyone should be aware of going in.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Minolta MC 135mm f/2.8 + Fujifilm X-T1

You Still Have To Account For Crop Factor

The vintage lenses that most people are interested in were made for 35mm cameras, the equivalent of what we refer to these days as “full frame.” If you intend to use one of these lenses on a camera with APS-C sensor you still have to consider crop factor; so a 28mm legacy lens will provide the field of view of a 42mm lens on a camera with a crop factor of 1.5.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Minolta MC Rokkor-X PG 50mm f/1.4 + Fujifilm X-T1

Final Thoughts On Using Vintage Lenses With A Digital Camera

Vintage lenses are “old” but not obsolete; they’re affordable, small and capable of producing great (sometimes quirky) images. Of course there are exceptions and variations to some of the points outlined here and there are certain risks inherent to buying and using old camera gear. The upside, though, is that vintage gear can spark creativity, provide a more tactile shooting experience and take care of that nagging gear acquisition syndrome without breaking the bank. Most of all, vintage lenses are fun to use.

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Sourced by Time Trap Photography sharing the best photography tips, news and tricks throughout the industry. Time Trap Photography is dedicated to freezing those special moments in life that can be revisited and admired for generations to come. - Shannon Bourque
Please visit our main site for booking availability and rates.

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