Lens-Artists Challenge #304 – Behind

lens-artists, Photography

This week is a lesson in paying attention to the background BEHIND your subject, does this not sound like a challenge, but it is, if you really start to focus on it. So, think about different techniques you use to elevate your photos and share them with us.

Backgrounds play an essential role in photography, significantly impacting the overall aesthetic of an image. When composing a photograph, the background serves as the canvas against which the subject stands out. The background provides context and narrative to your photo. How your main subject interacts with the background shapes the story within the frame.

Here are some key considerations: Whether it’s a serene landscape, a bustling city street, or a simple studio backdrop, the background influences the mood and message of the image.

Same cityscape – three backgrounds for the dome.

Different colors evoke specific emotions. For instance, blue backgrounds often convey calmness, while red can evoke passion or energy. Patterns in backgrounds can either enhance or distract from the subject.

Simplicity, achieved through minimal distractions, often yields powerful results. Additionally, controlling depth of field allows you to guide viewers’ attention to specific focal points in both foreground and background.

Remember, a well-chosen background enhances your photo, adding depth and visual interest.

    Usually, this means making your background distraction-free. That is often when taking photos we’re laser-focused on our subject: a portrait, a flower, a couple on a bench.

    Luncheon on the bench
    Cactus – two takes with different backgrounds, each has a different story to tell.

    A good background pairing (whether that’s making the background disappear with exposure or blur, or enhancing it with color or story will allow your SUBJECT to shine. 

    You can pair your subject with a colorful background  to match or contrast your background to your subject.

    You also may want to keep your background dark, relative to your subject, to allow your subject to pop, or vica versa.

    You might want to elevate your photography to another storytelling level by creating a picture within a picture. You would see the main scene up front, but little scenes from the whole story would complement it on the side.

    This can be children studying in a classroom, with a detailed scene behind them.

    Or boys sitting, watching a document on a screen. Use your “canvas” to portray your entire creative story, from end to end, for both your subject and of course, your background. 

    Background Blur: Utilize depth of field to blur your background, keeping focus on your subject

    two daisies

    Color Harmony: Harmonize or contrast colors between your subject and the background for visual impact.

    Darker Background: Adjust exposure to darken the background, spotlighting your subject.

    Negative Space: Embrace negative space, using it to highlight your subject against a minimal background.

    Last week we stepped into the lovely world of connections with Donna’s beautiful photos to guide us. We were shown lovely interpretations of connection this week. There is always need to be connected…

    I am already looking forward to next week’s challenge with Egídio. Join him Saturday 12:00 EST to enjoy his beautiful photography, captured through his Brazilian eyes.

    Interested in knowing more about the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.

    100 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Challenge #304 – Behind”

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    4. Erudite, sapient, and sublime, as always. (I had to look up most of those words. 🤷‍♂️ ) The boat, monochromes, dark background flower, and focused rocks are among my many favorites.

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    6. A brilliant post, Ritva, and a challenge to take on with joy. Well explained and beautiful examples – looking forward to the answers coming in! I will post mine tonight – thank you for a real treat.

      Reply
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    9. Ritva, you have given me a lot to think about with this challenge. I love all of the images and appreciate your descriptions of different techniques you used. I love the yellow canoe on the water.

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    10. Interesting challenge Ritva and good examples, it’s true that you either focus on the subject or the background but not both

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    11. I love it, and it is a brilliant challenge. I especially loved your guidance to get your point across, and to steer into recognizing how to bring strength to their images. I especially love the boat, and the picture in a picture. And who doesn’t love the flowers, and learning how to make them pop. Love the challenge.

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      1. I tried to comment on your blog, but I was not able to, so here is my though about them These are lovely black and white images, I love how the city photos tell a story and how you have composed them, they pull you into the story. Great use of background

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    19. Hi Ritvu, your photography is stunning! I really love the lighthouse image where the boats are lined up against the background!

      This is a great theme this week and I will join you with my sunset/sunrise theme tomorrow.

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    20. Great challenge, reminders and examples Ritva. My favorites are the poppy image, bird/magpie?, and boat images for their simplicity. And I like the cactus with large landscape background. Well done!

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    25. Ritva, I love your teaching style. The domes were really a classic study. The third one didn’t work at all. The first and second worked, but I thought the second was the best even though I liked the first one with the larger amount of tree on the side as a frame.

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    26. What a great challenge Ritva. I think backgrounds are very important and a great lesson for people starting out in photography. I still get caught sometimes. YOu have shown us all some great examples. I am going to have to think about this one.

      Reply
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    34. I must admit that I don’t always think about backgrounds, especially for those “snapshots”, and sometimes it shows! You’ve provided an excellent lesson in your examples that the background is part of the entire composition.

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    42. Beautiful images and perspectives Ritva, thank you for giving us such a lovely challenge to play with this week 💛

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    56. Love your theme, and so beautifully you have shown us the the meaning of ‘Behind’ in the form of background in our routine photography.

      Amazing examples!

      Love the children studying in a classroom and Lunch on on the bench are my favourites.

      Reply

    All comments are welcome! Thanks for sharing your thoughts