Using the foreground to frame your shot

Happy 4th of July! I wish I had something fun and festive to share, but I haven’t even decorated for the 4th b/c I’m out of town. Instead, I’ll share a photo tip.

Do you remember how a week or so ago I posted my little TV segment? If you didn’t see the video, CLICK HERE to see it. Here is the post I shared with studio 5, that the segment was built off of. A lot of people asked if I knew ahead of time what the co hosts would ask, etc. and it actually came from my sharing THIS post (below) with them, and they pulled questions from what I sent them. They then sent me a bit of a projected dialogue, and I was so nervous that I would go out of order! I’m so glad that it happened organically and worked out! Here is the post:

Often times, when taking portraits, we try to get the objects that are in front of us “out of the way” in order to get an un obstructed shot. I like to think about that foreground in a different way. Next time you grab your camera for a shot, try using the objects, or the “stuff” between you and your subject to frame your shot in a creative way, and you can make an image go from great to WOW.

Below, is a beautiful baby in a field full of gorgeous yellow flowers.

In this shoot, I took all kinds of pictures from different angles, but this one is my favorite. She was admiring the flowers near her, and I crouched down a few feet away. Instead of pulling aside the flowers between us, I used them to frame her, and add visual interest to the imnage by setting my focal point on her face, and with a low aperture, blurring the flowers inbetween she and I, giving the image more visual interest.

The next set of images, I was photographing a family on their boat, aiming to get some fun shots of the kids being pulled on the tube. I got lots of cool shots, but one of my favorites was not planned. It happened when the boat turned and the ladder got in my way. I was annoyed at the time, but then I saw that it was actually framing them quite nicely.

With my focus on them, and having the bars in my frame, but blurred, made this shot more interesting than the one before….

Don’t you think?

I try to find interesting things in my shoots to include. I love this shot of a couple cuddling, and I was on a stairwell above the tree and moved enough to get the flowers nicely framed around them.

It’s almost like you are being sneaky–hiding behind something so as to give the appearance that they don’t know you are there, or that the viewer of the image is made to think that the subject didn’t realize you were watching.

Think of objects that might otherwise get in your way and use them to be creative.

Another favorite image, is this couple on a tennis court. I was on the other side of the fence, and with my focus set on their faces, the chain link fence blurred, but adds an interesting dimension and frames the shot nicely.

Take the creative challenge to use the foreground around you to frame your photograpy shots.

Bio
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
Latest Posts
Pinterest

Kristen Duke

Thank you for stopping by my little spot on the web! If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to my future posts via RSS, Facebook, and if you are looking to improve your photography, see my beginner books HERE.