I’m starting up a new blog on my FastWinn Photography website. I used to blog all the time in a community called VOX. When VOX died I migrated over to WordPress and did personal and photography blogs for a while. Then I lost interested and started posting on Facebook.
I enjoy Facebook but my posts are usually very short and don’t have much substance. Not sure if anyone will read my blog but here goes.
Photo tip for this blog is when you get ready to take a photo, step back and check the background. Are there power poles in the way? Could a step right or left remove the power poles from your background? Is the background better if you get lower or higher? Taking the time to review your background will make your photos look more professional and less like snap shots.
This seems like a very simple tip, but it is so easy to forget to check your backgrounds. Many times during a photo session I will get so caught up in capturing my subjects correctly that I forget to check the background. Later, when I edit the photos I see the error of my ways. Yes,I can fix most bad backgrounds in Photoshop but that does take time.
I’m in the process of creating a new website for Clay Harper Horsemanship. I did a photo session a few years ago with Clay and his lovely wife Jacquie and their horses. Today, I was going through those photos to use them on the new website. I noticed the image below and the bad background choice and thought it would make a fun blog post.
1st photo here the tree behind the horse isn’t working and the water faucet in the front looks bad. The mountains in the background are too light. There is an older horse hanging out with the family photo bombing this image. This photo most likely wouldn’t make the print stage. But is a good example of a very bad background. On second thought it could work as a close up of Clay and his horse.
Second image was taken a few feet to the right and has a much better background. We still have the older horse in the background. He couldn’t be without his friends so he got to hang out during the photo session.
Back to work on the website. Cheers!