The foreground and background in composition

Foreground and background in the photographic composition is a factor which cannot be ignored, as an organic part of a photo, add photos can highlight the main body, space and depth of feeling. Therefore, in the photographic composition, the correct use of foreground and background can make the scene in the picture more harmonious and unified, thus more artistic appeal.

As a pillar of American life magazine photography American photographers andreas method NingGe in more than 20 years of working for life magazine, have relationships with many contemporary photography masters, and from there they learned a lot about photography. In his book, the principles of photographic composition, which he has learned from these lessons, there is a great deal of insightful and original insight into the composition of photography. "The relationship between the subject, the foreground and the background is one of the most important visual factors affecting the image," he said. If there are any overlapping subject and the background (such as the statue of a dark line on a background of trees), have hate background (the telephone line or electric wire through the sky to seize the line of sight, or is next to the confused shrub, has nothing to do with the main body of a parked vehicle, or the situation such as a long empty roads, often can use to change the position of the camera to change the subject to prevent the relationship between foreground and background. In order to move the unwanted background to the camera, the camera can be moved on either side or from a lower position so that the subject is more lined up in the sky.

"If you can't do this, change the lens of your focal length and change the distance of your subject. Take a step back and shoot with a long distance lens, often removing the empty foreground and the unwelcome part of the background. Conversely, a closer look, shot with wide-angle lenses, can achieve the same effect, although the perspective of the two images is very different. If before - : species, spatial depth perception is smaller and more compressed, but the actual ratio between the subject and the background can be more or less preserved. In the latter case, because of the unusually large perturbation of the near subject, the depth of the perturbation in the distance would appear to be magnified. "The third way is to try to take a part of the background or foreground unpopular hidden (and sometimes removed), is called the 'choose focus: not to receive the smallest aperture, but adjusted to make your subject only act with the appropriate definition, background or foreground is not clear. The larger the aperture, the longer the focal length of lens, your subject and the shorter the distance between the relative camera, and the distance between your subject and the background or foreground, the greater the relative subject clear and background or foreground is not clear the difference between the greater."

Method NingGe pointed out that in the relationship between the subject and the background, the experienced photographers can actually be done in three types of background choice: "first of all, is a kind of not appropriate background, needless to say, this is supposed to prevent. Such a background can be treated as described above.

"The second is a kind of non-colored background, which is not connected to the subject and is simple, and its color and tone is comfortable with the subject and is not prominent. Typical examples are white, grey, black or monochrome cardboard, whitewashed walls, and the sky.

"The other is to become one of the backgrounds, it is directly related to your subject or part of its shape, for example, some heavy shadow was deliberately as part of the composition and use, in order to beautify your subject. It is also possible that in some cases it is difficult to determine which is the background. At this point, these backgrounds are just an important part of the composition.

"Other to become one of the background, and such as make up on the surface of the landscape interesting clouds, cluttered background of the studio as an icon of artists and stimulate the role of the wedding cake on the background of the bride and groom, and so on. These successful combinations of subjects, backgrounds and prospects become one of the good composition foundations.

The American photographer b. Clements "composition of photography," a book on the background processing of photographic composition, also takes great importance. The background, they point out, is a subtle but powerful composition factor. The background space has a profound influence on the unity of the picture. Sometimes, there is a space around the subject, which seems to bring the object closer. Of course, this does not mean that the background of each photo is to be left very large, but the role of the background space in changing the image of the object. If the spacing between objects is small and the arrangement is compact, the background can be smaller. At this point, the small background area appears to add a larger "universe" to each object and reduces the feeling of crowding and density. Congestion and overcrowding are also harmful to the composition. Of course, if the space between objects is large enough to weaken the sense of unity, then the background space can also be enlarged.

Sometimes, the background is very messy, and the picture may be damaged by something else behind it. In this case, the photographer Calhoun believes that, above all, you should be aware of the problem. In order to improve the background, it is useful to change the Angle of shooting. That is, you can rotate around the subject until you see an acceptable background in the attraction. You can also stand tall or lower to get a better image. If you can't change the Angle or background, you can open a large aperture to reduce the depth of field and make the background focus unreal. This is less obvious. If you are shooting in a darker light, use your flash to illuminate the subject, which will make the background darker.

One of the most interesting things about photography is that it shows three-dimensional space in a flat two-dimensional plane, showing the height, width and depth of things. As Arthur goldsmith, an American photographer, points out: "photography cannot reproduce depth, it can only simulate depth. However, it can simulate very vividly."

In order to achieve the simulation results better, some objects must be used to create the illusion of space and depth. The most common use is to use the foreground to direct the viewer's gaze to the main body part. With wide Angle lens with prospects, can also be dimension and depth are exaggerated, but at this point, the best prospects have a function of direct the eye, such as the use of a winding mountain road to the village, with a row of trees to the same tower, etc. When shooting, the wide-angle lens should be very close to the foreground, the closer it is to the depth perception; another way to form space or depth is to have the same scene in the foreground and background of the picture. Because the image size of the vision and the close-up is different, it can also form a deep feeling, a row of the same poplar trees, the image is gradually smaller, and the picture has the illusion of depth. This feeling is directly related to the focal length of the lens. Goldsmith suggests that a traditional form of composition is to use a foreground object as a border to frame objects farther away. He thinks it can also add depth. A solid dark object that can highlight the subject is usually best. If the outline of black or silhouette is consumed in the foreground of the photograph, it is possible to emphasize the bleak and pale background by making a strong contrast. Take photos of the beach, for example, and if the foreground takes a piece of black rock or a quad to extend to the railing in the distance, it will have a good depth effect.

British photographer mike kippelin believes that anything can be used to add to the taste of the foreground when taking pictures of the landscape, so that the picture has a deep feeling. It can be trees, animals, buildings or vehicles, but they must be connected to the whole picture:

"Using wide-angle lenses and low-angle shooting, and the distortion that takes advantage of the lens itself can further highlight the interest of the foreground. When used in this way, rocks, flowers, and gravel may appear to be larger.

"The interesting prospect is not limited to wide-angle lenses, but using long lenses can also be used effectively. Telescopic lens can compress perspective; this feature can be used greatly. The longer the lens, the larger the foreground area and the smaller object in the background will greatly reduce the natural perspective. With a 200mm lens, it is possible to narrow the gap between the two. If the depth of the field is very small, even with a smaller aperture, all the objects in the photograph are not in focus. At this point, the photographer should decide whether to focus on the foreground, the middle or the background depending on the scope of the subject.

"If the background is dull and dark, the foreground can be used to create a clear depth in the picture," Kipling said. This kind of shooting technique is worth a try when the light is not very good. A bouquet of brightly colored flowers can be used to make up for the lack of light.

"From the background to illuminate the foreground of the foreground of the foil, also can improve the quality of the photograph. Choosing a bright light for a darker background can be a natural one. However, you should be careful to use a camera that measures light through the lens, otherwise the foreground area may be overexposed. You should measure light by the main subject, then manually adjust the camera, or use the exposure lock.